The Importance Of Being Wicked by Miranda Neville Read Free Book Online Page A

the Pantheon Theatre, where a masquerade ball was being held. The management of the establishment wasn’t worried about conflicting with the assembly at Almack’s. It catered to a very different crowd. Not that Thomas knew firsthand. It wasn’t at all the kind of place he frequented.
    At almost midnight, revelers were still entering through the columned front. A hawker on the pavement offered a variety of masks, but Thomas decided not to bother. The new arrivals, both men and women, sported a wide variety of dominos and costumes from a ludicrous range of historical periods. Since many wore ordinary evening clothes, he wouldn’t stand out, and he thought it unlikely, though not impossible, that anyone would recognize him. If someone did, he hoped his presence would lend countenance to the ladies. Given his impression of Mrs. Townsend’s careless attitude to propriety, he didn’t count on their being adequately disguised. Damnation! She was not a fitting chaperone for her cousin, who deserved the careful protection due a great heiress and future duchess.
    Having paid his entrance fee, he was proven right. Not immediately, because a small woman didn’t stand out in the busy foyer, but soon he caught a glimpse of Mrs. Townsend. She stood next to a pair of great doors through which the sounds of music and revelry emerged. Yes, she was masked, but she needn’t have bothered. A narrow strip of black velvet covered her eyes and not much else. Anyone who knew her would recognize the pert nose, the lush red mouth, the assertive little chin. Aside from that excuse for a mask, she was dressed in the new fashion that left a lady half-naked. The miniature bodice of her white gown left a good deal of pale flesh on view to the hoi polloi. He found himself torn between conflicting desires to explore it with his hands and bundle her in a blanket. Of Miss Brotherton, there was no sign.
    Mrs. Townsend watched the arrivals passing through the entrance. A man approached her, a drunken cit judging by his swaying gait and plain town garb. Thomas prepared to intervene, but the fellow accepted her negative shake of the head and staggered on.
    Then she saw him and smiled, as innocently as his sister Maria accepting his escort to church. “I’ve been waiting for you,” she said gaily.
    The frustrations of the evening welled in his chest. “We had an engagement. You could have had the courtesy to inform me of your change of plans.”
    “I did, eventually. And now you are here. I wasn’t entirely sure you’d follow us. You might have preferred to remain at Almack’s and court a less-demanding bride.”
    “Certainly less troublesome.”
    “Also less rich. You should expect to go to a little trouble for such a prize.”
    She aimed to provoke him. He took a deep breath and determined to disappoint her. “Since you expected me, I hope I haven’t kept you waiting too long.”
    “I guessed you would remain at Almack’s until eleven and a big man like you, accustomed to country life, is doubtless a swift walker. You are remarkably punctual.”
    “And you,” he replied, “are remarkably recognizable. That ridiculous mask wouldn’t fool anyone who’d ever set eyes on you.”
    “In that case, I’ll take it off.” She tossed him a defiant look and suited action to words. She was trying to annoy him, and succeeding too.
    “You shouldn’t be alone in such a public place.”
    “I’m accustomed to taking care of myself.”
    He shuddered to think of what could happen to such a delicate creature. Did she have no idea of the dangers of such mixed company? An appalled thought struck him. “I don’t see Miss Brotherton. Please don’t tell me she’s in there without an escort.”
    “Oliver came with us. She’s dancing with him now.”
    Of course. Who else? “Is Bream up to the task of protecting a young lady in such a place?”
    “The crowd seems good-natured, and Annabella isn’t dressed in a manner to attract much