“But hosting a party defeats the whole purpose. I will not reveal myself.”
Aaron leaned back in his seat. “You shall be the mystery that gets everyone to attend. They’ll figure out quick enough that Sayres is Satyr, and I am Ares. If we’re to get the right people to come, I’ll have to tell them who we are.”
Jackson nodded. “The smart ones will figure it out.”
“And we’ll invite your family—”
“You will not!”
“Your brother then. Nathan always loved you.”
It was true. His younger brother had adored him almost as much as Lucas had cherished his tag-a-long sibling. Nathan was the one family member he missed.
“You must tell him you’re alive,” Aaron pressed.
“I will,” he said. “In my own way, and on my own time.”
“On the night of the masquerade.”
Lucas shook his head. “If I’m the big mystery, then everyone will try to expose me. I won’t be able to talk with Diana at all.”
Jackson shook his head. “You’ll have a better chance speaking with her as the host of the party than as some random bloke wearing black. We’ll each pick a lady for the opening dance. You can select her.”
“It’s the only way I’ll agree,” Aaron said.
Lucas blew out a breath. “You’re just trying to expose me to the ton. You think that someone, somehow, will figure out who I am.”
Aaron grinned. “You always enjoyed a challenge. Surely this will make for exciting sport.”
“I didn’t intend it to be sport for me. Just for Diana.”
Jackson clapped his hands. “Now, it’ll be sport for you both!”
Chapter Six
Diana settled into the boat that would take them to Vauxhall. She kept her expression serene, but inside, her heart was pounding with excitement. It was ridiculous, really. It was just a masquerade party, but she was here with her siblings, and it felt like a treat that had been so long denied. Even Gwen’s grumbling as she maneuvered to her seat gave Diana a happy glow.
“I don’t see why you need me here tonight,” Gwen said as she adjusted the dark brown of her dress. “I have a new botany book that is waiting for me at the house. If I took a hackney now, I could be happily reading within a half-hour.” Gwen was dressed as a dog tonight, complete with a canine mask. Diana was sure that her sister had a very specific breed in mind for the animal—with some heavy symbolism attached—but she didn’t dare ask about it. The answer would devolve into a lecture on the poor lot of women in this world. Since Diana already agreed with the statement, she had no wish to revisit the litany of abuses set upon the fairer sex.
“Because no outing would be complete without you,” Diana answered, carefully avoiding the topic of her sister’s choice in costume.
“Yes,” agreed Lilah as she settled down beside Gwen. “So stop talking about leaving. If you go, then as your companion, I shall have to leave as well. And I have been so looking forward to this treat.”
Lilah was dressed simply but to great effect as a lilac fairy. Her dress was green, she was just now tying on her lavender mask, and sprigs of lilac adorned her hair and bodice. On anyone else, it would have looked silly, but Lilah carried herself with such quiet elegance that she never looked ridiculous, ever. It was a quality Diana envied.
Last into the boat came her brother, Elliott, and his new wife, Amber. She wore a simple domino and mask of bright red, but the feathers in her hair suggested she was some sort of bird. And Elliott, Diana was happy to see, was not in all black as was his usual custom. His mask sported red feathers, and he pulled at them irritably.
“Stop fussing with them,” Amber instructed her husband. “They look quite fetching.”
“I do not wear feathers,” he groused, but the smile he bestowed on his wife was tender and indulgent.
“I am, as always, grateful for your attempts to expand your attire.” The words could have been cutting, but they were said with such love and humor that Diana felt a twinge of envy. Especially as Elliott caressed his bride’s face.
“Will you reward me for suffering these damnable feathers?”
Amber’s expression grew mischievous. “I shall indeed.”
“Then, I am content.”
He was besotted, and Diana was so pleased that her brother had found happiness. She looked away to give them some privacy only to see both her sisters watching the pair as well. Gwen frowned as she studied them as she might a strange plant, for botany was her passion. Lilah, on the other hand, seemed to lean forward with such unguarded yearning that Diana was surprised. How sad that the sister most unlikely to find a husband was the one who so obviously wanted it.
On impulse, Diana leaned forward and clasped her hand. “It is possible for you, too,” she whispered.
Lilah started and immediately ducked her head to cover her embarrassment.
“All creatures yearn for love,” Diana continued. “I do not believe God would give us such desires if it were not possible to find it. We only need the courage to reach for it and accept no substitute.”
Her attention had been on Lilah, but she saw Gwen’s frown at her words. The woman was about to chastise her for her romantic notions, and she tensed to defend her thoughts. Instead, Gwen added her hand on top of Diana’s. “It should have been me,” Gwen said to Diana. “I haven’t a romantic bone in my body. I would have been content in a loveless marriage.”
“You marry Oscar instead of me?” Diana said. “You were fifteen.”
“I wouldn’t have cared. Give me my books, and I would have been exceedingly content.”
“As am I,” Diana said. It wasn’t a full lie. She had found her own kind of equilibrium inside her marriage. “Come now, we are here for a party, one that I have been looking forward to for three long weeks.”
Everyone seemed to agree, even Gwen, and soon Diana was settling into the joy of a night out. She hadn’t realized how much she had missed until they were stepping into the pleasure gardens. Elliott found them seats in a box near the orchestra, and the five of them settled in with minimal fuss.
“Look! There’s Lord Ares!” Lilah said, pointing to the box opposite them where a large man in a Roman outfit sat on a throne befitting a warrior god.
“Lord Satyr’s over there,” Gwen said as she pointed to a man wearing trousers meant to resemble a goat’s legs, and instead of a mask, he wore a headpiece with goat horns. He was right now dancing with a jolly flair that made everyone clap, Diana included.
“But where is Lord Lucifer?” Amber asked as she scanned the crowd.
Diana didn’t want to look. She already had one Lucifer in her life; she had little interest in adding another. But the fun was infectious, and she couldn’t help herself. Eventually, Elliott spotted the man and pointed him out to everyone else. Lord Lucifer stood near the orchestra with his arms crossed and his face covered entirely by a black mask. His clothing was equally black, as were the bat-like wings that extended behind him. As Diana studied him, she saw a pair of ladies approach him and try to engage him in conversation. He must have said something rude as they gasped, then backed away with scandalized giggles.