It was about mid March and you had been paraded through endless balls, soirees, dinners and functions since late January. The season had come upon the ton quickly and while you normally didn't mind the fancy dresses, the champagne and the sociableness of it all, you would much rather be cuddled up in a soft bed reading a book, or strolling through a garden admiring any type of flower you could find.
Ever since your debut into society two years ago, each year had been a whirlwind of suitors. Your mother made sure of it, and you supposed you were a natural appeal to the suiters, not only for your 'delicate and natural beauty,' as your mother liked to tell you constantly, but also because you knew you could converse about anything, your intellect and gentle way of speaking very appealing to the men of the ton as you put anyone who you were talking to at ease. For two years no one had quite interested you. You were still young after all, and at most social events you focused only on your friends and the dancing and the occasional flirting. But this year was different. Your mother reminded you every day leading up to the start of the season the you would find a husband this year, and there would be no more putting it off. It not only made you feel like nothing more than a pawn in her game of selling you off to the highest bidder, but it made you also realize that you would never find true love.
You wanted love; a love like you read about in your precious books. Something like the 'silly romances' that your mother scolded you for reading too much. And if you couldn't have love, you at least hoped to find some sort of passion or attraction. You wanted to feel any ounce of something before you intended to marry anyone.
But alas, that was all a dream, since from the start of the season you had been at every single social function, thrust into the middle of a pool of eligible men, your mother introducing you to every single one of them; the more you were forced to talk or dance with these noble men, the more put off you were by all of them. You hadn't been this miserable in the years passed, but since your mother was so determined this year to give you away to a husband, all of those negative feelings were just building up.
And so here you were again, at another glittering, decadent ball. An older man, a Viscount, who could have been your grandfather, was talking to you about something uninteresting as he tried to impress you with whatever boring topic he was currently going on about. He was an old widower, and incredibly wealthy. Your mother had wasted zero time before she pushed you forward in front of him to get him to notice you, which he happily did with a glint in his eye as he looked you up and down, clearly enjoying the way your silver and white dress showed off your attractive bosom, a string of diamonds further accentuating your delicate neck and collar bone. Your big, beautiful eyes looked above you as he spoke, as you started counting every candle in the epic chandelier above, wanting to focus on anything else as this man leaned closer and closer into you.
"My dear?" The Viscount said, as if he had been asking you something and you had been paying zero attention, which in fact was the truth.
"Hmmm?" You said, your eyes moving from the chandelier to his unattractive face. "I said, you would make quite a lovely, little wife wouldn't you?" He said with a smirk on his face which made your stomach turn with nausea.
You couldn't believe any man would just come right out and say something so bold, having only just met you, and you really didn't even know how to respond. "I…well…" you stuttered, your eyes now darting around trying to find an escape route. As your eyes scanned around the ballroom, they briefly landed on your mother, who was watching you from afar with an expectant look, her eyes practically bulging out of her head as she saw you clearly struggling, and then you looked back to the old man who was also looking at you waiting for your response. Suddenly the room felt extremely hot, the pressure building with so many expectant eyes on you. You had enough and you needed to get out.
"Excuse…excuse me!" You said as you rushed away, not giving the Viscount any last look or backwards glance. As you ran out of the grand ballroom, you heard your mother yell your name after you, most likely wondering what had gotten into you; her usually perfectly behaved daughter. You had about just reached your limit with being perfect. Only two months into the season and you felt like you were being buried alive; your mother always watching…suitors always staring…it was too much to bear knowing it would end up with you betrothed to someone you had no love or passion for.
As you finally made your way out into the front garden area you took a huge breath of fresh air, your corset straining against your ribs, lungs and breasts as you tried to gasp for air. You closed your eyes as you gasped for breath as you began to pace around the front gardens, as you put your hand to your forehead which was clammy with stress and overwhelming feelings of pressure. You really wished you had remembered to bring a fan with you, despite it being a chilly evening, not quite Spring yet. Walking around the gardens and through the tall hedges you finally found a stone bench under and overhang of ivy and with a sigh of relief sat down, the stone feeling wonderfully cool through the thin fabric of your dress, and the dizzy feelings you had quickly dissipating. After a few minutes of focusing on only the sounds of your breath and of the sound of a running fountain somewhere nearby, you then heard the sound of a few footsteps entering your little private area of the garden, your head immediately snapping up to see who was invading your bubble.
You couldn't tell if you were imagining him, perhaps you had gone insane and one of your romance novels had come to life, because the person who had entered the space you were in was a very handsome man dressed in an elegant suit of pure matte black with black crystal buttons to match going down the front, an elegant walking stick in his hand, and a few large rings gracing some of his long fingers. What really stood out about him however was his hair and eyes. His long white-blond hair was pulled back at the nape of his neck with a black ribbon, the moon reflecting off of the almost silver strands. His eyes too were reflecting the light of the moon, the silver of them so piercing as he looked at you with an unreadable stare.
He had clearly not thought anyone would be within the gardens, as the ball was still going on inside and he seemed surprised as well to find someone away from the party. You immediately stood up from the bench, that deep rooted sense of propriety showing itself in you, as you knew you shouldn't be alone in a garden with a man without an escort.
The man stopped in his tracks, his eyes looking you over so quickly you almost didn't notice it. "Excuse me miss," his deep, honeyed voice said quietly, as he took a step backwards to leave.
"I beg your pardon sir," you said as you began walking quickly towards him to leave the small haven you had found. "It is me who should be excusing myself…I should not be out here alone," you said meekly. You had intended to leave quickly, incase someone should see the two of you alone, but you realized his tall body was currently in the only entrance and exit to the area. His silver eyes appraised you with curiosity once again, and the shine of them practically burned, but not in a bad way. Seeing you quickly trying to leave, he moved to the side elegantly and his eyes looked down at the ground, but not before he spoke deeply and softly once again. "And do not apologize for needing some time alone…I completely understand," he said.
You stopped briefly as you were now next to him right at the exit of the hidden garden. Your big doe eyes looked up into his face, which was even more stunning up close; so chiseled and handsome and yet beautiful and almost ethereal at the same time. He smelled divine too, like you were walking in a forest of pine trees and with almost a hint of leather mixed in.
"Thank you," you said softly, really meaning it too. No one ever gave you grace or allowed you to do what you wanted without judgement. Him simply saying that, made you feel as if you didn't always need to be perfect and proper.
His eyes looked back up and met yours with an intensity that was rather intimidating and yet you couldn't look away. You must have just looked at each other for only a second but it felt much longer, and it felt like you could't quite breath. However, he nodded his head down in a slight bow and with that passing gesture of farewell you made your way out of the garden. With one last look back at him you quickly walked back to the party, your heart fluttering slightly in your chest and the feeling like perhaps you got too much air.
The rest of the night you tried to remain a wall flower, your eyes searching for the mysterious man you had just met in the gardens. You also had zero interest in catching the eye of your mother or any of the other suitors she most likely was trying to set you up with. Luckily you noticed a group of young women you were friendly with and so you stayed and chatted with them for quite a while, sipping on champagne and listening to the latest gossip. You weren't one to normally gossip, but at least pretending to listen to it kept you away from any actually being courted or bothered.
As the party finally ended you and your group of friends began to make your way outside to meet the rest of your families, gather in your carriages, and head home. On the way out, in the main foyer of the mansion, you saw the man you had been looking for putting an empty champagne glass down on a silver tray and also heading out the front door. He still seemed alone, which made the mystery of him even more pronounced. "Who is he?" One of the young women in your group whispered.
"I've never seen him before," whispered another, as the gossip started to come quickly now that a new man in society had been revealed.
"Why is he alone? He has to be married surely," whispered another. You said nothing to the girls, not wanting to reveal you had been alone in a garden with the mysterious man, but your face turned a bit pink and your heart fluttered again, hearing them gossip about the attractive man, especially hearing the girls start to talk about his good looks.
The man's carriage was waiting for him as you all made your way outside. It was a gorgeous, opulent carriage of pure black with silver rococo style trim, and his horses were a shiny jet black as well. He must have been a man of extreme wealth to afford such opulence and the mystery around who he could be only grew. He must have heard the twittering and whispering coming from behind him from your group and so before he entered his waiting carriage, he turned around briefly to see what was going on behind him. Your cheeks flushed pink even more as his eyes scanned the group with a raised brow, but then his eyes landed on you and his face softened. He bowed his head slightly again, and then entered his carriage and took off. All of the girls in your group started going aflutter after seeing the mysterious man acknowledge you. They all started talking at once, "Do you know him!?" "Who is he?!" "He acknowledged you!"
"I…I don't know!" You said, now ironically wishing your mother was here to pull you away and take you home. "I don't know who he is," you said breathlessly.
"But he seemed to know you!" Said one of the girls. Your cheeks just flushed a deeper pink, and almost as if your prayers had been answered your mother finally came to join you outside, your carriage about to pull up as well to take you home.
"I've got to go!" You said running towards your mother, as your friends still shouted questions behind you. "What are they going on about?" Your mother asked as you caught up to her and your approaching carriage. "Oh…nothing..just some gossip.." You said breathlessly. Your mother looked at the other girls disapprovingly as you and she stepped inside the carriage. Your heart was still beating fast and you rested your head against the cushioned walls of the carriage, not daring to look your mother in the eye. "Don't think we won't talk about your behavior with the Viscount tonight young lady. He was a good match for you and you completely embarrassed our family with the way you acted" your mother scolded you. Although her voice seemed very far away, since all you could think about was the man in the garden with the piercing silver eyes like the stars. "Mhmm," you said, completely brushing her off, as your mind wandered as you secretly wished of seeing the mysterious man again at the next ball. And indeed you would.
