Chapter 4:
Catherine watched silently as Lord Rathbone strutted himself into the room, a frown puling down on her lips. When she spotted a group of young women like herself giggling like a bunch of hyenas as he passed on by, Catherine couldn't help but roll her eyes. Not wanting to give Lord Rathbone the chance to lay his eyes upon her, Catherine turned on her heel and swiftly faded into the crowd of people, heading back to her seat at the table in the back of the ballroom. Completely forgetting all about her drink, she placed the full glass of Champaign down on the table.
"Having a good time?" a voice suddenly asked from behind. Catherine straightened up before calmly turning about to see a young man well into his twenties standing a few feet away with a small smile on his fairly handsome face. She quickly looked him over before she offered a polite smile in return,
"Oh yes…" she answered, "…the time of my life actually." She replied in a sweet but sarcastic tone. Surprisingly the man picked up on it and chuckled in response,
"Yeah I've never been entirely fond of these events myself." He stated. Catherine raised an eyebrow up at his statement,
"And you are?" she inquired. The man's blue eyes lit up softly before he softly bowed,
"I'm Bryan Richardson." He answered with a charming smile. "And you are, my lady?" he returned.
"Catherine Jones." She answered. Bryan took a couple steps closer before he reached for Catherine's hand which he then brought up to his mouth and placed a light kiss upon her knuckles,
"Pleasure to meet your acquaintance, Miss Jones." He replied. Catherine blushed softly at the gesture and smiled politely back,
"Likewise, Mr. Richardson." She answered as he released her hand which she brought back down to her side.
"Would you care to dance?" he asked curiously. Both of Catherine's eyebrows rose up at the offer before she glanced over at the dance floor which was now filled with couples.
"Uh…" she started before letting a tiny nervous laugh, "…I'm not much of a dancer." She replied. Mr. Richardson smiled warmly in response before he persistently offered his hand out for her take,
" Please?" he begged, "…just one dance." He promised. Catherine glanced down at his still open hand in hesitation before she slowly reached her hand out and placed it within his,
"Alright…" she sighed in defeat, "…but so help me if I step on your toes, can't say I didn't warn you." She added. Mr. Richardson laughed at her bluntness before he respectfully led her across the room to the dance floor. Once there, he gently took Catherine by the waist while she placed her free hand up on his shoulder and then the two started moving to the classical music that was playing.
"Not much of a dancer you say?" Mr. Richardson repeated teasingly, "…if you ask me I'd say that you are a fine dancer." He stated with a playful wink. Catherine smiled softly in response,
"Well then its good thing I didn't ask you." She replied smartly. He grinned in response before he gently twirled Catherine about on the dance floor.
"I must say I think I'm the envy of every man here tonight." He stated proudly.
"Oh really? Care to tell me why, my good sir?" Catherine replied.
"I do believe, my lady that it is because I have the most beautiful young woman here, in my arms." He answered. A blush crept into Catherine's cheeks before she shyly cast her gaze down the man's left shoulder,
"You are exaggerating, Mr. Richardson." She stated in a cool tone.
"Oh I don't believe I am, Miss Jones. Even as we speak, we've got almost everyone here in this room watching us right now." He pointed out before he cocked his head to the side to look over Catherine's head, "….even Lord Rathbone seems to be eyeing us." He added in a proud tone.
Catherine was taken back by that information, but as she and Bryan Richardson turned once more in their dance, sure enough she spotted the dark eyed lord staring directly at her from where he stood chatting with a bunch of giggling women. Catherine almost gasped when the lord's gaze locked onto hers for a brief second before her eyes narrowed softly in his direction and she turned her attention away from the man but not before she could see his mouth turning up in a tiny smirk. When the music came to an end signaling that the dance was over, Catherine stepped out of Bryan Richardson's arms and smiled politely at him,
"Thank you for the lovely dance, but if you'll excuse me, there's something I must attend to." She lied. Mr. Richardson smiled in understanding before he once more took up one of Catherine's hands and gently kissed it.
"Until we meet again then." He stated. Catherine nodded before she moved past the young man before her and made her way back to the table. Once there, she walked over to her cloak that hung over the back of her chair before she rummaged about in one of the larger pockets sewn inside and pulled out the book she had brought with her. With the book clutched firmly in one hand down by her side, Catherine swiftly crossed the ballroom; heads seemed to follow her every move causing a soft frown of annoyance to pull down on her lips before she found the open doors leading out onto the balcony like before. As she stepped out into the cool night air, Catherine took in a deep breath of fresh air before sighing,
"Much better." She breathed out while she walked out and stopped at the railing before she looked down at familiar scenery below. A smile came to her lips as she recalled when she had first come out onto this balcony; it was to escape the suffocating crowd of unfamiliar people inside. Now she was escaping from the suffocating and insufferable staring coming from the people inside. After placing the book up onto the railing, which reached a little higher than her hips, Catherine braced her hands up onto the smooth marble before she leaned out softly to see if she could look out into the garden. She could lightly distinguish the outline of the fountain that lied in the garden's center, the very same place where she had first met him. Catherine rolled her eyes at the memory before she pulled back from the railing and collected her book while she flipped it open to her marked page,
"No, no, no." Catherine told herself out loud, "…we are not going to be thinking about…that." She finished with a determined nod of her head while her eyes began to pick up their reading from earlier that day.
"Thinking about what?" a voice suddenly asked. Catherine jumped at the sound causing her book to fall right out of her hands and tumble off right off the balcony. She spun about in alarm to face the voice and heard from behind the soft thump as her book landed on solid ground somewhere down below.
"Whoops. Didn't mean to frighten you." The voice added as the figure of a man stepped out into Catherine's view.
Catherine stared blankly at Lord Rathbone for a couple of seconds before she straightened up defensively,
"You know the proper thing to do, my Lord, is to inform a lady of your presence, not go sneaking about in the shadows." She bitterly scolded while she turned away from the now smirking Lord to once again lean out over the balcony in hopes of trying to catch a glimpse of her fallen book. "Oh shoot." She swore under her breath when her eyes couldn't spot it from where she stood.
"You seem to know who I am…but I don't believe we've ever met before." Lord Rathbone stated while he took a couple steps towards Catherine's form. Catherine looked up from her search at that before she glanced over her shoulder at the dark eyed lord.
"He doesn't recognize me…" her mind stated before a tiny smirk pulled at her lips, "Alright, I'll play along." She added "Well then that would make us strangers." She replied out loud while she slowly turned about to fully face Rathbone.
"So it would seem." Lord Rathbone answered before he took a couple more steps forwards so that he stood less than a couple feet away from Catherine. "But that can very easily change" he stated with a small smile.
Catherine's head tilted to the side at the suggestiveness in his voice before she took a single step forward towards him, "So sorry…" she began in her sweetest voice as she then gracefully sidestepped away from Lord Rathbone and began walking for the stairs on the far right side of the balcony, "….but I'm not suppose to talk to strangers." She called back over her shoulder right as she began descending down the stone stairwell to the grounds below.
Lord Rathbone watched the young woman disappear down the stairs before a smile of interest pulled at his lips. Without a second thought, Rathbone followed the girl's trail to the stairs.
Catherine bit back the urge to laugh out loud at her little performance when she finally reached the bottom and found herself walking across the grass that lied right underneath the balcony above.
"It's a shame though I didn't get to see his reaction." She thought to herself. A soft laugh escaped her lips at the thought of his handsome face baring his usual arrogant smirk melt away to a look of rejection. "Now where's my book?" she murmured quietly out loud as she began searching the grass for any signs of her lost possession. It was silent a night outside, the only sounds Catherine could hear clearly was the gentle swish of her skirts as she moved and the sound of footsteps coming down the stairs. Catherine stopped in her tracks for a quick second and rolled her eyes as it dawned on her that she had been followed,
"You know," Lord Rathbone began, "You're probably the first woman I've met who hasn't swooned at the sight of me." He stated as he came to lean up against one of the balcony's supporting beams. Catherine, who could feel his eyes burning into her back, took in a deep breath as she restrained herself from replying with a very unladylike comment and instead glanced over her shoulder to quickly look Lord Rathbone over. Her teal eyes took in every sight from his head all the way down to his shoes before she raised her eyes back up to meet his,
"Then maybe I've done you some good." She answered with a sarcastic smile before she turned away and continued her search.
Lord Rathbone watched with bright amusement as the young woman continued to surprise him with her quick wit and cold shoulder. His dark eyes quickly scanned the area that they were in before they landed on something that lied a couple feet away from where he stood.
"I believe what you are looking for lies yonder." He stated. Catherine turned about to look at Rathbone before she followed where his gaze was and spotted a darker outline of something lying in the grass a little more than ten feet away from where she stood. With a soft sigh, Catherine crossed the distance before she gracefully kneeled down into the grass and reached for her book. But it seemed that when she had moved, so did Lord Rathbone. Right as her fingers brushed the top of the book, Rathbone's black polished shoe came down on the cover, pinning it beneath his weight. Catherine drew her hand back instantly at the action before she turned her head to stare up at the dark eyed Lord who in return smirked down on her.
"Do you mind?" she asked while using a gloved hand to signal to Rathbone's resting foot. When all Catherine got was a wider smirk, her teal eyes narrowed in irritation, "Remove your foot, Lord Rathbone." She stated.
Lord Rathbone straightened up before he made soft disapproving clicking noises with his tongue, "Tisk, tisk, is that anyway to ask for something?" he replied in a mocking tone.
He was toying with her now, Catherine could read it within his eyes. So she slowly rose up from her knees to stand practically toe to toe with Rathbone.
"Shall I try a different method?" she replied. Lord Rathbone raised a single black eyebrow up at her question before chuckling,
"Different is always good." He answered with a smug expression on his face.
"Suit yourself." She replied with a soft shrug of her shoulders before she raised both hands up and gave a firm push on Rathbone's broad shoulders. The lord, who wasn't expecting such a move, was forced back a small step. The distance wasn't anything to be exceptionally proud of but it did what Catherine wanted which was to free her book from underneath Lord Rathbone's foot. She swiftly bent down and picked it off the grass before she safely tucked it under her left arm.
"Well," Catherine began with a smart smirk, "…I guess this goes to show that when you want something done, you must do it yourself." She smartly stated. Lord Rathbone remained silent for a few seconds, his face blank as he carefully thought about Catherine's words. Suddenly a knowing smile pulled at his mouth,
"Indeed." He answered before his head cocked itself to the side, "That…spirit of yours seems oddly familiar." His dark eyes squinted slightly as he studied Catherine's face, "Have we ever met before?" he asked curiously.
Catherine's teal eyes stared boldly into two pools of ink before she forced a sweet smile onto her lovely face and curtseyed in response, "Don't concern yourself with me, my lord." She replied while she slowly turned away from Lord Rathbone and began the walk back to the balcony stairs. She paused after taking a few steps to glance a final time back over her shoulder, "…after all, I'm just a funny little girl." She finished before walking off.
Lord Rathbone's eyebrows furrowed together in deep thought at Catherine's words as he once more watched her disappear from sight. She was the most intriguing young woman he's ever laid eyes on, not to mention one of the loveliest. With her full, pink lips and that witty little smile, her deep, daring teal eyes that not doubt sparkled with her amusement or frustration, and her face smooth like marble that has lightly been kissed by the sun for it left its fading marks across her cheek bones and nose.
"Kind of like…" Rathbone stated out loud to himself before his eyes widened softly in recognition. His dark head turned in the direction of the garden before his eyes landed on the running fountain; the mental image of a young, freckled face girl not even 12 dressed in pink twirling about before the fountain's statue came to his mind.
"My, my, my…" he softly stated as he eyed the garden in remembrance of that one night nine years ago, "Look who's all grown up." He finished as the beautiful face of the young woman appeared in his thoughts once more.