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Lord Tobias Hurst, Duke of Devon (lord_hurst) wrote in toujoursliberer,
@ 2008-05-31 13:21:00

Entry tags:

abigail_mountford-miles, aime_laurent, charles_hurst, daniel_perkins, daphne_wexley, emilie_ashford, eward_mountford-miles, harry_fisher, katherine_rochester, sabana_alvarez, tobias_hurst

Lord Hurst's Hunt; The Evening's Entertainment

Subject: Lord Hurst's Hunting Party; The Evening’s Entertainment
Where: Bailston Abbey, The Ball Room
Who: Lord Tobias Hurst
Warnings: none
Open to: All

Lord Hurst hadn’t expected the day to exhaust him so greatly- a morning of hunting and shooting was hardly exerting, after all, but as he and those guests remaining over night settled down to dinner, he suddenly realised that he was near exhausted. Perhaps it was not merely the physical activity, but of entertaining so many young people and having to keep up with them. At least Charles was here and, to some degree, taking up his duties. The play would be preformed before bedtime, and he was, surprisingly, looking forwards to it. His son was no Shakespeare, he knew that, but he could not help but feel that Charles might just impress their guests.

Now dinner was over, the plates cleared away, and the dining room as full of cigar smoke and the smell of good Port. Many of the young men had abandoned the talk of politics now, however, and had moved into the Ball room to join the women folk, and Hurst could hear the quartet begin yet another fast-tempo’d dance.

“If you would excuse me, gentlemen. I promised Lady Hurst at least one dance.” He said, as he got up from his chair and made his way into the room, glancing around the room at the swirling couples. He could help but notice, however, that there already seemed to be one or two guests that had gone off to bed early.

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krochester
2008-05-31 01:59 pm UTC (link)

Katherine had not intended to do much dancing, but the smoke in the dining room was enough to drive her out of it and into the ballroom instead. She knew that heading off to bed when the evening was not half begun was rude, so she resolved to stay for at least a respectable amount of time, then bid her host and hostess good evening and retire. As she entered the ballroom, Katherine suddenly felt very dizzy. Dances always made her a bit woozy, the swirling colors of the dresses and the music all too much, but paired with the smoke and that Lord Hurst's high society women friends wore sparkling gowns in metallics, it was positively overwhelming.

And, on account of the aforementioned dresses, Katherine felt as though she was wrongfully a part of the crowd. Her mother, in an attempt to reconcile some of the ill will between her and her daughter, had given her a new gown for the weekend, one seemingly of molten gold, with embroidered lace down the bodice - or, at least, what there was of it, as, in typical Georgina Rochester fashion, the neckline was meant for attracting yet another Parliamentary bedpartner - and brocaded detailing down the skirt. Katherine painfully blended in with the other womenfolk, and she did not want to. But, as she had affirmed to herself, she would not be there long.

Glancing around the room in hopes of finding Daphne, but perhaps sure that her friend would either be dancing up a storm or still with the men in the dining room, Katherine instead caught views of the other guests. She knew many of them by face, if not well, and others she knew not at all. A friend of her mother's here, a business partner of Miles' there, and it was not until her eyes had wound their way completely around the room that Katherine finally noticed the inevitable; Eward emerging from the dining room into the ballroom. She turned away, both ashamed of what she had said earlier and eager to avoid confrontation once again, needing time before she might speak to him again.

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lord_eward
2008-05-31 02:11 pm UTC (link)

Having spent the dinner laughing and jesting with the various folk he either knew or had met that morning, Eward's energy for making nice was waning. The mask of the jolly and wickedly witty Lord was beginning to fall and though he wanted to dance Eward would have preferred to simply disappear up to his room. However appearances were made to keep up and he could hardly let his droop for a second, lest someone notice and start a whole new round of rumours about how off he seemed, and how was his health?

Walking out of the smoke to the ballroom he took a moment to adjust his eyes. He had never adjusted to cigars or pipes and he was glad to be away from the smokey air, glancing at the detail of the grand room. He smiled at a few guests who greeted him, stepping amongst the crowds to watch the people dance. As his gaze crossed the room he noticed a particularly striking woman in gold. He smiled, preparing to go over when he realised with sudden clarity that it was Katherine.

Heavens. She looked so stunning in that gown it was hard for him to remember exactly how he was supposed to be behaving. On catching her eyes his expression was that of admiration with a hint of a smile, but when he remembered her snappish words from earlier it changed to one of annoyance and superiority which he had displayed to her for years.

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krochester
2008-05-31 02:21 pm UTC (link)

Katherine had looked away rather quickly upon noticing Eward, but not before he could catch her eyes, if only for a brief moment. In that second, she had seen his mood shift from, she was sure, initial admiration of her appearance to realization that they were not on speaking terms. As she had turned away, Katherine had seen the old, perhaps falsely superior Eward return in his expression, and that made her stomach churn. But if she was to distance herself, it had to be with someone worth distancing herself from, and that was the Eward she had always known.

Swallowing, Katherine then took a deep breath, calming herself, and turning to go towards the refreshments in the ballroom, far lighter fare than the heavy Port in the dining room and much more to her liking. But in moving in such a direction, Katherine once again found herself inescapably in Eward's line of sight. It was as if she'd never escape without being taunted by what she'd so wantonly done with him. Granted, he had indeed been kinder to her of late, and respectful, but did he not realize that they couldn't behave differently when with company who knew them? Someone would realize that there was something amiss between them.

Strengthening her resolve, Katherine started towards the refreshments anyway. If he wanted to start something with her, it was his move, not hers.

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bedsidemanner
2008-05-31 03:39 pm UTC (link)

Daniel spotted Daphne's dear friend by the drinks and, if he allowed himself to think on it, she looked rather spectacular. With a smile he approached, leaving Daphne by the side of the dancefloor as he went to get them some drinks, deciding to take the chance to converse with her.

"Having fun?" he asked, oblivious to her nerves about Eward as he scooped some orange punch into a glass.

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krochester
2008-05-31 03:44 pm UTC (link)

Katherine was so thoroughly distracted by her determination to avoid Eward's eyes that she barely noticed Daniel come up beside her. She knew him well enough, though not in any great capacity, and appreciated him, especially for the smiles he seemed to bring to Daphne's face without effort. Lord knew, Daphne needed it.

When Daniel spoke, Katherine nearly jumped out of her skin, but managed to appear nonchalant. "As much fun as can be had when one's head is full of smoke and lungs compressed by a corset," Katherine responded in good humor, not wanting to appear as ill at ease as she was. "And yourself?"