Masquerade Read Online Free

mischievously from her perch on a high wooden stool beside the kitchen counter. Her mood had improved considerably once they discarded the leftover sugar and water solution, and tucked the spare cotton strips into a drawer. She hardly seemed like the same squeaking woman she had been a scant half hour earlier.
    “Our Colin, eh? I would think that by now you and Colin would have come to some kind of agreement, dear sister.” Rachel paused, as if weighing her words. Then, with a toss of her head that sent her tawny curls bouncing atop her shoulders, she said, “It makes absolute sense, you know. Penny and I have spoken about it so often it is nearly boring to consider it yet again.”
    The teakettle began to steam on the stove so she swallowed the impulse to reach for Rachel’s throat and, instead, lifted the kettle. Not trusting herself to speak, she concentrated on making tea. The silence in the room was heavy, but it gave Sophie a chance to gather her thoughts.
    When she had warmed the teapot, then discarded the warming water, she packed a small silver ball with tealeaves before dropping it into the pot. She filled the pot to the top, put the lid in place, and then set the nearly empty kettle back onto the stovetop. She turned, put her hands on her hips, and asked, “Am I to understand that you and Penny have been discussing—” She lowered her voice, just in case sound from the kitchen might travel through the heavy oak door, down the hallway, and into the front sitting room. Rather than have Colin hear one tidbit of the utterly insane conversation, she spoke in a voice just above a whisper. “Colin and me? Is that what you are telling me?”
    “Of course, that is exactly what I’m saying. And who else should Penny and I discuss, if not my sister and her brother? Oh, don’t be coy. It is clear as day that you and Colin would make a perfect match. Penny and I have known it for years! I believe there are others who see it, too.”
    Sophie opened her mouth to speak, but her sister cut her off. It was not an altogether unfortunate incident, since Sophie had no idea what—if anything—she might say in her own defense. It occurred to her that the brow shaping might have somehow altered Rachel’s thought processes. Temporary insanity, perhaps? Surely, there had to be some explanation for the preposterous turn this conversation had taken.
    “You know, I daresay you and Colin are the only ones who have not yet realized the sensible nature of such a match. You are well suited to each other, from soup to nuts, and would make such a happy union. Very satisfying, I would think.” Rachel grinned. “In the drawing room and everywhere else, I’d say.”
    No need to ask what she meant. The implication was clear.
    Sophie couldn’t stand another moment of nonsense. She raised a hand, sharply curtailing the flow of words. Rachel’s rosebud mouth snapped shut, giving her the look of a fish caught on a hook, which inspired within Sophie a small jolt of satisfaction.
    Let us not forget who the eldest sister here is, Sophie thought smugly. Too bad Penny and Rachel have been acting merry as grigs. It is time for them to remember themselves.
    “I will not abide such talk, not from you and Penny or from anyone else for that matter. It is unnecessary, uncalled for, and completely undeserved.” Sophie pushed a canary-yellow tea cozy down onto the Brown Betty teapot and went on, “Colin and I are just friends, nothing more. We have never been otherwise, and the arrangement suits us both quite well. All I ask from you and Penny is some respect, Rachel. You cannot speak so flippantly about hearts and attachments. I realize you want everyone to find a match, but if I ever decide to find a parti for my own heart, I will need no assistance from either you or Penny. Do you understand?”
    She directed the tea trolley toward the closed kitchen door. Before she pushed through into the hallway, however, she waited for a reply.
    Rachel,