Two Sinful Secrets by Laurel McKee Read Free Book Online

seemed as eager to embrace fun
     and merriment as Sophia was herself. That desire for fun felt almost frantic in the
     air. Camille was smart to seize onto that desire for a good time, and Sophia was glad
     she was here to be a part of it, if only for a short time.
    The door to the balcony opened behind her, and Camille cried, “Sophie, there you are!
     What do you think of our opening night?”
    Sophia studied the crowd again. It already seemed to have grown as more and more people
     squeezed into the salon. “I think you will have a wonderful success.”
    Camille laughed, the diamond stars in her upswept red hair flashing. “Tonight, perhaps.
     They are curious to seewhat we have here—and to see my mysterious new English friend.”
    Sophia shook her head. “No one knows me here, and that is the way it should be. The
     way I want it.” She would be leaving Paris soon enough, and the fewer scandals her
     family knew about the better.
    “But you will not get your wish. Paris loves a beautiful woman, and one who is a mystery
     is irresistible to them. They wonder who you are.”
    Sophia laughed. “How can they even know I’m here?”
    “
Exactement
! You have made them wonder. People have probably glimpsed you going to the shops,
     the beautiful lady in black who hides in Madame Martine’s house, and they want to
     know your story.” Camille tapped her fan on the railing. “I was at dinner at the Café
     Anglais last night and met a party of English people visiting Paris, theatrical sorts
     who are appearing at the Theatre Nationale. Even they had heard of you, and they asked
     me so many questions. But I told them nothing. I just invited them here tonight.”
    Sophia shook her head again, but secretly she was intrigued. English theatrical types?
     Could it be…? But surely not. It seemed too unlikely that she would see him again,
     and it was probably better she didn’t. She didn’t need that sort of trouble, not now.
     “They will soon lose interest in me when they find out the dull truth.”
    “Then don’t tell them anything! Just let them go on wondering.” Camille studied the
     throng of guests below. “I do hope those Englishmen come tonight. The men were so
     very handsome, though one did have some rather fearsome-looking scars on his face.
     But one of them was very sweet, and seemed rather intrigued by you. And itwouldn’t hurt you to meet more people. Then perhaps you will put aside these silly
     thoughts of finding another job. You are perfectly suited to this one.”
    “I will certainly do my best while I’m here. And I will meet anyone you like. It’s
     the least I can do after your kindness to me.”
    Camille smiled happily. “
C’est bon!
That is all you need to do. And now, we should make our appearance before those ravenous
     hordes consume all our champagne. We want them happily tipsy, not falling down drunk.”
    Sophia laughed and followed Camille as they made their way down the narrow, winding
     staircase that led to a secret doorway. The building was an old one that had once
     belonged to a family awarded it by Louis XIV, and it had been used for all sorts of
     nefarious purposes in all the upheavals of France since then.
    Camille had refurbished the palace rooms with polished parquet floors, pale silk wallpapers,
     and new artwork and furniture, but behind the scenes the old place was full of hidden
     stairs and corridors, and tiny rooms complete with peepholes for keeping an eye on
     everything that happened there. Sophia loved it; it was the perfect place for secrets.
    But tonight wasn’t one for subtlety and sneaking around. It was a time for having
     a bit of fun, before she went back to her old life again.
    They stepped through a doorway hidden in the paneling of the foyer, where a stern-looking
     English butler checked names off the invitation list and maids took the guests’ wraps.
     Everyone else had already moved into the main salon, and Sophia could hear the clamor