Mardi Gras Masquerade by L A Morgan Page B

would be out and she would not have to face the disappointed suitor.   Of course, there would be no way to avoid his brother, but that was a trial she would face when she came to it.
    In the same vein of thought, Marla would probably try to get a hold of her when she did not call.   Maria bit her lip in fearful anxiety when it occurred to her that the model would ask at the hotel for Maria Jones and identify herself as Maria Fontaine.   What would the desk clerk think?   Would he be at liberty to pass on the DuPonts’ home phone number?   What a problem that could present!
    Maria could have saved herself all of this dreadful anticipation regarding her roommate.   An hour after she had left for New Orleans , Maria Fontaine had boarded a flight to Rio de Janeiro to enjoy Carnival with her current boyfriend.   She never had any intention of waiting around for this situation to explode.   It was something she would find to be too stressful.
    Instead of telling Maria her plans, she had allowed her friend to think that she had a firm ally back at home.   This made Marla feel somewhat guilty, so she had devised a plan to deceive herself into believing she was a caring person.   While Maria was at Mardi Gras , she would enjoy its Brazilian equivalent, telling herself that this made them closer in spirit.   Marla might not have appreciated the fine reasoning behind this willful self-deception if she had known what was occurring in New Orleans .
    The sunset dinner cruise Steve had mentioned earlier had not been brought up again.   Their relationship had altered radically since that last romantic encounter on the levee.   Maria wondered if she would be permitted to leave the house at all before she spoke with Tienne DuPont.   There was no longer any reason for her to wear her Mardi Gras gown, so she changed into a casual blouse and slacks.
    After that, there was nothing to do except to wait for someone to suggest something.   She did not want to invite further abuse from Steve by making her presence evident in the house, so she went out on the balcony and sat on one of the chairs just outside the door.
    The tranquil atmosphere soothed her troubled mind.   No other house was in sight for as far as she could see.   Maria was alone, but she could not feel lonely while she had such beauty surrounding her.
    She watched the birds singing sweetly in the trees.   Some of them were of species she had never seen.   Others were winter visitors from the North that she would not expect to see in Illinois for a few months.   Before she knew what was happening, her eyelids lowered and she slept.
    A voice intruded on her dreams, whispering, “Maria.”
    It was a voice she had come to know.   Its deep resonance made her drifting mind think of a happier occasion during which she had responded to it.
    In a barely audible voice, she replied, “Steve,” in a tone that indicated her fondness for the speaker.
    “Yes.   I’ve brought you a drink.”
    This last statement did not fit into the pattern of Maria’s dreams.   Her eyelids fluttered open as her consciousness returned.   The Mississippi still drifted along before her, but something about the atmosphere had changed.
    As Maria turned her head to the side, she quickly took in her breath when she saw Steve sitting in a chair beside her, observing her with an enigmatic look on his face.
    “And I thought you were upset,” he said in a teasing voice. “But here I find you nappin ’ away as though you don’t have a care in the world.”
    Maria hastily shifted her position into a more rigid posture and said, “Don’t you believe in knocking before you enter a lady’s room?”
    Steve regarded her coolly as he folded his hands over his waistline.
    “Three comments spring to mind,” he replied.
    Maria stared at him as if she thought he might pounce on her if she lowered her guard.
    “First,” the man went on, “I did knock on your door, but you didn’t answer.   Second,