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Casually shethe side of the ballroom, past spills of conversation about the opera, the Park, and the latest "new thing" As she slipped behind Lady Berwick’s back, she half expected her chaperone to turn and dive at her like an osprey sighting a mullet Fortunately Lady Berwick continued to watch the dancing couples, who circuated the roos

As far as Pandora could tell, her exit froreat staircase and through the great balconied hall, and reached a brightly lit gallery that stretched along the entire length of the house Rows of portraits covered the gallery, generations of dignified aristocrats glowering down at her as she half-walked, half-ran across the inlaid flooring

Finding a door that opened to the back terrace, she paused at the threshold, staring out like a passenger at the railing of a ship at sea The night was deep, cool, and dark She hated to leave the safety of the house But she was reassured by the procession of oil-burning garden torches, consisting of copper bowls set on tall iron poles that lined the path across the wide lawn

Focusing on her mission, Pandora skittered across the back terrace toward the lawn An abundant grove of Scotch firs ent It helped to idly at the edge of the estate grounds

Roughcame from the direction of the river, where work in preparation for a fireworks display At the end of the evening, the guests would gather on the back terrace and along the upper floor balconies to watch the pyrotechnics

The graveled path iant statue of London’s ancient river deity, Father Thaure reclined on an enorently in one hand He was entirely nude except for a cape, which Pandora thought made him look remarkably silly

"Au naturel in public?" she asked flippantly as she passed hiht expect it of a classical Greek statue, but you, sir, have no excuse"

She continued to the sue and a profusion of cabbage roses The open-sided building, with matchboard walls that went halfway up the columns, was constructed on a brick foundation It was adorned with colored glass panels, and illu

Hesitantly she went up tooden steps and entered the structure The only furniture was an openwork settee, which appeared to have been bolted to the nearby colu, Pandora tried not to let the he her best dress, a ball gown made of iridescent shot silk, which appeared silver frole, and lavender froht-fitting bodice and a low scooped neckline A web of intricate tucks in the back flowed into a cascade of silk that fluttered and shi beneath the loose cushions, Pandora climbed onto the seat She squinted at the space between the settee and the curved wall A satisfied grin crossed her face as she saw a rich glitter at the seam of the wall trim and floor

Now the only question was how to retrieve the earring If she knelt on the floor, she would return to the ballroom as dirty as a chimney sweep

The back of the settee had been carved into an ornate pattern of flourishes and curlicues, with spaces wide enough to reach through Tugging off her gloves, Pandora tucked theown Gamely she hiked up her skirts, knelt on the settee, and inserted her araps, all the way to the elbow Her fingertips wouldn’t quite touch the floor

Leaning farther into the space, she pushed her head through and felt a slight tug at her coiffure, followed by the delicate ping of a fallen hairpin "Drat," sheher body, she twisted to fit her shoulders through the opening, and felt for the earring until her fingers closed around it

As she tried to pull out, however, she had unexpected difficulty The settee’s carved ork see awayand heard a few stitches pop She went still It certainly wouldn’t do to return to the ballrooled to reach the back of her dress, but stopped again as she heard the fragile silk begin to tear Perhaps if she slid forward a bit and tried to back out at a different anglebut the es of carved wood digging into her skin After a , Pandora held s

"I’led helplessly "Oh God, I am, I’m stuck Blast Blast"

If she was found like this, it would ht find a way to live with it But it would reflect on her family and make them look ridiculous too, and it would ruin Cassandra’s Season, and that was unacceptable

Despairing and frustrated, Pandora tried to think of the worst word she knew "Bollocks"

In the next mo his throat

Was it a servant? A gardener? Please, dear God, please don’t let it be one of the guests

She heard footsteps as he entered the su soer remarked "As a rule, I don’t recommend the headfirst approach, as it tends to co process" The voice contained a cool dark resonance that did so pleasant to her nerves Gooseflesh rose on her bare skin