We arrived a few minutes early. The entire manor was lit up with torches and candles. Guards patrolled the road leading up to it, the garden, the building itself. Multiple carriages were already out front, drivers busying themselves with one thing or another as their masters and misses enjoyed the party. The guests were dressed simply enough to be practical for the night's events, but elegantly enough to catch an eye.

There was a quiet sort of energy about the place; party-goers talked politely to one another, bowing and joking and tittering. Women would get together in groups briefly, complimenting each other, showing off their dresses, or gasping at some scandalous secret another had uttered. Men would do much the same, though they let loose barks of laughter at a joke they'd heard and complained about the quality of ale Delacroix had offered in the past years.

The carriage we were in jolted to a stop in front of the doors. The driver hopped down from his seat and opened the door, bowing and wishing us a good evening. As soon as we were both out, I took Haytham's arm and let him lead us inside.

The dancing hadn't started quite yet, if the folks standing around and chatting were anything to go by. Servants weaved between groups and individuals, tending to any small mess or need or whim that popped up. Haytham tugged us toward a wall, flashing a charming smile at those who caught his eye. I did the same, right up to the moment we reached the sidelines.

"Delacroix is known for his informality and promiscuity at these events. Hopefully, you can use that to get him alone." He said quietly, keeping his eyes on the crowd.

"There are some balconies I might be able to use to my advantage. Maybe the garden, if something can be done about the guards. Aside from that, I'm not sure of many other options." I whispered back.

He pressed something into my left hand: a vial.

"If all else fails, slip the contents into one of his drinks. It's slow-acting, but it's a last resort." He murmured. The vial was small enough to be unnoticeable when I slipped it between the top of my stay and stomacher. He continued speaking. "If anything happens to prevent us from departing together, make your way to our inn."

"What will you be doing?" I asked lowly.

"Men can move more freely at events like this. Once the dancing is underway, I'll try to see what secrets our man has hidden in this house." He replied. He paused, then spoke again. "If anyone asks who you are, tell them you are my child. Otherwise, you may risk being… shown out."

"Courtney Lynn Kenway, here to drink, dance, and flirt." I joked. He had a little smirk on his face before he pulled us back into the crowd.

We mingled with people as a pair, introducing ourselves as parent and child. A handful who'd met Haytham before expressed surprise, having not known he'd had a child, much less one of my age. Several times I had to bite my tongue to keep from getting a bit too "involved" in conversations. Most of the time I just smiled and nodded politely. It got very old very quickly.

Luckily, the dancing started soon enough. Half a dozen couples did minuets to start things off, then the real fun began. A young man with black-hair and a stutter approached me and introduced himself. He nervously asked for my first dance, and I graciously accepted, parting with Haytham as he partnered off with a woman with graying hair and a light pink dress.

While I was still no master at dancing, it wasn't particularly difficult to keep up some light conversation. The next three dances were spent with different partners whose names I wrote on the dance card I'd been given. It was a lot more enjoyable than the rigid, forced conversations from before, and I found that I had to remind myself why I was here in the first place.

After those songs, a flash of bright blond hair caught my eye. Coming towards me was none other than Jules Delacroix, a grin on his face and arrogance in his footsteps.

He was a few feet away when I heard someone clear their throat to my right.

I turned to smile at the unknown man, and could have sworn my heart stopped beating when I saw his face - a familiar face.

"May I ask, do you have a partner for this song, miss?" Came the voice of Charles Dorian, heavily accented and the slightest bit reserved.

I responded quickly, not wanting to seem as though I'd been caught off guard. It was possible he didn't know I was a Templar yet; I wasn't wearing my ring, so there were no clear indicators of my allegiance. "No, not yet."

"Would you mind humoring me for a few minutes, then?" He gave me a small smile that didn't quite reach his eyes.

I swallowed the trickle of nervousness that I felt and nodded. "It'd be my pleasure."

In the corner of my vision, Delacroix was looking sourly at Charles as he resigned to dance with a woman in green.

"Would it be rude to ask your name?" Charles asked.

"Only if you didn't give me yours." My voice was steady, the result of months upon months of training in stealth and subtlety. I could be wrong, he could be someone else entirely.

"Charles Dorian. And you?" Damn. He took my hand and allowed his free hand to hover around my waist, not quite touching me, but close enough that it looked as though it was. My other hand, the one with the scars, rested on his shoulder.

"Courtney Lynn. It's nice to meet you." My lips stayed quirked in a polite smile.

"Courtney Lynn. A lovely name." He complimented, his eyes still as aloof as they had been.

"Thanks, my parents gave it to me." I joked, hoping to break the tension.

His response told me it hadn't worked. "Of course. Where are they tonight, by the way?"

I didn't miss a beat. "My mother isn't around anymore, my father's off handling some business."

"I'm sorry to hear she's not with us. What work does your father do?" He pressed on. Warning bells in my head had been going off ever since I'd first laid my eyes on him, and they were only ringing louder the longer we danced.

"Planting, boring as it may be. It seems like there's little else to do for a living in Virginia, at times." I answered.

"I can't say I'd know. I'm not from the area." He admitted.

"Your accent gave that much away." I commented.

"What about a husband? A woman your age is usually looking for one." He questioned.

"Uh, well, I mean, it's- it's not really something I'm worried about yet, but- I mean if I had to pick someone right now, I guess I have an idea." I stuttered out. Part of me wanted to kick myself for the break in my calm, cool persona.

"He must be a lucky man." Charles said.

I took the chance to stroke my own ego and shrug off some of the embarrassment I'd felt. "Well, yeah, of course, I'm quite the catch."

After that, we danced in silence for a short while, until the song came to a halt, and Charles gave me a small bow.

"Thank you for the dance." He said, offering that same small smile he had earlier.

"Likewise." I curtsied.

After he'd wandered off, I couldn't find Delacroix in the crowd. For three more dances, I simply accepted the requests of the first man to ask. I wasn't enjoying the bright lights and dancing, now. There was a foreign Assassin here for reasons I didn't know, and I still had a target to take care of. I decided I'd focus on Delacroix for the time being.

I finally got another chance at Delacroix, only to have Charles reach my side before Delacroix. Social convention dictated that I couldn't say no to his request, so we began to dance once more. I threw an apologetic glance Delacroix's way.

"I didn't expect to see you again tonight. What a coincidence, huh?" I said to Charles. If he intervened again, then I would know he wasn't just here and somehow running into me over and over.

"Yes, well, you were a nice partner. I figured one more dance couldn't hurt." He replied. Now I knew he had to be talking out of his ass. I wasn't bad at dancing, but I certainly wasn't an ideal dance partner.

"I'm flattered." I lied. "You weren't so bad yourself."

"Thank you." He smiled again, the expression still not quite reaching his eyes.

Annoyance surged through me as we moved around the room, not being helped with the question he asked next.

"May I ask you who you came with tonight?" The song we danced to was quick, but somehow he managed to speak as easily as he had the last time.

"My father. His business happened to bring him here, and I with him." I told him. Technically, I wasn't lying, except maybe about the exact nature of Haytham and my's oddly familial relationship.

"Hm. You wouldn't mind introducing me to him, would you?" Whether his question was simply a cover or not was hard to tell.

I feigned a look around the room. "If you could find him, perhaps. I'm not sure where he is."

His eyes narrowed. "If you do see him before the night's end, try to keep me in mind."

"Of course, it's hard to forget someone you've had two lovely dances with." I hoped he'd take my comment as an indication that I wanted to mingle with more people, as opposed to my being uncomfortable with him. I doubted that would help quell any suspicions he had about me.

"No doubt." He said as the song ended. Again, I searched for Delacroix in the crowd, but was once more forced to spend the next dance with another partner.

Just one dance later, I had a chance again. This time, the man seemed determined to reach me before I was whisked away once more. Just as Delacroix reached me, Charles appeared in the corner of my vision. He seemed just as annoyed as I had been the couple times he'd gotten in the way, and I doubted it was a coincidence.

"How good it is to finally see you up close." Delacroix said. His accent was significantly less severe than Charles'. He'd clearly been in the colonies for quite a while.

I smiled, giving a dainty little shrug. "I didn't know you were so eager to meet me."

"Yes, well, you're a new face, and I've danced with most of the other women here already." He grinned. "A man can be curious, can't he?"

I giggled. "I suppose." And with that, we started to dance. We shared some small-talk, but he was more interested in dancing, it seemed.

I expected to be forced to find another opportunity to dance with him later, but when he caught my arm as I moved away, it seemed he had other plans. "Actually, I thought we might share this next dance, too. Surely, you wouldn't mind?"

I giggled, only letting a hint of nervousness creep into my voice. "That's a bit unorthodox, don't you think?"
"It is my ball, I'll do as I please - if you'll have me, of course." He hurried to tack on the last part, as though he only just remembered that his already shady reputation might be at stake if he didn't keep up at least some decorum.

"If you insist." I said, and he took my hand once more.

This continued on for at five more dances -how scandalous a number, I mocked in my mind- , him urging me to stick around for "just one more dance" each time a song ended. After that, there were no more songs to be played, and it was time for dinner - supper, I chastised myself.

"Would you be so kind as to accompany me for supper?" Delacroix may worded it like a question, but it sounded much more like a command. I nodded and allowed him to tug me away from the crowds.