where: the ballroom with: open cordelia had nearly revolted when maron had advised the king to include her in the list of debutantes. she was three and twenty, and the last thing she needed was to be put on display for people's entertainment. though she was used to doing that for gaining information, and she turned heads whenever she went. but putting on a white gown to symbolize her virtue? that had to be a joke. as the ball had progressed, cordelia had done as she had been instructed. she was there for one purpose alone, after all, and that was not seeking a husband. she gathered information, using her siren's voice to collect important pieces to report back to maron after the festivities. there was no shortage of suitors (thankfully her dance card only held so many names) but she did her duty, seducing men suspected to be loyal to emrys, and taunting them to tell her what in their minds was idle gossip, but in maron's eyes was ammunition. she couldn't exactly complain about the attention, though. attention, she did enjoy. being paraded around as some potential wife? that was not an interest of hers. still, she was loyal to maron and would do as she had been told. even salem danced with her, to her surprise. no doubt maron had something to do with that, too.
after what felt like an eternity on the dance floor, cordelia snuck away from her suitors to find a smaller refreshments table on the outskirts of the ballroom. there was only one other person there, and when they handed a glass of champagne to her, she smiled ever so devilishly. "all alone, i see." she admired their mask and lifted the glass to her red-tinted lips. "not searching for a.." what was the word? "love match?" she taunted in her mixed accent, clearly finding the whole thing ridiculous.
a dance here, a dance there. victor did his due diligence that he had so nicely told his recently widowed mother. she was worried for him, no wife, no children. the newly titled count was something of a bachelor. it had never been too much of an issue until his father had passed away last month. that was when his mum had turned her focus on him. she meant well. a dove amongst dragons. he had to remind her that she and her father had also waited, almost too long, to have children.
vic was glad for the masks. otherwise, he couldn't imagine the amount of hands he would have been offered. a new count with no wife that was (if he did say so himself and he did) extremely handsome. a voice dragged him away from his thoughts and before he even considered them, he was handing over a drink. "i wouldn't dare do that at one of these events. rather than love, you'd be more likely to find someone pretending just to get a ring." he tilted his head to the side, studying her face or what he could see of it. vic had seen her being swayed around the ballroom almost all evening. "and you? you seem to have garnished quite the fan club. any love matches in the lot?"
