He led her to the darkest part of the grove. The moon was not bright that evening, but its lurid rays threw frightening shadows over Faulke's face. As he faced her, Eloise gasped as she recognized the look in his eyes, that desperate fire that had burned in them the day she saw him in the kitchen. "Why have you brought me here?" she asked. "There are secrets..." he said darkly. "Secrets that you should have known long ago, but were told nothing. These involve those closest to your heart. The ones you lost four years ago." Eloise put a hand to her heart. "My parents? Little Edward? Wha--what do you know?" She grasped his arm, "Tell me, please!" He breathed out his agitation in a sigh charged with emotion. Then he fastened his gaze upon her. "Though you know that your loved ones died by a gruesome fate, you don't know how they met that fate, do you?" ~~~~~~~ Her merchant-class family was adopted by the rich Lord Arthur Trellis. Too soon, a fatal accident took everyone she loved from her. Now approaching an eligible age, the naive Eloise Trellis must be married to a wealthy suitor in order to keep the Trellis lineage alive. Yet when her fiance's love for her is not what it seems, and a charming man claims to hold the answers she seeks, Eloise is thrust into a whirlwind of loss, hope, and desire. Who shall she marry in this world that is so new to her? Whom can she trust when every face holds judgment and expectations? Whom can she love when her world has been crushed yet again?

"Don't you dare go smartass on me!" I snapped. My angry command had the opposite effect. He broke into steady laughter. "You jerk! If you're gonna be like that--" I turned sharply to leave. Before I'd taken two steps, I felt Masquerade catch my wrist. "No, no, don't be upset, Jenna," he said, laughing. I stopped but wouldn't face him. "Oh come now, was it all that bad?" he asked. I wanted to hold my ground, but his tone had softened; my aching heart caved in. I turned back quickly and buried myself against him. He put his arms around me. I pressed my cheek against his chest and shifted my mask back into place. "You're so mean," I said, not that I meant a word of it. "Forgive me," he apologized. I could feel how many chuckles he was suppressing. "But you did enjoy bickering." "No, I didn't," I denied, painfully aware that he could hear the smile in my voice. ~~~~ After being humiliated by her boyfriend at homecoming, Jenna Phillips wanders into the nearby park. To her astonishment, an old manor stands among the trees. Curious, she enters to find a ballroom filled with dancing couples decked out in gorgeous masquerade masks. Injured by the press of the throng, Jenna finds herself tended by the mysterious host, a handsome young man known only as "Lord Masquerade." Invited to stay, Jenna remains, little knowing the hidden secret lurking behind those seductive eyes - or the dangerous beckoning of her heart as she begins to fall for Lord Masquerade.