Chapter 5

Chapter 5

Vivianne was still gazing at her own reflection in the looking glass, inhaling deeply. She wondered if she should have chosen the other gown instead of the one she was wearing.

She wondered about the jewelry as well, and now, her latest predicament was the choice between the two hairpins resting on the velvet-lined tray before her, each a tiny masterpiece in its own right. She held them up, one in each hand, and scrutinized them with a mixture of admiration and indecision.

The first hairpin was an elegant piece crafted from sterling silver. Its design was delicate yet intricate, with swirling filigree patterns that intertwined like the branches of a willow tree. Small, shimmering pearls were nestled within the curves, catching the light and adding a subtle luminescence. This pin exuded a timeless, classic beauty, something that spoke of grace and sophistication.

The second was a bolder choice, made of polished gold and encrusted with tiny, sparkling sapphires. The design was reminiscent of a blooming flower, with petals that seemed to unfurl with every turn of the pin. The sapphires were a deep, rich blue, contrasting strikingly against the gold, and they twinkled like stars when they caught the light. This hairpin was vibrant and eye-catching, a piece that demanded attention and admiration.

Vivianne sighed, turning the pins over in her hands. The silver one seemed to whisper of elegance and restraint, a quiet assurance of refined beauty. The gold one, on the other hand, called out with a confident, almost audacious charm, a promise of brilliance and flair.

“Vivianne, you are being silly,” she told herself loudly, because she had said it many times in her mind in the past two hours without any result. She needed to hear it.

That was when a knock on the door made her drop the silver pin, keeping the gold one in her hand. The door opened to reveal her sister’s smiling face.

“You are still not ready?” Aurelia gasped, her eyes wide. “How is this possible?”

Vivianne hastily placed the gold hairpin into her hair, finishing the entire process—which, truth be told, truly took longer than it ever did that time.

“Oh, I… just started reading a book and lost track of time,” she said in an effort to excuse herself. “So, I started getting ready later than usual. But I am ready.”

“And you look wonderful.” Aurelia beamed. “Absolutely glowing.”

“Thank you, my dear.” Vivianne smiled back. “You look ravishing, as always.”

Aurelia tilted her head, as if to take a closer look at her. “There is something different about you, Viv.”

“Different?” Vivianne almost coughed with confusion, but she stifled the sound inside her throat. “What do you mean, you silly thing?”

“I don’t know.” Aurelia frowned as if she were lost in deep thought. “You usually don’t put so much effort into balls. I see you are wearing that golden hairpin. And my goodness… is that blush?” she teased playfully.

Vivianne glanced in the mirror. Yes, it was blush, but she was also blushing at being exposed for what she had been doing for the past two hours. “Oh, you really are silly. I slept horribly last night, and you know what Mother will say if I look like a mess. So, yes, I put on some blush, to make myself look… presentable.”

Beautiful was the word she was looking for, but that would set off an avalanche of questions she didn’t want to answer. Not yet, at least.

She was eager and curious, traits she never possessed while getting ready for a ball. And seeing herself like that made her apprehensive. It was all because of that man and his promise to come back with another book character. She wanted to speak to him, to dance with him, to have him wrap his hand around her waist and gaze into her eyes the way he did before, making her entire body erupt into flames she didn’t know how to extinguish.

Her mother had always said that beauty was a woman's best asset, but Vivianne felt that tonight, beauty alone would not suffice. Edward would be at the ball, and his presence would draw all eyes.

Her heart fluttered at the thought of him, his tall, graceful figure cutting through the crowd, his deep, thoughtful eyes meeting hers across the room. It was silly, she chided herself, to be so caught up in such fantasies. And yet she couldn’t help but meticulously imagine every detail.

“Viv?” she heard her sister call out to her. “You got lost again.”

“I did?” Vivianne smiled. “See? I am sleeping with my eyes open.”

Aurelia didn’t seem all that convinced, but rather amused to see her sister in such a fluttering state. “Are you ready, then? Mother said to go down as soon as we are done.”

“Yes, we may go,” she said, strangely exuberant at the thought.

Lord and Lady Radcliffe’s manor house was already bustling with guests when they arrived. Everything about the ballroom spoke of opulence and grandeur, which the hosts were more than willing to present. Crystal chandeliers sparkled overhead like the light of a million stars, reflecting off polished marble floors.

“My goodness, what splendor!” their mother gasped upon entering, and Aurelia nodded, her eyes wide with wonder.

All around them, laughter and music filled the air, and the scent of roses from the elaborate floral arrangements mingled with the sweet aroma of champagne. But Vivianne couldn’t perceive the faces around her, they were all but a blur. Her eyes were desperately trying to recognize that one face she couldn’t see yet.

After they had been greeted by the hosts, their parents left to join some friends, with Vivianne and Aurelia finding a cozy spot near the refreshments table. Vivianne adjusted the golden hairpin nervously, just as her sister nudged her.

“There he is,” Aurelia whispered, making sure only Vivianne could hear her.

“Who?” Vivianne wondered, looking in the same direction but not really realizing who it was she had to focus on.

“There.” Aurelia gestured with her face. “The man by the curtain, with the blue coat.”

Vivianne delicately glanced in that direction, assessing the man hastily.

“That is the man who asked me to dance several times before.” Aurelia spoke sweetly, with obvious affection. “Viscount Russell. He’s been so attentive to me every time we’ve met.”

Vivianne smiled, although a hint of caution crept in. “Attentive, you say?”

Aurelia nodded, her golden curls bouncing. “Yes, he is so charming, so unlike those other flamboyant gentlemen. He asks for my opinion on things, he always asks if I am all right.”

Vivianne’s smile faded slightly. She took Aurelia’s hand into her own. “I can see you like him, don’t you?”

Aurelia blushed as her eyes locked with her sister’s. No other words were necessary.

Vivianne didn’t want to be the stumbling block to her sister’s happiness. However, she knew well that love had thorns. It could be a wonderful emotion that filled one with blissful sensations, but at the same time, it could be a hellish experience of anguish and pain. All Vivianne wanted to do was spare her sister the second part.

“Just be careful, Aurelia.” Vivianne smiled tenderly. “Attentive men can sometimes bode ill.”

Aurelia’s expression sobered as she clearly recalled her sister’s painful past. “Yes, you’re right, Vivianne.”

“Just… be mindful not to make the same mistake,” Vivianne finished, her voice soft but firm.

Aurelia sighed, her shoulders relaxing. “I know, Vivianne. You’re always looking out for me. I appreciate it, truly.” She glanced back toward the crowd. “I’ll be more cautious. I always agree with you because you’re usually right.”

Vivianne squeezed her sister’s hand. “Just be yourself. If he’s genuinely interested in you, he’ll appreciate you for who you are, not just for—”

“Ah, Lady Vivianne,” a voice interrupted her, and she locked eyes with the man she had secretly been searching for.

“Oh, it’s… you,” she said in mock dramatic tone, wanting to see how he would react.

To her surprise, he grinned. “Lord Chesterfield.”

“Ah, yes.” She pretended to remember. “Lord Chesterfield.”

“Ladies,” he said. Without saying a single thing more, he grabbed her gently by the hand and proceeded to lead her over to the other dancing couples.

The act made Vivianne both thrilled and furious at the same time, if such a thing were even possible. As soon as he settled her before him for the dance, she crossed her brows at him.

“Every time I speak to you, you seem to lack more and more manners,” she told him despite the blush on her cheeks. She didn’t want him to think that his little escapade was amusing to her. Although, it was… a little, at least.

Instead of becoming cross or offended, he grinned in that unbearably charming manner of his. “Perhaps I ought to have let Lord Kinsington have this dance, then.”

Upon those words, he gestured to his side, where Lord Kinsington was indeed already standing by Aurelia’s side and watching them furiously.

Lord Chesterfield leaned closer to her, dangerously so, only to whisper into her ear. “You know, if looks could kill, the man would be a murderer—and you would be dancing with a dead man.”

Vivianne turned to glance at Lord Kinsington, and indeed, there was something menacing in the way he stared at them, as if biding his time. She was starting to become afraid of him. There was already a dark side of his personality that he was trying to keep a secret from everyone else, and she wondered how many secrets a man could keep.

“Fortunately, looks cannot kill,” she heard Lord Chesterfield say amusedly. “Otherwise, I would have been a dead man too many times in my life.”

She frowned. “That isn’t a pleasant topic for conversation during a dance, you know.”

“No?” He chuckled, tilting his head a way that made her blush even more, because she knew he had just paid attention to the hairpin she chose. A part of her hoped he liked it, even though it made no sense and she couldn’t care less what he thought of anything.

However, while her mind had its own story, her body refused to listen to it. Her skin exploded in gooseflesh upon every touch he bestowed upon her. Her throat dried up at his smile. A strange heat pooled between her thighs the moment his hot breath spilled onto her ear and down her neck, imagining all sorts of scenarios where they were alone and he was talking to her in that same manner, wishing that—

“You are not listening, are you?” she heard him say, his voice pulling her from her reverie.

“What?” she asked, blushing. “No… I mean, yes, I am.”

“You are?” He chuckled. It was quite unfair that someone could be even more devilishly handsome when making fun of someone else.

“Of course.” She nodded, knowing that she was sinking into quicksand, but she still stubbornly refused to admit that he was right.

“Then tell me, Lady Vivianne,” he gazed at her in a way that made her heart skip a beat, “what was it I was explaining?”

“Um… about Lord Kinsington,” she said, ensuring that she did not end it as a question.

“Actually no,” he corrected her. “I honestly could not care less about that fool. It is you I wish to talk about, always.”

“So, you were talking about me?” she asked as he swirled her to the rhythm of the music.

“Like I said, always.” He grinned, making her all flustered. She reminded herself that they were in public. All eyes of the ton were on them, and she had to keep her composure, which was becoming increasingly more difficult in his presence.

“I was telling you that I think I found an even better character to compare you to,” he continued, a spark of mischief in his eyes.

“Oh?” she wondered, slightly amused but trying not to let it show. “Which one is it?”

He looked at her, his lips parting. She found herself mesmerized by them, wondering what they tasted like. But she hastily blinked away that strange desire, lifting her gaze to meet his. Something about the way he grinned made her fear that her eyes lingered on his lips for a moment too long.

“So?” she asked, urging him.

“I like to pause for effect, Lady Vivianne,” he teased. “The character I have chosen is… Emily St. Aubert.”

“Emily?” she echoed, surprised.

“Yes.” He nodded as the music took her away from him, making her turn around and giving her a brief respite, only to bring her back to him once again. “Don’t tell me you don’t know which book I am talking about?”

“Of course I do,” she replied hastily. She wanted to tell him that Mysteries of Udolpho was one of her favorite books, but she bit her tongue in time. She didn’t want to tell him things about her, things he might use to his advantage. “But why her?”

“I would be happy to divulge all of that, but I’m afraid our time for dancing is up,” he said, and at that very moment, the music stopped.

She frowned, sighing heavily. Although he had saved her from one dance with Lord Kinsington, she would eventually have to face him for another one.

“Thank you, Lord Chesterfield.” She curtsied gracefully before him.

Straightening up, she eyed the area around her. She had to cross the dancing area to get to her sister and Lord Kinsington, who was obviously waiting for her to return. Aurelia seemed to sense her unease, and she acted upon it. She started telling him something, so Lord Kinsington had to face her, lest he wished to appear rude.

Then, before Vivianne knew what was happening, she could feel someone tugging her by the hand, stealing her out of the side door onto an empty balcony and shutting it hastily behind them.