When Will finally spared a look at the woman, or what was visible of her, he was almost immediately calmed, or at least a tad bit calmer, as to him the face of a stranger was more welcome than that of someone familiar, and he offered a weak smile, hesitant as his gaze dropped to the paper in her hand. His eyes sparked with recognition. It was certainly his, but nothing of grave importance, notes he had written down earlier in the day. None the less he felt a twinge of gratefulness at the return of it, a simple kind gesture always a bit warming, especially in this particular area.
He paused to address her, eyes briefly catching her clothes and the quality of them, though due to the colors and cloak he found her status hard to gauge, so he lingered instead back to her face, half-covered by the shadow of the hood of her cloak. The way she carried herself showed something worthy of propriety, straight-backed and head tall, and he preferred to be polite over correct regardless. Any woman of higher rank then himself, which certainly was not a difficult feat, would always be addressed properly. “Thank you, my lady.” He said, retrieving the folded piece of parchment from her hand, with a bow of his head, an appreciative gesture.
He listened to her hard breaths and felt perhaps a bit bad that she seemed to have had to hunt him down to do such a minuscule favor, so he gave her a smile, small and sympathetic, but a way of showing his thanks. “I hope you didn’t have to track me very far.” It was nearly a question, surely she could answer it if she liked, but it was sincere as a statement as well and a break for her to catch the very breath she lost appearing to have chased him down.
He looked almost curiously at her then, always slightly unsure of how to go about strangers, how and when to be honest and when to lie, even about the simple things such as being jumpy in a crowd. “You certainly startled me, my lady, but I believe the shock is wearing off. Perhaps it’s that someone who is to be considered frightening wouldn’t do such a kind favor.” He paused a moment and considered continuing before adding lightly, with just a twinge of humor, “Though, of course, I could always be wrong in such assumptions, you are well-hidden in the way that frightening people often are.”
The bows from those lowlier than her always threw Lucretia off. To be honest, it even angered her a bit. Why should one faerie bow to another, simply because of where they were born? “No, no, drop the formalities. I’m just a woman, nothing more.” She’d done nothing to deserve a bow from someone who was likely a greater person than she. To emphasize her point, Lucretia gave a slight curtsy in return.
“I didn’t have to go far, don’t worry too much. I’m just not used to weaving my way through a crowd as you are. Typically I’m perched upon one of those carriages,” she said, gesturing to the nearby carriage and its riders, “but it’s nicer to be down here, level with the horses. Not to mention I haven’t had a good sprint in centuries.” Lucretia eyed the beautiful black horses with their studded bridles that were so popular these days. They were lucky. They were able to gallop without anyone criticizing how unladylike they were. “I do hope it was an important letter, or else all the strain put on my gentle frame has gone in vain.” She hoped the hob could see she was joking.
“Oh, I’m frightening.” Lucretia laughed, pulling down her hood over her face. “To the nobles with their diamond-encrusted rears more than the rest of Belladonna, so you have nothing to worry about. There’s even been talk of tossing me into an asylum, though that’s only the worst of the worst.” She often forgot that she didn’t have to frighten away commoners. The attitude just stuck with her. “I assure you, I’m perfectly safe and merely curious as to what I’m delivering, and to whom?”
