At that moment her escort arrived with the glass of lemonade.
Sybil received it from him with many thanks, and having offered it first
to her companion, who politely declined it, she drank it, sat the empty
glass upon the corner of the mantle-piece and then said: "I will trouble you now, if you please, to take me back to my former
seat."
Death bowed and offered his arm. Fire arose, nodded to the little
Puritan on the sofa, took the arm of her escort, and walked away.
When she reached her old seat she dismissed her escort, and in a few
minutes, finding herself for the instant unobserved, she quietly slipped
away to her bed-chamber, where she found Beatrix Pendleton already
awaiting her.
First of all Sybil locked the door, to insure herself and her companion
from interruption. Then she went to the glass and took off her crown of
flame and her mask of gold gauze, and drew a long breath of relief as
she turned towards her companion, who started violently, exclaiming: "Good Heaven, Sybil! how ghastly pale you look! You are ill!"
"Oh, no; only very weary," sighed Sybil, adding then, in explanation,
"You know these affairs are very fatiguing."
"Yes, I know, but not to that extent, when you have a house full of
trained servants to do everything. Why Sybil, you look as if your fiery
dress had burned you to a form of ashes, leaving only a shape that might
be blown away with a breath."
"Like another Creusa," answered Sybil, coldly. Then changing her tone,
she said, with assumed lightness, "Come, Trix, you want to see some fun,
and you shall see it. You and I are of about one size. We will therefore
exchange dresses. You shall be the Fire Queen and I will be the Puritan
maid. You can sustain the part you will take admirably, and upon
occasion can disguise your own voice or imitate mine. I shall do my best
to enact the little Puritan. But with all we can do to support the
characters, we shall puzzle people to the end of their wits. They will
not feel quite so sure now as they were an hour ago that I am the Fire
Queen, or you the Puritan maid. But they will not know who we are. Come,
what have you to say to this?"
"Why, that it is enchanting. I agree to your plan at once."
"All right, then. We have no time to lose. It is half-past ten o'clock
now. At twelve supper will be served, when all the guests will lay aside
their masks. So you see that we have but an hour and a half to effect
our change of dress and hoax our wise companions. Just before supper we
must slip up here again and change back, so that we may unmask at supper
in our proper disguises."