would happen next. Surely she had packed away enough booty to last her until February.
But no, it appeared that the lady still had sugared larceny on her mind. Once again, she glanced behind her. Rob, too, looked over her bright hair that was crowned with glossy green sprigs of holly. Most of the room’s attention was centered around the far table where cups of very potent eggnog were ladled out to the noisy guests. He glanced back at the lady just in time to witness several more caramels dumped into her expanding bag. She pulled the ties shut with a sleek, self-satisfied smile on her lovely lips. Then she turned her back to the table, snapped open her white silk fan and cooled the pink glow on her cheeks.
Rob noticed that a third dish sat near to him, hidden from her view by a large arrangement of purple hothouse grapes. He wondered what she would do if she spied that one. Propelled by his curiosity and a small spurt of mischief, Rob stepped out from the screen of palm fronds, took the dish in his good hand and circled to the other side of the table. He had meant to place the tempting candy within her reach and withdraw before she turned around, but she must have heard him. The auburn beauty glanced over her shoulder at him, then at the full silver plate in his hand.
His breath caught in his throat. A sliver of his once-legendary charm awakened. On a sudden impulse, he bowed his head and offered her the candy dish. “I believe you missed these,” he murmured. One corner of his mouth twitched upward. The startled expression on her face made her look even more alluring in the golden candlelight.
She blushed a little, but did not turn away shamefaced as he had expected her to do. Instead, she beamed a radiant smile. “How silly of me to have misplaced those little rascals, and how clever of you to find them for me! Thank you so very much.”
Without a moment’s hesitation, she shut her fan, then pried open her bag and swept a few more caramels on top of the others. The entire operation took less than a minute. She sucked the powdered sugar evidence from her fingers. Her pink tongue curled around her thumb in the most innocently provocative manner. Rob swallowed hard. She smiled at him again. Her smiles, like pure sunshine, warmed his stony soul.
Julia’s vision swam. She blinked to pull it back into focus. Her heart had nearly jumped out of her mouth when the stranger spoke to her. The handsome man’s sudden appearance so surprised her that she nearly lost her composure. Then he smiled.
He was extraordinarily handsome. His Federal uniform concealed his body from neck to boots, yet Julia sensed a strong physical power that lay coiled deep within him. Though the supper room was crowded, his presence compelled her attention, despite the faint air of isolation he wore about his tall figure. Beneath his thin silken mask, his bronze skin pulled taut over his cheekbones. His near-black hair gleamed in the golden light; one rogue lock fell across his forehead.
Julia snapped open her fan and tried to calm her racing heart. She was sure it was only because he caught her red-handed that she felt as though she had a fever. Best to put a good face on the embarrassing situation, and pray that this Yankee possessed manners to go with his good looks.
She started to say “I do declare,” but remembered in time that her colloquialism might give herself away as a Confederate. Instead, she opened with, “I fear that I am plagued with an insatiable sweet tooth, and the only remedy I know is a surfeit of caramels. I hope you will forgive me and overlook my boldness, sir.” She fanned herself a little harder. He had the most enticing dark eyes she had ever seen.
The masked officer chuckled, his voice rich and smooth like hot fudge. “Your secret is safe with me, provided that you leave whatever more there may be for the rest of us poor mortals to enjoy.” His lips twitched into a half-smile.
Julia couldn’t breathe. Heavens! She must have eaten too much or her corset had grown too tight. She willed herself to remain unruffled, all the while fanning herself harder. She gave him a sidelong glance out of the corner of her eye. My, but he was tall, much taller than most of the men she knew. They must grow them big wherever he came from.
“Where do you come from?” she blurted out, to cover her discomfort.
He blinked behind his mask. Were his eyes black or merely dark brown? “From New York, miss,” he replied. “And you?”
I can’t possibly say Virginia. She smoothed her mask. Of course! At a masked ball, everyone pretended to be someone else. So would she.
“Over hill, over dale, through bush, through brier,” she answered, quoting lines from the First Fairy’s speech in A Midsummer Night’s Dream. “Over park, over pale, through flood, through fire I do wander everywhere, swifter than the moon’s sphere, and I serve the fairy queen.”
Her companion cocked his head, then grinned, displaying a perfect set of even white teeth. In her champagne-befuddled state, Julia found this very attractive.
“Thou speakest aright. I, too, am a merry wanderer of the night,” he replied from the same play, though he changed Puck’s words slightly. Even his grin took on the impish quality of Shakespeare’s “merry sprite.”
Julia widened her eyes. Hardly a soul she knew could quote Shakespeare off the top of their heads, especially out of context. Only Frank did, but that was long ago. Perhaps there was more to this Yankee than brass buttons and polished boots—and those beautiful teeth. Perhaps this was the Yankee she would allow to “ruin” her.
Julia smiled up at him. “Either I mistake your shape and making quite, or else you are that—” here Julia dropped the next word, “rude”, and continued “—that knavish sprite called Robin Goodfellow. Are you not he?”
Again he looked as if she had surprised him. This time his smile was warmer. He made a mock bow to her. “You have truly found me out, Fairy Princess. Which one are you? Peaseblossom, Cobweb, Moth or Mustardseed?” he asked, naming the four fairy handmaidens from the play.
Delighted to continue this unexpected literary wordplay, Julia tapped her fan against the side of her cheek while she pretended to give the matter serious consideration. She felt very light and airy. “Cobweb, because I weave many webs of intrigue,” she answered with more than a grain of truth. If she continued to hold his interest, maybe she could lure him into a dark corner where her books said that men ruined young ladies. Unfortunately, her references had not described the details.
Just then, three more young officers in blue surrounded them; all of them held crystal cups overflowing with creamy eggnog.
“There you are, Rob!” cried the most inebriated member of the group. “It cheers me to the very soul to see that you are having a good time.”
The other two men raised their cups and shouted “Hear, hear” before draining their contents.
Leaning close to Julia’s ear, Rob whispered, “Pay them no mind. It’s only my cousin and some of his friends.”
His warm breath tickled her skin in the most amazing and thoroughly delightful manner. She shivered inwardly with excitement. Behind her fan, she replied, “I, too, am infected with cousins, though mine are much less pleasant than yours.” She grimaced as she thought of Payton. She must implement her plan soon before she lost her courage or the effects of the champagne wore off.
“These merry souls are Flute and Snout,” Rob said, pointing to his cousin’s friends, naming two more characters from Shakespeare’s romantic comedy. Looking surprised, the officers toasted the couple again, then they drained their cups. “My cousin is deservedly known as Bottom, for he is always found at the bottom of the heap.”
The cousin
