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P e t e r - W i n t e r s


Exercise? Digestion? He cocked an eyebrow. Really? Peter decided that it was time he took charge. Eduard, though he could be mature and the one in power, didn't seem quite like his public image at the moment. Peter grabbed Eduard's hand firmly, though gently, and undid the door to the carriage. Usually, either Sebastian or the driver took care of that, but Peter wasn't noble enough to care.

"Come on," Peter coaxed, "Get over your fear of carriages enough to drive thirty blocks. You said it was a short distance yourself." He got in as gracefully as he could while still holding onto Eduard. He sat down and started pulling Eduard in. "If you're so terrified, I'll let you sit on my lap," Peter teased. He was in a good mood. Finally, Eduard showed some imperfection. It was almost too good to be true. A fear? And a fear of carriages, at that.

Of course, Peter was making assumptions, but he thought that he was quite on the mark this time. There was simply no other logical explanation, and he was never one to argue against logic.

((You posted twice... rolleyes ))

P e t e r - W i n t e r s


The moment he heard the anger, Peter's mood switched. Wow. This is sort of serious... He hadn't expected any anger to come out of this. Was the Marquess's fear really that bad? And if it wasn't the carriage, then what was it? But Peter felt like this wasn't the moment to ask. Peter looked down at his hands, which were laying clasped together on his lap. He was about to apologize when he thought of something even better.

He reached an arm around Eduard's back and another around his waist, joining his hands together again to form a sort of side hug. He stroked Eduard's side comfortingly, like his mother used to do to him when he was ever afraid. "I'm sorry... I'm not enjoying your suffering..." His voice was soft and sincere. He laid his head down on Eduard's arm, close to his shoulder, but not actually being tall enough to reach it. "Just breathe deeply... Close your eyes..." Peter followed his own advice, hoping that this would encourage Eduard to do so too.

But Peter couldn't help the fear that showed through in his own voice. Eduard could easily have mistaken it, but Peter was afraid of Eduard's anger. It was times like these that Peter was reminded of the class separation. Eduard had absolute power over him. If he ever angered Eduard, who knew what would happen to him—or even worse, his family. And Eduard had also lied. Nothing I say could anger you indeed... Peter smiled sadly, silently reprimanding himself for even believing that in the first place.

((Ah... Wish there was something I could do to help... hehe...))

P e t e r - W i n t e r s


The tears of disappointment that Peter had been trying to hold back went away with a couple of Eduard's magical words. "Really...?" He had been expecting the worse when Eduard had opened his mouth, but this was almost the greatest news he could ask for. He squeezed Eduard's waist—a little show of his sudden joy—and murmured, "You're welcome." He continued his previous actions and eventually broke the silence with, "I'm always around... Or at least I'll be around until you and I finish with this job, at which point, we leave each other forever but..." Realizing he was trailing off into another corollary, he quickly returned to his main point. "Anyways, I'll be glad to listen if you ever want to talk." He meant every word of what he just said. Even if Eduard stumbled into his room, half drunk and craving a little bodily contact, Peter would probably still listen to whatever Eduard had to say.

The carriage slowed to a halt in front of a grand manor. The door was opened by the foot man outside. Peter immediately let go of Eduard and assumed the character of Lady Rosaline: dignified; confident; and respectable. He let Eduard out first, like a lady would, and followed right after. He glanced nervously at Eduard, to see how he would be now that he was out of the carriage. They were under an upper balcony, so the rain was not hitting them at all. Peter would wait until Edward was ready to proceed before actually taking his hand. They were late, but Eduard had wanted to be late, didn't he?

P e t e r - W i n t e r s


Peter wondered if Eduard was kidding or not about the warm hearth and the cup of tea, but he was glad that Eduard was feeling better. Well, at least he looked better. Peter would have to wait until they got home to actually see if Eduard was all right. After all, there was still the carriage ride back.

Peter entered arm in arm with Eduard into the grand hall that led to the ballroom. Ornate doors lined the sides, but the largest, the one at the end of the hall, was the only one open. There were a few people lounging around out in the hall, but the bulk of them were in the ballroom.

Peter tried not to look around and stare too much, since he was supposed to be used to this sort of place, but he couldn't help an occasional glance here and there at the swirly golden designs all over the walls and ceilings. And he had thought Eduard's house was ornate! Eduard's house still seemed grand, in Peter's mind, but less flashy than Viscount Rutherford's manor.

Peter walked down the stairs onto the main floor and tried his best to look calm. He had read a bit on it, but he wasn't sure what he was supposed to do. He stuck with Eduard, so that Eduard could do most of the talking. At least Lady Rosaline wasn't supposed to know any of these people either. Lord Hamilton and Ashlin Duns... Berwick-upon-Tweed near St. Abb's head... father is ill... Peter went over the information in his head, making sure that he had it all down perfectly. He glanced to Eduard for some lead as to what to do now.

Many people turned to stare as they realized that it was actually Eduard who was walking into the room. And there was another lady with him! Whispers broke out amongst the crowd, not sure what this all meant. After all, Eduard hadn't formally announced the engagement yet. Was this just any other lady with him? His cousin?

A couple people glanced outside the tall windows that they were next to, making sure that it was, in fact, still raining. How utterly shocking it was that he had shown up while it was pouring, and in a carriage, at that! Surely, something odd must have been going on.

Peter fidgeted a little next to Eduard, feeling rightfully uncomfortable at all the stares. Do I look weird? Do they know? Fear gripped him at the thought that he had already failed his job. And they had barely even gotten into the room. He kept his face straight, with only a slight hint of embarrassment and confusion, like a lady would have if they were in Peter's position.

A tall man with blond hair walked over to Eduard and Peter. Peter guessed that it was Viscount Rutherford, but he wasn't sure. He was the only one moving in the whole room. "Marquess Michaels! How nice it is for you to join us!" He walked over and nodded his head slightly as a greeting. Turning to Peter, he smiled brightly. "And who is this lovely lady?" He looked to Eduard, clearly expecting the answer to come from him.

(("firing?" Wow, you really are tired... Oh, and it's "led" instead of "lead." I only mention this because I know you actually care about this stuff, even though I said that I wasn't going to be a stickler on grammar... Oh! And sorry if I went overt the top with the surprise, but a lot of these people know Eduard and his story, right? So it would be right that they were surprised...))

P e t e r - W i n t e r s


A glint passed through the Viscount's eyes for a moment, disappearing as fast as it had come. It seemed to him that Eduard was making fun of him, taking full control of his higher status. But there wasn't enough tonal quality in it to be sure, but the Viscount never liked Eduard. After all, Eduard was of higher status and was richer. The Viscount was greedy for his status and power. Put those facts together and one doesn't get that nice of a feeling.

Nevertheless, William Rutherford smiled politely and turned to Lady Rosaline when she was introduced. He leaned down gracefully and kissed Rosaline's hand, lingering no longer than necessary. "It's a pleasure to make the acquaintance of one so beautiful as yourself, Lady Rosaline." All in politeness, of course. Viscount Rutherford already had his hands full with various women; he didn't need anyone else, especially Eduard's pick.

Peter could only blush and murmur, "Thank you." He wasn't sure what to say, for fear that he may be out of line or too informal. Was he supposed to address a Viscount as such, or was he supposed to say something else? Really, being an aristocrat's lady was tough. Peter's respect for the women around him increased greatly. Peter looked up to see that Viscount Rutherford's attention was off of him and onto Eduard. He breathed a very quiet sigh of relief.

"Marquess Michaels, as you notice," He gestured to the staring and whispering ball attendees around him, "your arrival was quite a pleasant surprise! No one was expecting your appearance due to this horrid weather." Viscount Rutherford had been hoping for rain, thinking that Eduard wouldn't come if it did thunderstorm. He had only invited Eduard due to his connections and high status. It would have been rude of him not to invite Eduard, so he couldn't really avoid it. Sure, there were parties and balls that he wanted Eduard to make an appearance at, but those were the ones with other important guests, such as Prince Alexander, and so it would be more... flashy to have Eduard there.

"But don't misunderstand me. I am glad that you are able to attend my ball." Most of the crowd had gotten back to their groups and circles, though most of the talk was about Eduard and his new girlfriend. "Welcome to my grand manor, Marquess." The Viscount turned to Peter. "Wonderful meeting you, milady." And with that, he retreated to talk to his other guests, some of which were still staring openly at Eduard and Peter.

((Phew! I'm glad you're not one of those people who get annoyed and smile stiffly saying, "... Thank you..." And then you have a murderous glare in your eyes...))

P e t e r - W i n t e r s


Peter had also heard the slight hostility in his tone. That only served to make Peter curious as to what the history was between the two. Eduard seemed to take it quite well; he even might have liked it. And he even spiked his own drinks? Such a delightful fellow.
Peter took the advice with an accepting glance, since Eduard's actions were so guarded and quiet. He wasn't sure if he would have gone for the wine anyways. He had never had a great wall when it came to alcohol. That was the reason that he had gotten into this situation in the first place, he thought grimly.

Peter received the cup of tea gratefully, for he was easily cold. Even under all of these layers, he still trembled slightly now and then. And the April weather wasn't helping occasional shiver. But he hid them well enough, so that only Eduard may notice once in a while, but even that was a stretch.
He took a sip of his cup and smirked; he would have laughed had he not been on guard. Though the cup hindering most of peoples' views made it look like a regular, lady-like smile. It was wonderful and so pleasing to know that both Eduard and Peter's acting skills could fool this whole ballroom. It was also quite sad on some level.

The quadrille band was playing light mood music at the moment, giving it all that they had, though they still had the waltzes to go through later in the night. Peter wondered if this ball would have a formal dinner or not. After all, they had little cakes and sandwiches with the tea, and Peter couldn't even eat more than needed of those items. He wasn't really that hungry, but he could force down the food. But he had to mentally prepare if there was going to be whole dinner ahead. He probably had never had this much food any day in his life. It was quite amazing.

((Good... I'm the same way. Hehe... Quick question: is the -ness really necessary in your use of the word "momentous?" I mean, with that suffix, it is, indeed, still an adjective, but I find the wording to be a bit... Well, I haven't encountered it yet.))

P e t e r - W i n t e r s


No dinner, huh? That was welcome news. Peter didn't want to eat any more. He probably wouldn't partake in dinner the next day either.
In response to Eduard's gentlemanly query, Peter smiled softly. "It is very wonderful, Eduard." His eyes twinkled as he looked around. He had never thought that he would one day be part of this all as a reality; though in a sense, he was still acting. His eyes drifted over to Viscount Rutherford and his expression hardened only very slightly. Unless someone had been paying close attention and looking intently at him, they probably wouldn't have noticed any change from his sweet smile.

Peter harbored no particular hard feelings for the Viscount, for any business between Rutherford and Eduard would remain just as that. But Peter didn't like the way that the Viscount talked to Eduard, since it was quite rude. And what made it worse was how everyone else couldn't hear it, making it a much more personal thing. It was almost like a challenge.

Peter had to hold back a laugh. Who would be foolish enough to challenge a person of higher status? Though Eduard probably didn't mind if Peter went beyond the boundaries that society had put them into, there were still places that should never be ventured into. Such was the case of actual love between social ranks or any such affairs. Those were the hardest taken and the most frowned upon. How sad it all seems, Peter reflected.

Soon, the quadrille band prepared to strike their first waltz. One could tell by the sudden change in atmosphere as the guests pushed off their plates and glasses to the servants in preparation for the oncoming dance. Peter was too occupied by taking in his surroundings to notice any change. It all was too new to him.

((So "momentousness" is actually a word, then? So odd...))