Miss Austen and the devil himself

"I'm having it, by the way."

He was suddenly there; tall, black-haired, his face hidden under the mask of a black bird.

"What?" I asked, because he had spoken quite low. He grinned and I felt his fingertips on my arm. "The formula for an exciting evening. Weren't you looking for one?"

"Actually, I just wanted to leave."

"See? Through the backdoor, I suppose?"

How did he ...? Since it was my boss's success party, I had intended to say goodbye to my closest colleagues and then vanish through the garden. Now I was caught out by a raven-man.

I pursed my lips. "And you are?"

"What if I was the devil himself?"

"Then I must be Jane Austen."

"Miss Austen it is, then."

I opened my mouth and closed it again without saying anything. Miss Austen it is, then. He seemed unshakable, prepared with a self-confidence I had not expected. And while we had been talking, he had taken me away from the door. It was impossible to leave unseen.

"What do you say, Miss Austen?" he asked now. "Do you want to stay a bit longer?"

Over his shoulder, I could see the antique clock near the buffet. Dryly I replied: "Seems, I have to wait another thirty minutes for the next train."

"Perfect."

This was the first time, I looked at him directly. "Perfect?"

"Of course." I could see amusement in his eyes. "What would you like to do now, Miss Austen? Have you tried the pumpkin soup? The cocktails? Do you want to dance?"

"Why?"

"Because we should." His husky voice became softer. "My girlfriend left me for a colleague of mine, today. What is your reason to attend this party alone?"

"My ..." I sighed. "My date preferred a football match on TV." I still couldn't believe that this had happened to me.

"See. And this is why we should enjoy ourselves."

I thought. And nodded.

We tried the cocktails, the pumpkin soup, danced, watched the glamorous people under the dimmed light of candles and a chandelier. I was in the finance department and he was on the IT side, so we had never met before. Thirty minutes were a blink of an eye, a Venetian dream of masks and dresses and chatting.

"Thank you, for this nice evening," I said finally after our last dance. He smiled. "I should be thankful, Miss Austen."

"Some last words, until I vanish through the backdoor, Mr. Devil himself?"

"I'm glad, you asked." He bent down as if to kiss me. His lips stopped a centimeter in front of mine, his eyes were hypnotizing. "Just as we danced, Miss Austen, some ... IT-people were hacking my colleague's –your boss's – computer and I dare say that the company might be bankrupt by tomorrow." My breath stopped for a moment. There was his grin again. "Miss Austen, have you ever thought of getting a new job? Because the devil himself says, you better should."