Wicked Widow by Amanda Quick Page B

walks. Music, laughter, and occasional bursts of applause rose and fell across the grounds.
    Madeline glanced at a group of noisy young people who had gathered in front of the anchoress’s cave. “I vow, that cavern looks quite real.”
    “That is the point, Mrs. Deveridge.”
    He tightened his grip on her arm and drew her toward the far end of the pleasure gardens where the woods lay shrouded in darkness. They passed the entrance to the Crystal Pavilion, where an audience had gathered to watch troupes of clockwork toy soldiers engage in a mock battle.
    Applause spilled from the neighboring pavilion.
    Madeline turned to look at its illuminated entrance. “What entertainment is provided in that hall?”
    “That is the Silver Pavilion. I have hired a mesmerist to give demonstrations.”
    “Oh yes, of course. It was the mesmerist whom Nellie and Alice were so eager to see the other evening.” She eyed him curiously. “Do you believe in the powers of mesmerism, sir?”
    He listened to the enthusiastic shouts of approval that echoed from the Silver Pavilion. “1 believe in selling tickets, madam. The mesmerist does that quite well.”
    Instead of smiling at his small bit of irony, her mouth tightened in a vaguely troubled line.. “There are elements of Vanza that rely on what might be termed mesmerism.”
    “I will not argue with that. The mind is an unknown realm. Its mysteries lie at the heart of the philosophy of Vanza.”
    The crowd began to thin as the graveled path grew darker.
    “Where are we going?” Madeline asked uneasily.
    “To a section of the gardens that has not yet been opened to the public. We can be private there. I will show you the newest attraction.”
    “What is that?”
    “The Haunted Mansion.”
    Her head came around swiftly. [_”Haunted?” _]
    The sharpness of tone surprised him. “Do not tell me that you are afraid of ghosts, Mrs. Deveridge. I would not believe it for a moment.”
    She said nothing but he could feel the tension in her.
    Ghosts?
    When they reached the dark hedges that walled off the far end of the grounds, Artemas removed his mask.

    “There is no need to be concerned that anyone will see you here, Mrs. Deveridge. This section of the grounds is closed to visitors.”
    She hesitated and then reluctantly reached up to take off her own mask. The moonlight gleamed on her dark hair.
    “The Haunted Mansion is still under construction.” Artemas opened a gate and picked up an unlit lantern that had been left nearby. “It is due to open next month. I expect it will be very popular with young people and courting couples.”
    Madeline said nothing as he lit the lantern and guided her along a graveled path walled in with high hedges. They rounded a corner and confronted a stone gate.
    “The new maze,” Artemas explained as they went past the gate. “It will open together with the Mansion.
    I designed it myself, using a Vanza pattern that I trust will confound most of my customers.”
    “I do not doubt it. My father always claimed that Vanza mazes were the most intricate he had ever encountered.”
    The disapproval in her voice made him smile. “You do not care for mazes?”
    “As a girl I enjoyed them. But later I came to associate diem with Vanza.”
    “So of course you ceased to find them amusing.”
    She slanted him an enigmatic glance but she did not respond.
    He drew her around another corner. The Gothic facade of the Haunted Mansion loomed in the moonlight, its narrow windows appropriately dark and foreboding.
    Madeline studied the ominous looking structure. “It looks exactly like a castle in one of Mrs. York’s horrid novels. I vow, I would think twice about entering the place myself.”
    “I shall take that as a compliment.”
    She gave him a startled look. Then she gave him a reluctant smile. “I collect that you had a hand in the design of this attraction as well as the maze? ”
    “Yes. I believe this one will send a few chills down the spines of my more