Daniel widened his smile, recognizing at once that she was vying for his attention.
“You flatter me, Miss Beets,” he said. “But you were the true talent of our two roles.”
Daniel thought he heard some faint snickering coming from the direction of another smaller group of actors, and his lips twitched, dangerously close to laughing.
“You will come and and celebrate with us, won’t you?” Allison asked, blinking her eyes in a blatantly flirtatious manner. “Or, perhaps we can rehearse some of our lines to prepare for our next performance.”
Daniel suppressed another urge to roll his eyes. The last thing he wanted was to spend one second longer with Allison than absolutely necessary. However, invoking her diva wrath might serve to turn the entire cast against him, or even to lose him his beloved role in the play.
“I would never presume to pull your attention away from your adoring fans and friends,” he said, gesturing to the crowd surrounding her, his face becoming humble and timid. “But you do me great honor with your invitation.”
He knew his answer must have been the correct one, because the actress raised her head in what he assumed was meant to be an elegant, regal fashion, and gave a rather self-satisfied smile.
“Of course, you are right,” she said, holding her hand in front of her and touching her hair as though she were looking into a hand mirror. “Perhaps I will find a few moments before we depart the theater for the evening.”
“I look forward to it,” Daniel said, having no intention of meeting with her before leaving the theater.
The actress beamed at him briefly, before turning her attention back to the doting actors. They seemed positively entranced by her, but Daniel could not be less interested. In truth, within seconds, Allison and her attentions were the furthest thing from his mind. His mind was focused solely on Rose Danvers.
Of course, Daniel had known who Rose was, even before she told him. As the daughter of an Earl, she was well known within the ton. And because her father did, indeed, own the theater, she was there quite often helping him. What he had not known, however, was just how beautiful she truly was.
He had never met her formally at any of the social events and, in truth, had never had much cause to pay any special attention to her. That night, however, he found himself enchanted by her. He thought about their brief interaction Earlier in the evening, and he knew that he could not wait to see her again.
He made his way very slowly to the back theater door through which he had made his entrance at the beginning of the evening. The play had only concluded a few minutes before, but he was not sure exactly how long those in attendance might stay to socialize. Fortunately for him, more props had been shifted toward the door, further obscuring it from view. As soon as he was confident that none of the other actors were watching or could see him, he slipped quietly out and into the alley, where Samuel and his carriage were waiting.
“Shall we go back home now, milord?” Samuel asked.
“Not yet,” Daniel said. “However, I do need back my clothes.”
Samuel began shedding his master’s clothes at once.
“Is everything alright?” Samuel asked.
Daniel smiled, even though his valet could not see his expression in the ink black night.
“Yes, Samuel,” he said. “Everything is quite alright.”
Daniel could hear a pause in Samuel’s progress undressing.
“You never wish to go back into the theater after a performance is over,” Samuel said, his voice bemused and suspicious.
Daniel laughed.
“I just wish to speak to someone before departing for the evening,” Daniel said. As he recalled Rose’s lovely face, he could feel his smile spreading, and he was glad that the darkness hid his face so completely.
“Would this person happen to be a lovely young lady?” Samuel asked, finishing handing over Daniel’s clothing.
Daniel laughed again heartily as he removed his mask and handed it over to Samuel.
“I shall meet the carriage out in front of the theater in about half an hour,” Daniel said, without answering his valet’s question.
Samuel chuckled, as well.
“Very well, milord,” Samuel said as Daniel exited the carriage. “And enjoy yourself.”
Sticking to the shadows, Daniel slipped around the side of the building until he reached the front. He chose to walk around to the front door of the theater because, if someone exiting the lobby had seen him disembarking from the carriage, his fib would be ruined. As it was, if there was anyone inside the lobby, he would be able to claim that he had merely stepped outside for some air.
Fortunately, there were few people in the lobby, and those who were did not notice his entrance. He casually proceeded into the auditorium and glanced around. He hoped against hope that he would see the face he sought. After several moments, he spotted a beautiful mass of red hair attached to a slender woman in a deep green dress.
She was standing in front of a gentleman and, as Daniel slowly approached, he could see that her smile was strained and her formerly pink cheeks looked a bit pale. She looked terribly uncomfortable, and Daniel started to move toward her and rescue her.
However, he quickly reminded himself that he was no longer wearing his mask, and she would not recognize him. He instead continued moving in her general direction. He did not wish to appear to be eavesdropping, so he made a grand show of pretending to search for someone. When he was within touching distance of her, he took a calculated step forward that brought him just a bit too close to her, and he bumped gently into her arm.
“Oh,” she said with a startled gasp.
“Please, forgive me, my lady,” Daniel said, now genuinely sorry that he had startled her. “I was looking for someone and grew careless of my surroundings.”
“Careless, indeed,” Rose said, her face turning from shock into indignance. “You could have caused some unsuspecting person to trip and fall.”
Daniel bit his cheek to stifle a laugh. He recalled her indignant anger as she had spoken to him on the veranda, and he found himself even more charmed with her than he had been when he had begun seeking her out.
“You are right, my lady,” he said, bowing to hide the smile that tickled at the corners of his mouth. “I beg your forgiveness and ensure that I will be much more careful.”
Rose eventually smiled. Not as she had on the veranda, but politely, nonetheless.
“No harm done, I suppose,” she said.
Her male companion cleared his throat.
“For whom are you looking?” the man asked brusquely. “Perhaps we can point you in the right direction.”