Now, she rose gracefully from the chaise in the drawing room, hiding her trepidation behind a polite mask.

It was his usual polite, attractive, almost bored mask.

Her smile faded, replaced by a polite mask.

She looked up then, her work complete, all traces of the polite mask wiped from her face.

Keren's face was a polite mask but he knew the deal.

Then she shook her head slightly, and her face became a polite mask.

The polite mask slipped for just a moment.

But his face was a polite mask.

Nicholas kept his face still in that polite mask.

The boy held his breath, and slowly the polite mask shattered and fell.