The sun had already begun to set in the distance. Warm, yellowy-orange light filtering softly through the greenery of the trees, in the lightest of hues. I loved the feeling which came with the approach of nightfall. I always found the prospect of dark, not-so-safe night to be truly exciting. At night, I could sleep and in my dreams, I'd be anything. I could be the sparrow or the lark soaring in the majestic heavens, piercing the winter-white clouds and admiring the world from a view which no human being could have. I could be the waterfall and the stream, the rivers. Flowing furiously in one direction, cutting into anything in it's way. Never having to be ignored, but feared. Yes, I truly did love dreaming at night.
Our carriage driver, Mr.Wicker, an old and surly man, who'd been working for my family since my parents had married, gave the horses pulling us a slight crack of the whip, and as I winced at the sound, the horses neighed loudly and their hoofs started clacking at the cobblestone pavement beneath us. I tried not to breathe too much, having a corset so tightly wounded around my waist. But I could bear with the discomfort and the pain, if it meant I would look as beautiful, and as stunning as my sisters.
Anneliese was fiddling with the lace embroidery on her gown's hem, yawning every once in awhile. Anneliese was a pure bookworm, studious and logical. This also made her hate social events and functions with all her being, as she found them to frivolous and shallow for her smart taste. She sighed and then, started twirling a loose strand of her hair, with absolute boredom.
Rita, on the other hand, was completely giddy and practically bouncing with delight. Her face was beaming radiantly and she had a wide smile on her face, grinning from ear to ear. She kept on looking out the carriage window impatiently, as if by doing that, we would somehow magically appear in front of Count Gristenor's mansion. She occasionally reached for her diamond necklace and felt the jewels.
My mother would be going ahead of us, and my father wasn't leaving his study anytime soon, so it was just the three of us sisters, sitting inside the stuffy atmosphere of our horse-drawn vehicle. I loved balls, don't get me wrong, but the only reason I do is because it gives me hope that maybe something new and different, something exciting will happen there. A way to leave behind the drudgery of daily life, a chance to experience a whole new perspective. How that would happen...and exactly who would make it happen was beyond me. I just wanted it. I didn't care how.
"Ouch!" I yelped, biting down on my lower lip. Rita had just stepped on my foot in her mad haste to disembark from the carriage, and she'd nearly knocked Mr.Wicker aside.
"Rita, control yourself!" I scolded under my breath, trying not to attract too much attention from the other guests outside the mansion, some of whom had begun to gossip behind their big, annoying rainbow fans. For goodness sake, I thought.
"It's just a little bit of pain, Suzette." Anneliese said matter-of-factly, completely oblivious to the stares and looks we were getting, as she proceeded to dismount too. She pulled out her own fan and began to fan herself demurely. Of course, she couldn't care less what people thought of her. She already had enough gossip going around about her study habits.
I sighed disappointedly. It was positively horrible being youngest in my family, having everyone automatically dismiss my opinions and rebukes. I could feel my cheeks flush with bright red and warmth, as opposed to the cold of the evening, when we entered the entrance of the manor. They were still talking animatedly about Rita's display. I felt like melting into the shrubbery outside.
I nearly felt compelled to shield my eyes from the glaring yellow light streaming down from the chandeliers hovering above us, once we were inside. I quickly surveyed the main ballroom and spotted the figure of my mother, busy socializing in the center of the room. She was so heavily surrounded by people that if I hadn't heard her laugh, her fake laugh which she does when she's forced to laugh over someone's pathetic joke, I wouldn't have realized she was there.
Rita had started flirting already. It wasn't hard to do for her. She was always approached by gentlemen, desperate for a closer look at her beauty, at every ball. So it was hardly surprising that she'd been proposed to numerous times, but she'd always turned them all down. I used to question her about it but she usually just pretended that she didn't her me, so I gave up trying long ago.
Anneliese and Rita were both so beautiful. They both had the same luxuriant, chestnut-brown hair which lightly curled at the ends. And the same ocean blue eyes. Except that Rita's beauty was more of the drop-dead gorgeous-look-at-me kind whilst Anneliese's required closer inspection but was still noticeable. So, what did that make me?
I wasn't as tall as either of them, and my feet were 2 sizes bigger than theirs. My hair was a glossy, shining black and I sometimes had extremely bad hair-days with it. And my eye color was hardly unique, being a dark,hazel brown. And I wasn't slender in my form nor graceful, oh wait, neither was Rita, but still.
My mother had politely excused herself from the group of society's most notorious gossips, to come and inspect us. She was smiling but it wasn't genuine. It was forced. You could see it in her stormy ocean eyes. She sighed exasperatedly when she noticed Anneliese's dress. I wondered what was wrong. Anneliese looked so refined and pretty in it. But then again, this was my mother.
"Anneliese, why did you wear that hideous frock? I told you to specifically to wear the brand-new one which had been sent in last week." Her voice spoke levels of coldness. I turned away from them. It was the same. She always demanded the perfection which no one could give. I knew Anneliese's answer.
"I apologize dearly, Mother. It merely slipped my mind, and I thought that this one seemed acceptable." She replied innocently. Anneliese was a marvelous actress. She hated the new dress that'd been ordered by my mother. And truthfully, the said dress really was far too frivolous and over-the-top in it's design. Anneliese would rather run away with a footman than wear that.
"Of course, you forgot. Always having your head buried in those loathsome books of yours!" She reproached her, bitterly. She then regained her composure and the unfeeling smile was back on her lips once again.
"Excuse me, I must see to your sister." She said in a false tone. And she flew instantly to Rita's side, asking for an introduction to the young heir currently flirting with Rita. I could see him visibly squirm under my mother's intense gaze. I pitied him.
"Suzette," Anneliese had started walking off in the direction of the balcony, "pay attention." And then, she'd disappeared out the doors. I knew what that meant. The guest of honor was here.
I didn't wonder why Anneliese had just walked off so suddenly. I never got the chance too. Because at that very moment, the opportunity I'd always hoped for strode into the ballroom, and I lost my breath for more than just one measly moment.
He was the most handsome creature I'd ever beheld. And when I saw him, I felt instantly numb and brimming with emotion at the same time. My heart was beating so quickly that I nearly thought it hadn't been functioning properly throughout my whole life until now.
And when he smiled. I knew I must have died then, and gone to heaven. My knees went weak and I should have collapsed had I not been standing against the wall. His golden blond hair was shining under the glare of the chandeliers and his eyes were a sweet honey color.
But just as quickly as I'd been stunned into euphoria did it evaporate when I realized that he'd never be interested in someone as unattractive as me. I'd been entertaining false hope, once again. I brushed away some invisible wrinkles on my skirt and trotted in the opposite direction from the gloriously handsome stranger.
When I reached the balcony, and stepped outside did I realize why Anneliese hadn't stayed to see the newcomer along with everyone else. She was too busy kissing Miles Frank in the shadowy side of the porch. I blushed a very, very deep shade of crimson and fled before they noticed I was there.
I couldn't believe it. Anneliese, who'd said that she'd never get married, was there kissing Miles Frank, one of the most eligible bachelors in society. Sometimes you can't really know everything about a person at all, a tiny voice whispered into the echoing space of my mind. No doubt she was risking her reputation by doing that while everyone else was too preoccupied with the newcomer, just to spite my mother for the latter's comment.
But if my mother knew, I'd tell you she'd be pleased one way or another. Especially since Miles was both an heir, and possessed a title. Then I started wondering why nobody knew about this little romance of theirs. I was so caught up in my train of thought that I never realized who was coming in my direction at that particular moment until it was too late.
"May I have this dance, milady?" A very pale white hand was held out for me to take, and I could feel the air in my lungs escaping in a rush. Because that pale hand belonged to him.
I nearly lost my voice but managed to strain out a reply. "I...yes, you may." That voice didn't belong to me at all. It belonged to someone who wasn't falling apart on the inside, whose heart hadn't just gone wild. His eyes were so mesmerizing, so enchanting. I had to say yes.
I took his hand and felt a sizzle of warmth flow down my arm and resuscitate my dying heart, although his hand was as cold as the grave. He swept me effortlessly out onto the floor where the other couples were dancing in synchronized rhythm to the waltz being played by the orchestra.
I felt tremors escape down my spine when he placed his other hand on my waist, and my body was assaulted by more warmth and at the same time, piercing cold. It seemed like a dream, like the dreams where I could be what I wanted to be. I felt like the sparrow I'd been in my dream, floating over the sky without a care in the world.
I was floating in every second of his embrace. Although the steps to the dance were memorized clearly in my mind, I felt like I was learning them for the first time in my life when we danced. He was so tall. I kept my eyes focused on his, despite the fact I knew I might die at any moment from it.
His eyes said that he was amused by me but at the same time, I could feel he was lonely too somehow. I could feel the jealous glares of the other girls on me, and for the first time, I understood how it felt to be envied by others. Even Rita was pretending that it didn't bother her that I'd been chosen by him to dance. I knew it was selfish but I enjoyed the satisfaction I got from it.
When the dance ended, I introduced myself. "Suzette Langley." I said, as I curtsied. I felt my heart flutter when I heard his echoing voice, chime like a bell.
"James Stoner." He took my left hand in his and gave it a kiss. I excused myself and fled to the safety of Anneliese, who was standing offhandedly in the corner of the room. She regarded me warily.
"Suzette. Don't get ahead of yourself." And that was all she said to me for the remainder of the evening. But I didn't care whatsoever. I was literally over the moon with happiness. But little did I know that, this would be the start of one of the strangest, most memorable chapters of my life.