eets her stiffly and kisses her on
both cheeks.
“Oh, Christian, so formal!” she scolds him teasingly.
Grace’s parents, Mr. and Mrs. Trevelyan, join us at
our table. They seem exuberant and youthful, though it’s
difficult to tell beneath their matching bronze masks. They
difficult to tell beneath their matching bronze masks. They
are delighted to see Christian.
“Grandmother, Grandfather, may I introduce Anastasia
Steele?”
Mrs. Trevelyan is all over me like a rash. “Oh, he’s
finally found someone, how wonderful and so pretty! Well
I do hope you make an honest man of him,” she gushes,
shaking my hand.
Holy cow. I thank the hea一vens for my mask.
“Mother, don’t embarrass Ana.” Grace comes to my
rescue.
“Ignore the silly old coot, m’dear.” Mr. Trevelyan
shakes my hand. “She thinks because she’s so old, she has
a God-given right to say whatever nonsense pops into that
woolly head of hers.”
“Ana, this is my date, Sean.” Mia shyly introduces her
young man. He gives me a wicked grin, and his brown
eyes dance with amusement as we shake hands.
“Pleased to meet you, Sean.”
Christian shakes Sean’s hand as he regards him
Christian shakes Sean’s hand as he regards him
shrewdly. Don’t tell me that poor Mia suffers from her
overbearing brother, too. I smile at Mia in sympathy.
Lance and Janine, Grace’s friends, are the last couple
at our table, but there is still no sign of Mr. Grey.
Abruptly, there’s the hiss of a microphone, and Mr.
Grey’s voice booms over the PA system, causing the
babble of voices to die down. Carrick stands on a small
stage at one end of the marquee, wearing an impressive,
gold, Punchinello mask.
“Welcome, ladies and gentleman, to our annual charity
ball. I hope that you enjoy what we ha一ve laid out for you
tonight and that you’ll dig deep into your pockets to
support the fantastic work that our team does with Coping
Together. As you know, it’s a cause that is very close to
my wife’s heart, and mine.”
I peek nervously at Christian, who is staring
impassively, I
本章未完，点击下一页继续阅读。