Theodore Lawrence Pemberley watched the masked gentleman stumble through yet another apology and felt his amusement soften into genuine kindness.
“Please, if you continue at this rate, you shall leave yourself no apologies for the remainder of the evening.”
He noticed, with quiet interest, the way the stranger studied him. The fellow’s gaze moved carefully, searching for something familiar, some small detail that might betray an identity beneath the mask. Theodore recognized the habit at once. He had spent most of his life being examined in precisely that fashion. For once, it was pleasant not to be immediately known. When Theodore remarked upon enthusiastic company, the man’s posture changed at once. His arms folded defensively across his chest then Theodore followed the direction of his gaze and caught sight of a cluster of brightly dressed young ladies dispersing at last, their attention captured by a new target.
Theodore echoed with mild humor.
“You entered as though pursued by an entire regiment. I doubt anyone could have missed it.”
He softened the remark with a reassuring tilt of his head.
“Take comfort. Your admirers appear to have redirected their efforts. For the moment, you are quite safe.”
Theodore felt an answering warmth at the proposal that stranger made to him thought he knew he was a Bridgerton, everybody knew who the Bridgerton family members were. He gestured toward the far end of the room, where tall doors opened onto a quiet stretch of balcony and the curtains stirred in the cool night breeze.
“There is a gateaway beyond those doors. Fresh air, tolerable silence, and, distance from eager matchmaking.”
As he turned toward the balcony, Theodore felt a curious sense of relief. For once he was not the Duke of Wellington, not a name weighed down with expectation and duty. He was merely a masked gentleman in black, escorting another to safety. And for a single evening, that was more than enough, he laughed at himself as he arrived on the balcony, his disguise was a poor one, his own sister and little brother could recognise him. They were surely here with his mother, he said he wouldn't come because Theodore had better things to do at their estate which wasn't entirely false. He did have better things to do, but he didn't want to be claimed over by mothers and debutantes. Theodore didn't quite like women, it was his secret. A joy and sometimes a burden as marriage was pressing onto his shoulders like a sword ready to cut his throat at any mistakes done.
The man took a breather at once, meanwhile his right hand came to undo the two first buttons of his white shirt. Before both hands were on the railing of this balcony, a quiet escape. Then, when he felt this stranger coming to his level on the balcony the man turned around hastily with relief on his face.
" Is it not better than being inside ? One cannot breathe with all these expensive perfumes. "
Well done, Theodore. He thought to himself as it was rich from him to say such things as his cologne was quite the one to be smelled and sniffed from a mile away. Ironically.
@discreet-eccentric-affairs
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