Across the room, another pair of eyes noted the direction of which Athos was focussed on. Elisabeth idly wondered what it was about men that got drawn to her aunt's presence. This one didn't look like the usual type, he was a gentleman no doubt but a quieter, politer sort. This wasn't the kind of flashy sort she'd often observed hanging around Madame de Winter. There was something else about him, something a little more melancholy. She looked over at his friends. They were younger, more open to company. This one looked a bit lonely.
She walked over to where her aunt was sat, having just finished dancing with the secretary with two left feet. Handing her a drink, she leaned across the back of the chair in a casual manner.
'I think you've got a new admirer' she informed her. Glass in hand raised mid air, Milady paused and glanced over at the musketeer's corner. Even from here, she could see Athos staring dejectedly at the polished floor. His friends seemed no better. She knew they were kicking themselves for not capturing her half an hour ago. She tried to block it from her mind that she had nearly been caught but seeing him so close to not even an hour after it was making her nervous.
'I doubt it, he's probably just tipsy' she commented, knowing that Athos could hold his drink very well. But Sissi wasn't to know that, she barely remembered the man her aunt had first married all those years ago.
'He was staring at you' teased her niece, oblivious to the discomfort she was causing. Milady just looked at the floor and murmured an excuse for why the man across the room wasn't really interested.
'He's not bad looking' was Sissi's last comment as she waltzed off with some gangly undersecretary to the secretary. If only she knew.
Lady Bloxom chose that moment to sit herself down and chat. 'That niece of yours should really see a doctor about her posture. Terrible, a young girl shouldn't be standing like that. Most inappropriate.'
Milady sighed quietly, turned round to her with a courteous smile. This was going to be a long evening.