The Misplaced Prince[COMPLETE]

Enlightenment

"You're new, aren't you?" 

"...not surprised he has tried debauching you already...that was the reason you slapped him, wasn't it?"

"You would do well to stay weary of him, my dear."

"...quite the rake, that one..."

"Such a disgrace to his parents...well, if they really were his parents..." a nasty chuckle.

"...the poor Earl, giving his name to his wife's bastard...lucky he wasn't born first is all I say, or the title would have been his..."

"Atrocity... Atrocity..."

Kasey listened quietly as the gossip went on and on. It had taken the barest nudging on her part to get the women flocking around her, gleeful to divulge the gossip to fresh ears and as they droned on and on, she acknowledged with discomfort the most peculiar feeling churning within her stomach.

Shame.

Perhaps when she had asked the man about his past, the question hadn't been as harmless as she had thought. How would he have perceived it, after the cruel gossip people shamelessly spouted about him?

"Why am I to lay myself bare in front of you? I require a good reason, milady, and overshadowing the gossip mills just won't cut it."

When he had lashed out, it had probably been at who he had thought was another woman interested in delving into his past for her own pleasure.

There was not one person in the midst of the crowd who spoke in his favour as he was painted as the darkest, vilest villain. Kasey hadn't like him, but as she listened, stirrings of pity swelled within her, as well as the need to get away from these women. She was disgusted with them, with their obvious mix of fascinated attraction and effected hauteur. It was obvious they would give anything to have a taste of him, yet acted at the same time that they were all above him and his charms.

And he knew it. He knew what they said about him. That carefully cultivated sophistication—it was a façade. But as a greater defense than Kasey could have ever imagined.

She saw his gaze flit over to them as he danced with another woman, and she could tell that he knew they were talking about him—and when their eyes caught, he shot her a faint knowing smirk before determinedly looking away, and she felt boiling shame drowning her. She edged away from the women, wishing she had never approached them in the first place.

If she had been his friend, she would have defended him. If she had been his friend, she wouldn't have let anyone say anything about him.

Hell, if she had been his friend, she would ripped anyone daring to malign him limb from limb.

But she didn't know him, and even as her innards boiled over at the injustice, she couldn't properly defend him with how she little she knew of it. She had no way of knowing anyone was wrong about him except relying on her own instincts.

Which left the next best option.

Damn it.

She would have to apologize to him.

She kept an eye on him throughout the night. She would get Joshua alone when he left the ballroom, she decided, and watched him making a scandalous assignation with the older woman who had attached herself to him. She saw the woman fluttering in pleasure before excusing herself to go powder her nose. She saw Joshua watch her go away, his charming façade instantly dropping in her wake. He looked around, his expression momentarily unveiled as he studied the crowd, brooding. Then he stood up, walking out on his long legged stride, probably to wherever the woman had arranged to meet him.

Kasey saw the woman return and spend an appropriate amount of time toiling in the ballroom before finally taking her leave. She followed her out. She saw the woman making her way quietly through the corridor, counting doors, and finally coming to stop in front of one, and taking a deep breath. She saw her reach up to open the door.

Something within Kasey rebelled, and she threw her hands out, her mouth opening to call the woman to stop her—

And then she saw the rug slide from under the woman and her flailing on spot before she slipped, her head slamming into the wall behind her before she sprawled on the floor in a dead faint.

Kasey let out a scream, thunderstruck, and watched the door yank open, throwing up her hands to cover her mouth that was gaping in horror. Joshua stepped out, looking around wildly before spotting the woman lying outside his door, and then glanced dumbfounded up at Kasey staring at the scene in abject horror.

He didn't know it, of course, Kasey thought with dawning hysteria, but she had just knocked out his assignation.