Aristocrat | ✓

CHAPTER TWENTY-THREE

     I took Lord Evenus' advice and stayed away from the party games and drinking. The ballroom had been rowdy, and it was less of a ball and more of a discussion room with drinks and music. Occasionally someone would take a seat at the piano to play a piece. Lady Agnes often did, surprising me with her wide range and wonderful voice.

     As always, she was wearing breeches, and this time she had a long green doublet over it—that sat just above her knee. Around her waist was a bulky belt laced with jewels. She also had a black coat on, that sat on her shoulders with ends lined with rabbit fur.

     "Hello." I turned in the direction of the voice, my eyes widening when I saw who it was. It was the man that had questioned me at church. He was dressed in high-class clothes and was holding a glass of red wine.

     "I didn't expect to see you here, but I should have guessed seeing as Lord Evenus favors you," he said, making me squirm. I looked down at my shoes, wondering what he was doing here.

     We were both at the far end of the ballroom, hidden by one of the many arches that stretched from the roof. It was also a bit dark, considering that it was late in the evening and the room had just a single chandelier, and multiple tiny candles to provide dim light to set the mood.

     "Huh, you still don't want to talk to me." I felt a shoulder nudge mine as the man's voice grew closer. I remained still, not saying anything in hopes that he would take the hint and go away. I was starting to wish Lord Evenus was with me, but he had been dragged away by friends for a drink, and I had retreated to the shadows, hoping that I was well hidden, but apparently not.

     "I'm here with one of the Barons of a small village near ours," the man continued to speak. He was leaning on the wall beside me now, taking a sip from his glass as he looked out into the hall. "Everyone here is a bit like us," he said, and my face warmed up, wondering what he meant by that.

     Did he mean a bit like us in the sense that they lusted after the same sex? Because aside from that most people in the room were aristocrats and nobles, not lowly village lads like us.

     "It's amazing how much of the laws you can bypass with money," the man continued to speak, and I found myself looking out into the crowd, searching for what he was looking at. "Buggery is against the law, so is cross-dressing and blasphemy, but here we all are," he said, and my eyes followed his gaze to Lady Agnes, and then narrowed on the two men sharing a kiss in the middle of their circle of friends.

     "You should be glad that Lord Evenus choose you," the man said. "Don't lose sight of him. He's pretty popular," he added.

I bit down on my lower lip, feeling myself itch to ask him a question. "How popular?" The words slipped out of my lips before I could catch them. The man looked at me from the side of his eyes, giving me a slight smile.

     "Ah, now you wish to speak to me," he said, letting out a small chuckle before brushing back the hair from his face.

     "Lord Evenus is handsome. I think it's a given that people want to be with him," he muttered. "Besides, he's been single since forever. Since his lover died," the man whispered the last part and I realized he was speaking of Sawyer. It seemed that everyone within their circle in one way or the other was aware of their relationship.

     They must have been really open about it, or maybe they loved each other so much that they gave themselves away often by mere mistake.

     I gritted my teeth. I wasn't sure why the latter option made me feel upset.

     "He hasn't attached himself to anyone since," the man said, looking at me again. "Maybe you..." he looked away, taking a sip of his wine.

     There was some clapping, and we both looked towards the piano. Lady Agnes by it again, but this time sitting beside was Lord Evenus. He looked a little drunk judging from the redness of his face and the loop in his smile.