CONTROL #1: Unmasking Mr. Darcy [PREVIEW ONLY]

Chapter 10.1 : Incognito

"Charlie, love, why didn't you tell me this was going to be a sex party?"

Charlie narrowed her eyes at Asher, an expression not hidden behind her gold mask. "It's a Victorian masquerade party, not a sex party," she said, keeping her voice low. They stood in a mezzanine, watching the guests in rich, glittering suits and gowns below them in the music room that had been transformed into a ballroom. "And why do you sound like that?"

"Why did you think those Victorians threw masquerade parties, anyway?" he said, his fake English accent more pronounced. "It's so they could do orgies without anyone knowing who they were." He wagged his eyebrows, an expression also not hidden behind his mask. Adjusting his neck cloth, he added, "And if you're referring to my English accent, I'm just being on brand, as the kids like to say."

"You sound stupid." Her gaze moved back to the crowd below, making sure that everyone was having a good time.

"Trust me, nothing gets a woman to toss up her skirts faster than this accent."

She gave out a barely audible snort. "I thought it was your millions of dollars."

"And my rugged yet polished handsomeness." He nodded. "But since your party requires I be incognito and cover half my face, I need something else to sell."

"We're not required to keep our identities secret, Asher. You can tell people who you are."

"Ah, but what's the fun in that?"

"As much as I'm enjoying standing up here brooding with you like Batman, I think I need to mingle." She turned to leave, then looked over her shoulder. "Try not to scare off my guests, will you?"

The corner of his mouth lifted in a smirk. "With my rugged handsomeness? Never!"

With a roll of her eyes, she stalked off in a cloud of pale green silk.

When he was alone, he continued his observation of the guests. Planning. Formulating a strategy.

Jade would be here tonight. First order of business was to figure out which one of the masked women she was. Second, to get her away from her date. Asher was sure he'd only need a few minutes — maybe even a waltze or two — to charm her. Back in the Fold office, she was all business. What he needed was to meet her in a more social setting, like a party. This party.

He sighed. He'd have better luck down among the guests. He didn't like crowds much, which was why Charlie knew to find him up there in the mezzanine. Oh he'd go into crowded places if he needed to. But he avoided it if he could. Still, he needed to find Jade, even if he had to go down there and look closely into every dark-skinned woman's mask-covered face until he found her.

With a deep breath and a quick tug of his evening jacket, he started toward the staircase.

***

"Fuck," Lizzy muttered under her breath.

"What is it?" Jade said, leaning over. She spoke close to Lizzy's ear, so she could be heard over the din. They stood just inside the wide open main doors of the ballroom, pausing to survey the scene. There was about two hundred guests, all dressed in Victorian ball gowns and evening suits. All of them were masked, as she and Lizzy were. The invitation came with elaborately decorated masks.

Because the invitation was for Jade and her boyfriend, one mask was made of simple black satin — pressumably for Henry— and a silver satin one trimmed with tiny beads and a few feathers— pressumably for her. But she didn't much like the silver mask, so Lizzy offered to wear it instead.

"Piper Scanlon is heading this way," Lizzy said. "I'm guessing she wants to say hi to you or whatever."

"Oh. You've met her, haven't you?"

"Unfortunately. She's still mad about my review of her movie two years ago. I'm going now."

She was about to bolt when Jade said, "Lizzy, she's not going to yell at you in the middle of the party."

"No. She'll probably hug me and give me a kiss on the cheek." Lizzy shuddered. "I can't bear to be around so much plastic."

Before her friend could reply, Piper glided the few feet between her and Jade with a dramatic sweep of her arms. "Jade!"

Lizzy darted away while the two women greeted each other.

What to do first? It felt freeing, dressed up in a man's evening clothes and wearing a mask. She snagged a flute of champagne from a waiter. "Merci," she said, then giggled to herself. Maybe she should use an accent for the rest of the night. She was dressed as a fictional French inventor, so she might as well do the full cosplay.

"Hmmm... I didn't expect to meet someone from the Continent tonight."

She turned toward the voice. He was tall, and clearly well-built under his evening clothes. His black satin mask covered most of his face but if his mouth and jawline was anything to go by, he was quite good-looking. Sexy, even. Especially with that accent.

Her heartbeat kicked up a few paces. The look of unveiled curiosity and desire in his eyes made her insides grow warm. "A pleasant surprise, I hope?" she replied cooly in the best French accent she could muster.

"Absolutely." His gray eyes grew dark as he moved closer. He took her free hand gently and brought it up to his lips as he bowed.

A thrill raced up Lizzy's spine when his mouth brushed ever so slightly against her gloved hand. "Oh my."

"Blackstone, at your service." He straightened, but didn't let go of her hand. "And you are..."

"Genevieve," she said, suppressing a smile.

"Enchanté, mademoiselle." He eyed her suit. "It's mademoiselle, isn't it?"

"Oui." Reluctantly, she pulled her hand away.

"Do you always dress in men's clothes, Genevieve?"

She shrugged. "I cannot abide a corset."

"I understand perfectly." He nodded at her wrist. "No dance card, I see?"

"Ah but I don't dance either, monsieur."

"A pity." His gaze raked over her. "Could I interest you in some cake, perhaps?"

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I hope you enjoyed the first part of chapter 10, loves! Don't forget to vote. Next update (chapter 10.2) will be on Friday, 29 March. In the meantime, the full chapter 10 is available here, with chapter 11 going up in a few days (please type the URL in your browser):

https://anselacorsino.com/control

Enjoy your weekend!