Chapter 5: Page 1
If ever there had been a night meant for lovers, this
one was!
Dressed as Helen of Troy in a flowing Greek chiton,
Selphie Tilmitt watched with a smile on her lips and a
gentle mist in her eyes when Lord Lionheart and his
fiancée made their entrance at the masquerade ball
celebrating their engagement.
When Selphie and Lord Kinneas had arrived the previous
day, she'd wondered if this match between the scarred
war veteran and his beautiful neighbor could possibly be
based on love. Watching the way Miss Heartily clung to
Lord Lionheart's arm, and his visible pride in her, all
Selphie's doubts had been banished.
Apparently it was possible for two people who had known
each other a long time to fall in love. Until yesterday,
Selphie had believed it quite out of the question. Now
she gazed around the darkening south lawn, where the
ball was being held, and savored the atmosphere of
romantic possibility.
Music wafted on the warm evening air from a small but
skillful orchestra. Guests in colorful costumes made
intricate shifting patterns on the tiled terrace that
served as a dance floor. Tiny tin lanterns cast
twinkling light from the branches of the trees that
surrounded the lawn, mirroring the stars that were
beginning to appear in the darkening sky above.
A masculine voice with a mellow, musical cadence wrapped
around her from behind, shimmering with admiration.
"Helen, 'fairer than the evening air clad in the beauty
of a thousand stars!'"
A delicious blush suffused her cheeks and she spun about
to face…Robin Hood? For an instant, she had thought the
voice belonged to someone other than Viscount Dintch.
But, of course, it couldn't.
Fortunately her mask helped obscure any flicker of
disappointment that might have crossed her face. What
was there to be disappointed about, after all? She had
agreed to meet the viscount here tonight and spend the
evening with him.
"Why, Robin Hood, you are curiously eloquent for an
outlaw." Hard as she tried to recapture the bubbly
banter of the previous evening, it eluded her. "I hope
you do not mean to steal from me." She twirled around,
making the soft folds of bleached muslin billow around
her. "As you can see, I have little worth taking."
"Quite the contrary, my dear." He held out his arm to
her. "You have riches beyond price. To gaze on your
beauty, to hear your laughter, to bask in your smile —
all are treasures of the highest value." His voice rang
with a sweet note of sincerity that Selphie found
difficult to resist.
If ever there had been a night meant for lovers, this
one was!
Dressed as Helen of Troy in a flowing Greek chiton,
Selphie Tilmitt watched with a smile on her lips and a
gentle mist in her eyes when Lord Lionheart and his
fiancée made their entrance at the masquerade ball
celebrating their engagement.
When Selphie and Lord Kinneas had arrived the previous
day, she'd wondered if this match between the scarred
war veteran and his beautiful neighbor could possibly be
based on love. Watching the way Miss Heartily clung to
Lord Lionheart's arm, and his visible pride in her, all
Selphie's doubts had been banished.
Apparently it was possible for two people who had known
each other a long time to fall in love. Until yesterday,
Selphie had believed it quite out of the question. Now
she gazed around the darkening south lawn, where the
ball was being held, and savored the atmosphere of
romantic possibility.
Music wafted on the warm evening air from a small but
skillful orchestra. Guests in colorful costumes made
intricate shifting patterns on the tiled terrace that
served as a dance floor. Tiny tin lanterns cast
twinkling light from the branches of the trees that
surrounded the lawn, mirroring the stars that were
beginning to appear in the darkening sky above.
A masculine voice with a mellow, musical cadence wrapped
around her from behind, shimmering with admiration.
"Helen, 'fairer than the evening air clad in the beauty
of a thousand stars!'"
A delicious blush suffused her cheeks and she spun about
to face…Robin Hood? For an instant, she had thought the
voice belonged to someone other than Viscount Dintch.
But, of course, it couldn't.
Fortunately her mask helped obscure any flicker of
disappointment that might have crossed her face. What
was there to be disappointed about, after all? She had
agreed to meet the viscount here tonight and spend the
evening with him.
"Why, Robin Hood, you are curiously eloquent for an
outlaw." Hard as she tried to recapture the bubbly
banter of the previous evening, it eluded her. "I hope
you do not mean to steal from me." She twirled around,
making the soft folds of bleached muslin billow around
her. "As you can see, I have little worth taking."
"Quite the contrary, my dear." He held out his arm to
her. "You have riches beyond price. To gaze on your
beauty, to hear your laughter, to bask in your smile —
all are treasures of the highest value." His voice rang
with a sweet note of sincerity that Selphie found
difficult to resist.
