Chapter 29: An evening out with Lady Megan

I now knew enough to get into serious trouble on the dance floor. The carriage pulled up, and I was shooed out the back and told to 'Go practice or something' by Miss Lori. So I followed her instructions and practiced. I was encouraged not to come back in, and they even went so far as to bring me food and drink and a book. Anything, really, to keep me occupied, the household went all-out to get her ready for tonight.

Chandra came back looking dirty and tired, so I shooed her off to wash up and get some rest. Finally I was allowed to clean up and change in preparation for tonight. Miss Lori instructed me to leave my robe at home, so I wore my usual white linen outfit, with my sword at my side, and Kassandra's pendant around my neck.

The flowers that I had Chandra get were waiting for me to give Megan; there looked to be a dark blue orchids, but I was not sure what they were. The scent that they gave off was almost too strong; it was a dark, musky smell that permeated the room.

I was impatient, so I paced. I did get a brief look of disapproval from Miss Lori for that, but it turned into a wistful smile rather quickly. When I heard the carriage pull up and knew that it wouldn't be long now, that left me holding my breath when I heard the first footsteps near the top of the stairs.

She was beautiful. Lady Megan was wearing a form-fitting navy blue gown that draped over the shoulders with a navy shawl. It had a slit from the waist on the left side that went all the way to the floor and revealed a white skirt underneath that was also floor length. The dress had an intricate design in the bodice, and the shawl was stitched in white. She wore a sapphire necklace and earrings to complete the ensemble. Her raven hair had soft curls, and was swept up with ivory combs, and she had just the slightest touch of makeup to catch the eye.

I was speechless, I hadn't been this tongue-tied since my high school prom.

"Wow." I breathed in sincere appreciation. I finally remembered to think again and I bowed. "My Lady, you are truly a sight to behold." She smiled her thanks, which caused my heart to resume its continued operation.

I presented her the orchid that had a ring to slide on to the wrist. It looked like it matched her outfit perfectly; if I had a brain that was working, I would have smelled collusion. It wouldn't have mattered if they had conspired against me, at this point they could do no wrong as long as it brought us together. I offered her my arm to escort her to the carriage; that was when I realized that her white embroidery and underskirt were the exact same color as my outfit.

It appeared that more than one person was conspiring against me, and any hope of coherent thought was shot down for the evening.

There was a doorman at the carriage with a block for her to step up, and I guided her into it. Once she was settled I entered and sat next to her.

"You surprised me, My Lady, I did not think that you could be more beautiful and here you are. I have dinner planned before Lady Kathryn's ball if that is acceptable to you." I did try to keep my heartbeat down to a dull roar.

"That sounds pleasant, My Lord." Goddess, she sounded normal, I wished that I could be that collected.

The trip to the restaurant was short, less than a five-minute ride. I waited for it to stop and the doorman to open it before I guided her out. Part of me wanted to just open the door and do it myself, but that screamed 'wrong'. Getting used to being waited on hand and foot was a trial.

The restaurant was dimly lit and had other couples seated in small groups, we were seated near the middle. The food was not remarkable; I couldn't tell anyone what we ate five minutes after we left. I'm sure that wasn't the restaurant's fault.

The conversation, on the other hand, was fantastic, I finally came down off my high that her presence caused, and we spoke of our homes and families. She was charming, pleasant, and relaxed, I tried to emulate her and failed miserably. She spoke of her father and her younger brother in glowing detail, unfortunately, her mother died a few years ago from childbirth. She, according to Megan, was even prettier than Megan was. Megan's little brother, Morgan, was just twelve and was already sailing. This was when I found out that Megan was eighteen, she talked about her time in Royal Oak as a hostage, and it's trials from Lord Steven. If he walked in just now, I would have broken his scrawny neck and tossed him and the pack of jackals that he hung out with off a cliff.

I could tell that not being able to return home was wearing her down, and that the threat of war against her home distressed her. I vowed silently to make sure that that would not happen.

This was the most relaxed that I had seen her, her guard was down and she was enjoying herself. That itself made this evening worthwhile.

The carriage ride to Lady Kathryn's estate outside of the city was about an hour away. The sun had just set when we arrived at the gates, from the look of it on the outside it seemed to be a massively overblown hunting lodge. Since it was well past dusk when we arrived, I was not surprised that there were quite a few carriages already there. Most of the carriages looked to have banners draped on them; it was too dark to make them out though.

House servants that were wearing the livery of Lady Kathryn met us, the entrance to the estate was also guarded by a quartet of soldiers in her colors. One of the soldiers at the front door saluted me as we walked by, and the rest just stood at attention.