"Are you absolutely certain, Muriel?" She asked me. Of course I was certain. I had danced and talked and eyed my way through all of these men the past three nights. I hadn't been wasting my time with unsuitable men like Denise had. As soon as I knew he wasn't the prince, I'd moved on to the next. It wasn't hard, really. Most of them had willingly unmasked themselves before I got to them anyway.
"Yes, Mother. I am certain. If Prince Edmond is here, he is one of those five." I pointed them out to her. I had done the hard work. Now it was her turn to introduce us. It would be a waste of my time if she approached the wrong man.
"That man, there, with the red cape. He says he is from Dunningshire, but it may be a ruse. His voice matches the description of the prince. The rest I haven't yet been able to determine anything about. By the third pillar, there's a man with a blue mask and matching trousers, do you see him?"
She stood on her toes to see. "With the black mask or the green?"
I rolled my eyes at her ignorance. "The the green. The black masked man is far too short to be Edmond." Edmond. Yes, I would call him that some day as his wife.
"Alright, who else?" She huffed so much I wondered if she would actually be any help with this.
No, I decided. Let her try those two and I'd take the others. Those were the least likely of the five, anyway.
"Now, Mother, you must remember to be careful. You mustn't scare him away with a direct approach. Edmond mustn't know we are looking until we have found him."
She nodded and disappeared into the crowd. Now it was my turn.
I had only three men left, and of these, my Edmond could be any.
I took my closest option first. Green trousers. Green doublet. Green mask. Green hat. Green feather. This man liked green. I looked fabulous in green. I pictured myself dazzling everyone at our wedding, draped as I would surely be in green gemstones if this were my prince.
I walked up to his side and gave my deepest curtsy.
"Sire, would you honor me by allowing me to dance with you?" I looked up in time to see him knock his neighbor's drink from his hand. Not a good sign.
"M...mm...m...me?" Definitely not a good sign. He grabbed at his throat as if he were choking. "Y...you want..ttt...to d...dance with m...m...me?"
I had to get out. "No."
On to the next.
Only two left. Should I go with bird mask man or black and slim? I decided on the bird mask. I'd seen him wandering around among the other visitors most of the last few days. That's what a prince would do, right? Observe the revelers. Well, if I was wrong, at least I'd know.
I strode toward the man with the bird mask. I was determined not to waste any more of my time being without my prince. The rest of this night all eyes would be on Edmond and I as we danced the night away. I had been working up to this moment for years.
I approached. He was unmoving. Tall, proud, strong. Exactly like a prince should be.
His mask gave me the idea. "You like birds? I adore them. They're so free and delightful. My father owns hundreds of all sorts of birds." That wasn't the least bit true, but he didn't have to know that. "Which is your favorite?"
He said something I couldn't understand. I didn't know anything about birds. For all I knew it was the name of some rare bird.
"Oh, those are lovely," I replied in my flirtiest voice, laying my hand on his arm.
He put his hand on mine and I knew instantly that this could not be Edmond. These hands were coarse and calloused. These were workers' hands, not royal hands.
I walked away without even a word. He was a tradesman. A worker. He should count himself lucky that I spoke to him at all.
I scanned the crowd for Mother and quickly found her. She was watching me and as soon as our eyes met she shook her head. No. Well, I didn't think they were him anyway. So that just left one.
There he stood, in black cloth from head to toe. He was like a lovely, dark beacon. How could this be anyone else? Regal. Handsome. Tall. Everything I dreamed of. Of course, it was hard to tell for sure if it was him. I knew what he looked like, but his defining features were hidden by that little black mask. But he was perfection itself.
Now I just had to figure out a way to gain his attention. He was talking to some little trollop who was quite obviously not his equal. She was diminutive and flighty. Even smaller than our scullery maid, if possible. She looked so pathetic next to him. Her dress was nice, but it did not have nearly fabric to it. There's no way she could have been nobility. Not in that. I had to admit, though, I did envy her shoes. I'd never seen anything like them.
Whoever she was, she was taking far too much of his attention. I fanned myself elegantly. He didn't look up. I brushed his arm with mine. He didn't notice. I even coughed a little, hoping for some reaction - any reaction. Nothing!
So much for subtlety. I had to get him to notice me. So I tripped. Mother would have been proud, if she were watching. I fell right across him and he caught me, just at the right height. He really was perfect. But so was I. Because I managed to pull his mask off on my way. And I was right. It was my Edmond!
"Oh, my goodness!" I feigned embarrassment. I was quite the good actress. "I am so sorry, Your Highness. Thank you for catching me." He looked much too surprised to have me in his arms. But he wasn't looking at me. He was still looking at that mite!
"Your Highness?" She asked him. What a moron.
"What else would you call the prince, girl?" I laughed, gripping his coat. And then she just turned around and ran! She really was stupid.
He tried to run after her, so I cling tighter. I had to distract him quickly. I grabbed my ankle and cried, "Oooh! I think I've twisted it. Please, sire, can you help me to a seat? I think I had better rest a while."
But he didn't help me. He didn't help me at all. He just thrust me into the arms of some tall bumbling fool he called over, Albert, I think he called him, and then he left! My plan had failed. I had searched and searched for him. I had found my Edmond. And then I lost him.
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