Violet lifted her head and patted her small purse. “Santa’s elf gave me this.”
“Tis a lovely purse,” Pirate Pete said. “Now you promise to be a good lass for your mother until Christmas?”
“Or get a lump of coal,” Gunner chimed in.
Violet solemnly nodded. “Santa and Jingle know I’ll be good.”
Pete and Gunner walked them to the parking lot. “Tori and I are collaborating on a new project. We have some details to work out, but thought you might be interested in joining us.”
Carlita lifted a brow. “Most definitely. I’m interested.”
Pirate Pete promised to fill her in once Tori and he had ironed out the details. They thanked him again for a wonderful day before crossing the street and heading home.
Mercedes fished her keys from her pocket and unlocked the back door. “That was so much fun. Now all we have to do is patiently wait for the Merry Masquerade party.”
Chapter 7
“Are you sure I don’t look gaudy?” Mercedes lifted the edge of her red velvet gown and twisted to the side. “The slit isn’t too revealing is it?”
Carlita tilted her head. “Stick your leg out so I can see how much skin is showing.”
Mercedes shifted her leg.
“Nah. You look gorgeous. Every single man at the party will be drooling over my beautiful daughter.”
“Thanks Ma. You look smokin’ hot yourself.”
“Are you sure I don’t look kinda frumpy?” Carlita patted her midsection. “All that turkey and stuffing, not to mention the desserts we indulged in on Thanksgiving at the restaurant. Maybe it’s a good thing we ate out and we didn’t have all of those leftovers.”
“I miss having leftovers,” Mercedes said. “But back to the outfit. You look stunning Ma. You’re a class act all the way. Too bad Pop isn’t here to see how beautiful his wife looks tonight.”
Carlita’s throat started to swell at the thought of her Vinnie. “Yeah. I wish he was here too, but then we wouldn’t be going to a masquerade.”
“True.” Mercedes could tell the remark made her mother sad and quickly changed the subject. “What do you think of my mask?” She held the rhinestone studded mask to her eyes.
“You look mysterious and seductive.”
“Thanks. Now where’s yours?” Mercedes asked.
Carlita held up a baby blue mask. It was the same shade as her evening gown. Rhinestones lined the outer rim and it sported a matching blue feather that plumed off the side.
“I love it.” Mercedes glanced at her watch. “Autumn should be here any minute. In fact, I’m surprised she’s not here already. She’s been driving me crazy all day about this party. You’d think we were attending a Buckingham Palace ball.”
“We should leave soon. Tony, Shelby and Violet are going to beat us there,” Carlita said.
At first, Tony told his mother he would not attend the Merry Masquerade because Shelby couldn’t find a suitable sitter for Violet. It seemed that everyone in Savannah had been invited to Montgomery Hall’s Merry Masquerade party.
All of that changed when Carlita made a quick trip to Montgomery Hall to deliver some extra folding chairs she thought Tori could use for the party. Tony and Shelby had gone out for an afternoon, leaving Carlita to care for Violet, and the young child had gone with her.
Violet had promptly taken to Byron, which surprised Carlita because Byron was, for the most part, unapproachable. She quickly realized the feeling was mutual and while Carlita helped Lucien unload the chairs, Violet accompanied Byron to the kitchen for cookies and ice cream.
By the time Byron and Violet returned to the drawing room, the young child had wrapped him around her little finger.
“Byron and Mrs. Tori said I can come to the party, too.”
“They did?” Carlita gave Tori a questioning look and her host nodded slightly. “Of course. Mr. Byron most certainly needs an assistant to help him the night of the party.”
Tori knelt down until she was eye level with Violet, her expression somber. “But you must dress in your fanciest dress, and if you don’t have one, we shall promptly purchase one, along with your mask for the masquerade.”
Violet solemnly nodded. “Mrs. Tori, I have a sparkly dress at home. It’s pink and purple with flowers.”
“I’m sure it will be perfect.”
And that was how Violet came to be invited to the most sought-after event of the season.
Carlita reached for her beaded handbag. “I think we’re all excited and no one more so than Violet. You should’ve seen the look on her face the day Tori invited her to the party; and Byron, well, that little girl turned him into a pile of mush.”
Autumn arrived in a whirlwind of tulle and Chantilly lace, beaming from ear to ear and nearly floated into the apartment. “I brought my phone. Do you think Mrs. Montgomery will mind if I take a few pictures?”
Autumn didn’t pause long enough for Carlita to reply. “I’m not sure of the proper protocol when meeting a Montgomery. I heard the family is three removed from British royalty. Should I bow?”
Carlita snorted. “I’ve never bowed, but then I never thought about it.” She could see Autumn was serious and quickly sobered. “Why don’t you follow the other guest’s lead?”
“That’s a good idea. I’ll do that.”
The women wandered out of the apartment and it took several minutes to get Autumn squeezed into the backseat of the car. Her main concern was that the cramped interior of the car would wrinkle her dress.
“How did you get to our place?” Carlita asked as she shook her head at Autumn’s third attempt to delicately glide onto the seat.
“I rode my Segway. Of course, I had to secure it with some shoestrings because it kept flying up.”
Mercedes burst out laughing. “No way.
