Page 56 of The Wallflower Ruse

Lucinda escaped Mr. Pearce with the excuse of needing to change into her costume.

Alfreda sat at the dressing table, enveloped in a robe, while a maid brushed her dark curls. “There you are!” she cried gaily. “That was quick. What did Mr. Pearce want to say to you, all alone?”

“Something private,” Lucinda retorted, “which is why we were alone.”

“Spoilsport,” Alfreda said. “Not that I’d want to be alone with him, for I prefer the dark, dangerous sort—but there’s no accounting for tastes.”

Lucinda wandered over to the window, which gave onto a terrace at the back of the house, from which steps descended. The sun was setting. The Thames glistened gold, and the lawn and garden were bathed in shadows. At the far end of the lawn, several yards from the water’s edge, was a mound of brush and wood.

“They’re preparing for a bonfire,” she said.

“Yes, miss,” the maid said. “Fireworks, too.”

Lucinda stared out the window. Workmen were adding more fuel to the mound, and others put groupings of chairs here and there. A pavilion had been erected to one side, under which servants, some costumed as Roman soldiers, were setting up a table for refreshments.

What part might all this play in the plot, if anything? She hoped Restive and his men were aware of the plans for outdoor entertainment. Perhaps some of his men were out there helping... If only she’d been told more about what was going on!

“There’s a costume for you on the bed,” Alfreda said, breaking into her uneasy thoughts. “The maid will help you with it once she has finished my hair.”

A silver satin gown, bedecked with hundreds of glass beads, lay across the bed. The skirts were voluminous, the bodice...far too low! “I can’t wear this!”

“Why not? You’ll be masked.”

“A mask won’t cover up my breasts,” she retorted. “Not only that, there’s practically no shoulder. It’ll probably fall down.”

“No, it won’t, silly!” Alfreda said. “It’s made to stay up until your lover peels it over your shoulders, as he kisses his way down to your nipples.”

The maid tutted, shaking her head.

“Alfreda, can you hear yourself? You’re talking like a—a trollop!” Lucinda said.

Alfreda reddened. “I’m a free woman, a woman who knows what she wants.” She pouted. “I thought you were free, too.”

“Not that sort of free,” Lucinda said.

“There is also a domino for you, miss,” the maid said softly. “With that, you will be respectably covered.”

“That’s good, thank you,” Lucinda muttered. Who, she wondered, had chosen this costume for her? And why?

The maid finished with Alfreda’s hair. Alfreda stood and threw off her robe. Underneath, she was wearing nothing at all!

Lucinda felt herself flush. Such flagrant nudity was unheard of, in ladies at least. Granted, Lucinda took her baths naked, but covered herself immediately before stepping into the water and again after stepping out. Mama and Susannah both wore their shifts to bathe. “Where are your shift and stays?”

“They’re over there on the chair, miss,” the maid said. “I tried to tell her what she’s doing is wrong, but she refuses to wear them. If you can persuade her...”

“She can’t. No one can! I have every right to dress as I please.” Alfreda raised her arms, and reluctantly, the maid lowered the gown of pale blue gauze to cover her.

Except that it didn’t. Lucinda groaned. “Alfreda, it’s transparent! You cannot go to the masquerade like that.”

“I’ll wear a domino over it, silly. This—” she indicated her female charms “—is for the man of my dreams to see.”

“Alfreda, this isn’t wise. In fact, it’s downright stupid.”

“It’s perfect. I have a very womanly body. In fact, a voluptuous one. Don’t I?”

What a mortifying topic. “I suppose so, but—”

“The kind no man can resist!” Alfreda took a purple domino from the maid and fastened it around herself. It did cover her, but only if she was careful to keep it closed. Which, in this wild mood, she probably wouldn’t.