All Chapters of The Duke And His Four Wards : Chapter 61 - Chapter 70

   Behind Sophia sat Lord Bullock and Mr. Watson, invited by Felix to act as squires for Sophia and Maribella respectively. Neither was particularly interested in the opera, yet both had accepted the invitations with alacrity. Now, they sat, yawning politely behind their hands, waiting for the moment when the curtain would fall and they could be seen by the other attending members of the ton, escorting their exquisite charges through the corridors.    Maribella, too, was fidgety, settling and resettling her pink silk skirts and dropping her fav. She appeared to be trying to scab he boxes in the tier above. Felix smiles. He could have told her that Henry Byron hated opera and had yet to be seen within the portals of Covent Garden.    Lady Hillsborough, dragon-like in puce velvet, sat de

   Execution of the first phase of the Flemings’ master plot to rescue Antonia and Sir Jack from the machinations of Mrs. Norwood fell to Sophia. An evening concert was selected as the venue most conducive to success. As Sir Jack was tone deaf, enticing him from the real pleasure of listening to the dramatic voice of Señorita Muscariña, the Spanish soprano engaged for the evening, proved easier than Sophia had feared.    Sir Jack was quite content to escort Miss Sophia for a stroll on the balcony, ostensibly to relieve the stuffiness in Miss Fleming’s head. In the company of the rest of the ton, he knew Sophia was pining away and thus, he reasoned, he was safe in her company. That she was one of He more outstanding opulent beauties he had ever set eyes on simply made life more complete. It was rare that he felt at ease with such wom

   The masked ball given by Lady Penhurst was set to be one of the highlights of an early glittering Season. Her ladyship had spared no expense. Her ballroom was draped in white satin and the terraces and trellised walks with the Penhurst House was lavishly endowed were lit by thousands of Greek lanterns. The music of a small orchestra drifted down from the minstrels’ gallery, the notes falling like petals in the gloriously covered heads of the ton. By decree, all the guests wore long dominos, concealing their evening dress, hoods secured over the ladies’ curls to remove even that hint of identity. Fixed masks concealing the upper face were the order, far harder to penetrate than the smaller and often more bizarre hand-held masks, still popular in certain circles for flirtation. By eleven, the Penhurst ball had been accorded the ultimate accolade of being declared a sad crush and her ladyship retired from her position

   As soon as she felt sufficiently camouflaged from her guardian’s eye by the gorgeously coloured throng, Emma Fleming made her way to the ballroom window further from the door. It was the meeting place Sophia had stipulated where Sir Jack was to await further instructions. He was there, in a dark green domino and a black mask.    Emma gave him her hand. “Good!” The hand holding hers trembled. She peered into the black mask. “You’re not going to let Maribella down, are you?”    To her relief, Sir Jack swallows and shook his head. “No. Of course not. I’ve got my carriage waiting, as Miss Sophia suggested. I wouldn’t dream if deserting Miss Maribella.”   

   They had timed their plan carefully to avoid any possible mishap. The unmasking was scheduled for one o’clock. At precisely half-past twelve, Sophia and Sir Jack left the ballroom and strolled in a convincingly relaxed manner down a secluded walk which led to a little gazebo. The gazebo was placed across the path and, beyond it, the path continued to a gate giving access to the carriage drive.    Within sight of the gazebo, Sophia halted, “Maribella’s inside. I’ll wait here and ensure no one interrupts.”    Sir Jack swallowed, nodded once and left her. He climbed the few steps and entered the gazebo. In the dimness, he beheld the rose-pink domino, her mask still in place, waiting nervously for him to approach. Reverently, he went forward and then went d