I stepped out and gave the driver the usual orders of returning for me in two hours. I waited until he was out of sight and then put on my mask before I made a dash for the door. Once again the same girl answered it, and I wondered if others frequented the club as often as me. “Hurry inside,” she said. “It looks to be an awful evening out there.” She took my cloak and gave me my number, nine for tonight. I headed straight to the main room, hoping mine would be picked immediately so we could get down to business. As I opened the door, I noticed one thing was different—no other women were in attendance, and all the men wore the same black and white mask. My stomach flipped. It was the same one Anthony had selected for the ball next Saturday. “Number nine,” all the men shouted at once. One man stepped forward. “You know the rules of the pleasure club. Only two men can have a lady at any one time.”
