Princess of Glass by Jessica Day George Page B

admire another woman in front of his current dance partner. And his voice had been loud enough for half the room to hear!
    "Why don't you ask her to dance right now?" Poppy snapped.
    She finally freed herself from the duke's grasp and stalked off the dance floor. She looked over her shoulder just once, briefly, and saw her partner doing just as she had suggested-- walking straight through the rest of the dancers on his way to Ellen without so much as a glance back at Poppy.
    Her faced burned, and she peeked at the bystanders nearest her to see who else was witnessing her shame. But no one was even looking in her direction. They were all fixated on Ellen, Christian, and the duke as he attempted to interrupt the dance and take Ellen's hand away from the prince.
    To Poppy's great satisfaction, Christian handed over Ellen with only a moment of reluctance. Then he immediately sought out Poppy. He had a bemused look on his face, however.
    "An unusual girl," he muttered as he reached Poppy's side.
    "Very," Poppy said curtly, and straightened Christian's jacket for him. She saw that he was wearing the watch ribbon she had knit for him, and she warmed slightly. "I don't want to tell tales, if she wants to be incognito, but I will venture that she's done something she's going to regret to get that gown."
    "If you're going to keep dropping mysterious hints ...," Christian said with a warning in his voice.
    "You'll do what?" Poppy asked archly. Then she made a
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    face. "But truly," she said hesitantly. "I'm worried. I have ... experience with what happens when you make bargains you shouldn't... in order to get what you want."
    "Even more mysterious," Christian said.
    "Well, I--" Poppy hesitated again, uncertain.
    If she told Christian the details of her family's story, what would he say? And would it help matters? The more she watched Ellen in her fabulous gown, covered with a queen's ransom in jewels, the more she was certain that something was about to go terribly wrong.
    "There's something you should know. I--that is, my mother--," Poppy began, but Christian stopped her.
    "Here comes Marianne, Roger, Dickon, and Lady Margaret." He pointed over her shoulder. "And Marianne looks to be in deep dudgeon, as the Bretoners say."
    Poppy turned and saw that it was true. Dickon and Lady Margaret just looked confused, but Marianne was indeed in deep dudgeon while Roger Thwaite's handsome face was creased with concern. Poppy sighed, half with relief and half with regret. She wasn't about to spill the story of her mother's mistake in front of such an audience, which felt simultaneously like a reprieve and a disappointment.
    "Please promise you'll continue your story later," Christian said in an undertone as they were joined by their friends.
    "We'll see," Poppy said.
    "Poppy knows who she is," Marianne was saying. "Don't you, Poppy?"
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    Lady Margaret squinted at the drunken duke and his mesmerizing dance partner. "But Marianne, I don't know what you're talking about," she said. "I would recognize anyone Poppy had been introduced to, and I have no idea who that young woman is. I'm quite put out that she managed to copy Poppy's gown, but other than that... Will you look at those slippers? How breathtaking!"
    Lady Margaret applauded with the rest of the company as the dance came to an end and Ellen breathlessly curtsied to her partner. Already the girl's eyes were searching the crowd for Christian. But, Poppy noticed, they stopped for a moment on Roger Thwaite before skipping on to the prince. Roger, for his part, couldn't take his gaze from Ellen. But rather than the avid expression that everyone else in the room seemed to be giving her, he had a look of mixed longing and unease.
    "Roger," Poppy said quietly, putting a hand on his arm. "Do you know her?"
    The older Thwaite brother looked down at her, his brows knit tightly together. "Yes," he said simply. "Do you?"
    Poppy drew him aside before saying, "She's our maid. But Marianne and Lady