A/N: Just a little scene that I wrote to go with a story I've been contemplating. It probably won't go anywhere, which is why I am posting this as its own story.
Derek guided me with his hand on the small of my back as we left the well-lit hallway and crossed onto the balcony. It was rather dark, but the stars and moon were shining brightly above us, giving just the right amount of light. We stopped at the edge of the balcony, both leaning on the railing and gazing out into the gardens of Brexton Manor.
"How did the hunt go?" I asked.
"It wasn't as profitable as if could have been, but it was entertaining. The Earl had quite the run in with a stubborn boar." He chucked to himself, gazing at his hands. "I trust that your day with Lady Brexton was pleasant enough," he inquired. I sighed slightly.
"Well, yes. I assume that it was pleasant enough." I twirled a stray thread of fabric in the hand that was hanging over the balcony. Derek didn't say anything, but I could feel him silently pushing me along. "Conversation with Lady Brexton, as you might have noticed, can be very light and superficial." Derek nodded, his eyes still studying the ground near my feet.
"Don't get me wrong, I find no fault in Lady Brexton. She is a very pleasant woman, but…" Derek finally looked up at my face. "She is content being her husband's wife. She is content having her life laid out for her, and she doesn't question her husband's will." I faltered when I noticed his eyes studying my face with great intent.
"Personally…I would rather not be confined so. I would like to be able to be my own person…make my own decisions. Be known as the duchess instead of merely the duke's wife." I shook my head, throwing the stray thread I had been fiddling with over the edge of the balcony to the mirror smooth pond below.
"But what am I saying? And why am I suddenly confessing my heart to you? That is the way the world is, that is what is expected of me by society." I turned away from him, my eyes falling to my hands; which had taken to knotting each other ever since I had gotten rid of the thread.
There was a moment of silence where neither of us spoke. What was I thinking? Derek doesn't care what I think about such matters. Before this week I wouldn't have ever considered speaking that intimately with him. He was, after all, the ignorant, arrogant, pathetic excuse for a man that I was being forced to marry. Somehow a combination of his soft smile and eager eyes, and the beauty of the stars above and garden below had made me forget all of that.
Derek cleared his throat. I stopped playing with my hands, biting my lip. Before I could speak he was directly behind me.
"Deirdre." His warm breath tickled my ear and sent shivers ricocheting throughout my body. Slowly, he spun me around to face him. "Deirdre…I would never seek to confine you." He whispered ever so slightly, his beautiful blue eyes gazing at me with a piercing earnest that I had never seen before. I opened my mouth slightly, but I found that I couldn't speak. Time seemed to stand still. It was then that he leaned down toward me, his hand gripping my waist; and right there—on the balcony overlooking the gardens of Brexton Manor—that he kissed me for the first time.