Chapter 21
House of Cards
The opulence of the dining room dazzled Ned and George, distracting them as they waited on the fashionably dressed gentlemen. The host, a spare man with hard eyes and thin lips, took a flute of champagne from Will, dismissing him with a curt gesture as he advanced on the hostess dressed in theatrical finery more suited to the stage than a dining room. All three gentlemen wore opera masks, and Madam Lacey donned one as well, extending a hand for kissing as the leader approached.
Will presented a tray with champagne flutes as Ned took the caped great coat of the second man. He could feel their eyes following him as he turned away to hang the coat in an alcove. George followed him a moment later with two more coats, then they moved to the places indicated by the M
