Gordon's, so it was an easy matter to slip away, give
my long cloak and thick veil to a maid, and return to Mrs. Carleton
before she had missed me, and it was most laughable to see the dear
lady go in search for me, peering in everyone's face. But she did not
find me, although we went down the stairs and in the drawing-room
together, and neither did one person in those rooms recognize me
during the evening. Lieutenant Joyce said he knew to whom the hair
belonged, but beyond that it was all a mystery.
That evening will never be forgotten, for, as soon as I saw that no
one knew me, I became a child once more, and the more the maskers
laughed the more I ran around. When I first appeared in the rooms
there was a general giggle and that was exhilarating, so off I went.
After a time Colonel Fitz-James adopted me and tagged around after me
every place; I simply could not get rid of the man. I knew him, of
course, and I also knew that he was mistaking me for some one else,
which made his attentions anything but complimentary. I told him ever
so many times that he did not know me, but he always insisted that it
was impossible for him to be deceived, that he would always know me,
and so on. He was acting in a very silly manner--quite too silly for a
man of his years and a colonel of a regiment, and he was keeping me
from some very nice dances, too, so I decided to lead him a dance, and
commenced a rare flirtation in cozy corners and out-of-the-way places.
Pages:
183
184
185
186
187
188
189
190
191
192
193
194
195
196
197
198
199
200
201
202
203
204
205
206
207