Chapter 88

Lord Thomas Rambova, the 6th Earl of Raine, was known as Tom to his friends, was looking at the lavish wedding reception that his friend, The Marquess of Kain, was having for his wedding to one Lady Emily Moore, the daughter of late Lord and Lady Moore.
“Why do I even bother to be here, this is not my scene anyway,” he mumbled as he was sipping on the blood-laced wine that was handing out to the guests, especially the gentries from the Higher Court that were attending this reception.
“I can see that you are ready to bolt out of here,” Lord Danial Cutler, who ruled over the mining region, Vyckos, up in the south, was smirking at Thomas as the earl was rolling his eyes at his friend.
“You know I do,” he said as he was looking around the party. The Ladies were fanning themselves as mamas were trying to match their daughters to the lords that were bachelors. Luckily, no one was near Danial or Thomas on that matter.
They know where to stop aiming higher.
Danial smirked at Thomas as he was narrowing his eyes at his friend. The marquess and his new marchioness were heading toward the dance floor as Danial was clearing his throat. Tom looked at him over the rim of his glass.
“I tell you what, if you enjoy one dance with a fine Lady, you can go home and I will tell Ian that you have a headache to save your ass from his wrath,” Danial said as Tom was arching his eyebrow at the count.
“Are you sure you would not do anything stupid to taint my name even more? I don’t trust you after that time you told the Higher Court that I have diarrhea when I just don’t want to deal with the court for a while. You’re a devil when it comes to lying for your friend, Dan,” Tom said as Danial, who was known as Dan by his friend, was smiling wickedly at him. Tom shook his head as he was seeing at someone that was sitting by herself.
By the looks of her manners, she was a Lady.
I mean, of course, most of the crowds were from the gentry. But I never see her before, Tom mused as he was focusing on the orange hair that was glistening under the dim gaslight. It was like the hair was begged to be touch by hands.
His hands, specifically.
“I can see that you are catching someone’s fancy. Do you want to ask her for a dance, Tom?” Dan asked him before he was glaring at the count. Dan just smirked. Tom put the glass down on the passing tray of the servant before he was straightening his coat.
“You know where to find me,” Tom said as he was walking to make his way to the fair lady that was waiting for someone. Was she engaged? Tom asked himself as Dan was chuckling lowly behind him.
“Good luck, bud, you need them,” Dan said as Tom was making his way to the orange-headed Lady that was looking bored as the night could not get any better.
*****
Lady Jessica Cole, who was known as Jessie, was looking around the ballroom, unamazed with anything that was twirling around and the lavish gowns that the Ladies of her age were talking about. She was sighing before she was looking at the dancing couple.
I wished I would be her one day, dancing the night away as she was smiling to herself. Pfft, I wished!
Jessie was known as a cold-hearted woman to many but she was keeping a secret. A secret that no one knows, except for her late parents that have died in recent years. Jessie did not know that the secret that she was trying to uncover would make her the way she was today. But that was the old story, right now, she was Lady Jessica Cole, a cold-hearted Lady, unimpressed with everything.
Suddenly, she felt like she was being stalked by a predator. She did not know who was it or what but she knows that she can feel it in her bones. She was being preyed on them. She was about to run before someone was standing in front of her. She turned to look and cannot control the gasp that was coming out of her mouth.
He has the blackest hair that she ever seen and his eyes…it was the rarest color that she ever saw in her life.
They were violet.
She saw that his mouth was moving but she did not hear anything that he was speaking of. Jessie blinked her eyes before she was smiling at the Lord that was in front of her. She knew that she has to address the men here as Lord. They might be from the Higher Court, the trusted court that served the young queen of Niapachad Island.
“Pardon me, my lord. It seems that I don’t get what you are saying,” Jessie said before the lord was smiling at her. Then, he spoke again and his sultry voice was filling her eardrums.
“I was hoping that you would like to dance with me, milady if you would have me?” He said as he was offering his hand. Jessie blinked before she laughed.
She fucking laughed at his face.
*****
Tom was making his way to the Lady that was sitting by herself, enjoying the party from the sidelines. She did not participate in the dancing or chatting with someone as the others would do. She was a weird one, Tom mused before he was standing in front of her.
The Lady was looking at him and Tom was looking into the deepest blue eyes like sapphire was staring at him. Then, he was smiling at her.
“How are you doing, my lady? May I have this dance with you?” He said as he was looking at the lady on the chair. She blinked before she was trying to control the gasp that was escaping from her mouth. He chuckled before the lady was speaking to him.
“Pardon me, my lord. It seems that I don’t get what you are saying,” her sweet voice was filling his eardrums before something inside Tom was stirring.
That was odd, he mused before he was smiling at her and offering his hand to the lady as she was looking at it.
“I was hoping that you would like to dance with me, milady if you would have me?” He said with all the gentleness that he could master from all the tutoring that he has when he was younger. When he was not a man that taking on a big responsibility of taking care of a region after his parents’ passing.
The lady blinked at him before she did something that no one ever dared to do to him in public. The Lady was blinking at his gesture before she was laughing out loud. Laughing at his effort to woo her and she was shaking her head after that laughter. Tom blinked his eyes as she was staring at him with her blue orbs.
“But I don’t think I would be allowed to do so, my lord. You see, we have social rules and it stated that a Lady should not engage a Lord when they did not each other. You don’t know my full name as I did not know yours. Hence I must decline,” she said as she was standing up from the chair, ready to get away.
“But—“
“If you excuse me, my lord, I have somewhere to be,” she said before she was curtsying to him and make her exit.
“No, wait! Please, come back!” Tom said as the lady in question was making through the crowd with ease. She was glancing over her shoulder before she was smiling at him. Tom was reaching out for her and when someone was passing through his view, the lady was gone.
Tom grunted before he was making his way to the less crowded place in the ballroom as he was running his fingers through his hair. Damn, she’s fast, he thought before Dan was coming behind him.
“Well, it seems that you fancy her alright,” he said as Tom was glaring at his friend. Dan smirked before sipped on the wine. Tom looked around the crowd but she was gone.
And the worst part was, he did not even know her name to track her down.