AC Syndicate: Isolated Files [OS]

Masquerade [Alternative]

[Victoria Reid, as middle-class woman]

Tonight, the Reid and Cameron families, soon to be united by a business marriage between Victoria and Thomas, were invited to a party at the residence of Sophie March, a Reid acquaintance. Both families had agreed to come, after all, it had been a long time since they had seen the company director. Despite the immorality of this type of reception, Mrs March had decided to organise a masquerade. She didn't care about the criticism or scandal that might ensue. In her opinion, life was too short to miss out on fun. The masquerade was perfect for that.

The Reids' carriage, ahead of the Camerons', stopped at the gate of Mrs March's grand mansion, where the end of a red carpet awaited them. The hostess had gone out of her way to make this one of the finest evenings of the Season, and also to make a change from the more traditional balls and receptions. She wanted to offer a break, some fun between two boring evenings where men were looking for their future wives to marry, to create links, to arrange business in a friendly atmosphere and much more. Sophie March had been organising masquerades for several years.

Victoria got out of the horse-drawn carriage first, the black velvet domino-mask, adorned with small stones in the colours of the Sapphire and a few sea-blue feathers at the right end of the mask, in her right hand. She looked at the front of March Manor as her parents got out of the car. The two families outside, they began to walk on the red carpet, while the two carriages left to be parked. The two fiancés walked side by side, their faces still uncovered. Thomas looked at Victoria out of the corner of his eye, who was nervous and it showed. He pursed his lips and looked straight ahead. The lady had no fears about the particularity of the evening. It was even what she preferred the most, especially since she liked the organizer so much. No, the young woman was apprehensive about her entrance and had always been nervous when she went to large receptions.

At the front door, politely opened by the tuxedoed servants, the engaged couple and the four parents behind them finally put on their masks. The hostess's butler welcomed them into the hall and guided them to the garden, where the festivities were taking place. The ball was illuminated by lanterns hanging from wires attached to large garden spikes, which were themselves decorated with floral arrangements whose mixture of colours and flowers was nothing but harmony. A gazebo on the right had been set up, where musicians were giving rhythm to the evening's atmosphere. The heiress was amazed by the sounds and what she saw. Sophie March, in discussion, saw the newcomers and apologised to her guest for interrupting the conversation and went to see them.

"Good evening to you," she greeted as the parents of the engaged couple followed them. "Welcome," she said. "I hope you have a pleasant evening."

"Thank you very much," Victoria replied with a big smile that Sophie recognised. "The garden is beautiful," she added, looking around.

"I knew you would like my decorations," she said triumphantly. "I won't bother you any longer," she continued, looking around at the two families. "I still have to see other people."

"Please do," Amelia retorted.

As Sophie March disappeared into the masked crowd, Victoria felt a hand rest on her slightly bare shoulder. Then the same hand turned towards the sky, implying an invitation to dance to this new piece of music which began with a few soft and pleasant notes, giving a romantic air to the evening.

"Would you mind if I had this dance?" asked the masked man.

Victoria looked at Thomas for a few moments, as if she wanted to ask his permission, although that wasn't what she was looking for. Embarrassment had caused her to turn to him, who nodded his approval. He couldn't say anything, everyone was anonymous. The black-masked, navy-blue-feathered lady turned back to the man who had invited her to dance and finally took his hand. He gently pulled her towards the dance floor, delimited by a platform wide enough to accommodate a good number of dancers, positioned just opposite and a few metres from the musicians' gazebo.