An Elegant Façade (Hawthorne House Book #2) Read Online Free

included watching Ryland dangle on a hook, Colin didn’t want to miss it. “I have. I hadn’t intended to go, but if you’re going to be there, I’ll have to change my plans. The ton won’t know what to do with such an interesting piece of gossip.”
    Ryland tapped the card into his palm. “I think a masquerade will do nicely. I can ease her into the idea of my being in Town without her recognizing me.”
    A groan trapped itself in Colin’s throat. Lady Miranda had already met Ryland, only not in the form of a duke. She knew Ryland as her brother’s valet, the role he’d played while he investigated the French spies in Hertfordshire. Obviously the woman had made a considerable impression on Ryland, and it was possible he’d made an impression on her as well, despite his posing as a servant. No amount of esteem was going to make a woman happy that she’d been deceived for months, though.
    And there was no easing someone into a revelation of that magnitude.
    Not to mention the fact that Ryland was still, as far as Colin knew, actively seeking the Napoleonic spy who had gotten away. “What about the case?”
    The other man shrugged. “Every lead but one is stone-cold. Another agent of the War Office can follow Lambert as easily as I can.”
    Colin looked at Jeffreys, who shook his head, silently agreeing with Colin that there was nothing to be done to change Ryland’s mind. Clearly, the duke wasn’t thinking straight.
    Ryland’s life was about to get very complicated. And Colin planned to be right in the middle of it.
    After all, watching Ryland muddle his way through such a revelation was going to be too much fun to miss.

Chapter 2
    “I think I pulled the mask too tight.” Harriette frowned as she slid a finger along Georgina’s forehead, tracing the edge of the white jeweled mask.
    “Leave it.” Georgina put up a hand to stop Harriette from loosening the white silk ribbon. In truth, the edges were biting into her skin, but she didn’t want to lose the benefit of the hours spent making the mask frame her eyes and hair to perfection.
    “Very well.” Harriette adjusted a curl on Georgina’s coiffure as she frowned.
    Georgina turned her head, making sure that the artful blond curls fell behind the mask in such a way that it hid the fact her ears weren’t exactly even. Nothing could be left open to criticism tonight. She had only one chance to create the right first impression.
    She rose to prance across the room, ensuring that her dress wouldn’t bind or scratch during the dancing. The silken skirts swished pleasantly against her legs, but the bodice was going to take some getting used to. The structured front panel and dropped waist were very striking but also very restrictive to a woman who’d grown up with her skirts flowing freely about her middle.
    The white-on-white embroidery that decorated the bodice felt stiff under her fingers as she ran a hand over the structured panels.Thank goodness she didn’t have to strap herself into a dress like this every day.
    Georgina shook her head before turning to the mirror to check the fit of the mask once more. She tried smiling, laughing, and even pantomimed the act of drinking. Yes, the mask had been designed very well.
    “This night is going to be perfect, Harriette. Everything is going to go according to plan.”
    Harriette said nothing as she helped Georgina arrange the white velvet cloak around her shoulders.
    Curving her lips into the coy-yet-innocent smile she’d been practicing for the past year, Georgina curtsied before the maid. “How do I look?”
    “Like an angel.” Harriette’s smile was as genuine as Georgina’s was fake, but they were the only ones who knew that. Anyone who saw the maid wrap Georgina in a light hug, carefully avoiding the elaborately curled hair, would think both women were happy about the night’s potential. “Good luck, my lady.”
    Georgina returned the hug. “I have a plan, dear Harriette. I don’t need