Behind the Mask by Elizabeth D. Michaels Read Free Book Online

anyone. Abbi had never worn her hair up a day in her life, and she had no intention of starting now.
    Hoping to get off to a better start, she crossed the room and took Ramona’s hand. “You must be Aunt Ramona.”
    “Yes,” the woman said with a smile. Beyond their identical hair color, which was a dark auburn streaked with gray, the two sisters looked nothing alike. Ramona was thin with a long face, and her sister Salina, who was still holding Abbi’s hand, was shorter and bore no apparent resemblance to her whatsoever.
    “And this is my sister, Salina Eddington,” Ramona stated.
    “I’m so very pleased to meet you.” Salina sat cheerfully on the sofa and pulled Abbi down next to her. “It was so exciting to get the news. I mean we were certainly sorry to hear of Josef’s death, but the opportunity to come to Bavaria. Oh, it’s wonderful! We’ve always loved it here and have talked of coming back. Thankfully we’ve kept up the language between the two of us. Somewhat of a hobby, I suppose. We were so impatient to get here, and certainly pleased that we arrived in time for tea. Weren’t you pleased, Ramona?”
    “Pleased. Yes, pleased,” her sister said without expression.
    “I’ve been looking forward to seeing you again.” Salina pushed a teacup into Abbi’s hand, which she simply held, pretending to sip. Abbi detested tea. “You’ve grown into such a beauty,” Salina continued. “You’ve got your mother’s hair exactly, I believe. Although she never did, uh . . . wear it quite like that, the dark red color is the same. And those green eyes. It’s unreal how you’ve got your mother’s eyes. Isn’t it unreal, Ramona?”
    “Yes, unreal.” Ramona gazed at Abbi with overt interest. “She’s certainly built like her mother; so petite and . . . well, yes that’s the word, petite. But I believe her features very much belong to her father.”
    “I can certainly see Gerhard in the face.” Salina squinted at Abbi as if she couldn’t quite see. “But she has her mother’s complexion.”
    Abbi felt uncomfortable being scrutinized, knowing she looked far from her best. But she just smiled politely, pretending to drink her tea.
    “Riding,” Ramona said. “You say you’ve been riding?”
    At last Abbi could be a part of the conversation instead of the subject. “Yes, I ride often. It’s my favorite pastime.”
    “But surely you wear a habit to ride.” Ramona looked down her long nose with disapproval.
    Abbi reminded herself not to apologize. “I rarely wear a habit,” she said with conviction. “I ride often enough that I would be living in a riding habit. I generally ride in whatever I happen to be wearing.”
    “I assume your dress is conservative because of your mourning?” Ramona questioned, glaring at Abbi’s simple gray frock with a touch of black piping as its only adornment. “It certainly is conservative.”
    “The color is dark because of mourning, but I prefer conservative clothing. It suits my lifestyle.”
    “I see. Yes, I see,” Ramona said as if she didn’t at all approve of a lifestyle that allowed a young lady to dress so casually.
    After another scrutinizing stare Ramona commented, “I didn’t realize fashion was so outdated in Germany, or perhaps Horstberg is just so remote that the latest styles are, well . . . I just didn’t realize.”
    Apparently oblivious to Ramona’s implication toward Abbi, Salina interjected, “But the ladies we saw in town certainly appeared every bit as fashionable as those in England.”
    Abbi glanced down at her dress. Like most of the clothes she owned, it had been custom-made according to her preferences. The cut of the bodice certainly was fashionable, as was the high waist. She felt certain Ramona’s indirect criticism was in reference to the yards of fabric gathered into the waistline, which allowed her room to straddle a horse comfortably without being immodest. From what Abbi had observed in town, most ladies