On the night of the public masquerade at Vauxhall Gardens, Miranda told her mother she was not feeling well. She had her dinner sent up on a tray and peered from the balcony as Lady Somers left for her round of engagements for the evening. Lord Somers accompanied her, but he would leave shortly after arriving at the first rout to head for his club. Though unsurprised at the success of her transparent ruse, Miranda battled a sense of disappointment as her parents sauntered out the door. With as much notice as they took of her, she could take a lover right under their noses and never be caught. She felt depressed instead of liberated by the notion.
Though she had considered buying a costume for the event, for simplicity’s sake, she chose a black domino with pearl gray trim and a matching m
