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The gardens were dark and the voices from the other party guests were just a mere murmur in the distance. The music was still clear, the quartet playing loud and skillful. Even their soft waltz made it to where Lady Caitlyn had wandered to.
Several paces back, Vi stood at attention scanning the area for any inherent dangers or problems. She'd never really taken the knighthood seriously, at least, not until she met the Duchess's daughter.
How long had it been since that fateful day? When Vi had been shackled and nearly flung into the depths of city prison, never to be heard from again on false charges? Only to have Lady Caitlyn see the whole ordeal and intervene. Demanding Vin release on her very own authority. The look on Marcus's face was one that Vi would be hard pressed to ever forget.
That had been nearly a year ago. Caitlyn, now newly appointed as Duchess of the Kiramman estate, had implored Vi to stay with her, eventually giving her a knighthood Vi wasn't sure she deserved. But she couldn't say no to Caitlyn, especially after the sudden passing of her mother not long after she'd saved Vi's life.
The new Duchess turned, her ocean blue gaze catching Vi's and pulling her from her thoughts.
“Is everything alright?” Vi asked immediately, talking a half step forward as she searched Caitlyn’s features for any sign of distress.
Wordlessly Caitlyn stepped up to Vi, reaching out to adjust the collar of her doublet, then running her hand along the lapel's blue velvet.
“I don't want to go back inside.” The Duchess sighed, her hand not leaving the lapel but instead the palm coming to rest against it as her gaze dropped into the middle distance between them.
Crooking a finger under Caitlyn's chin, Vi lifted her gaze to meet her own. “Then don't. No one here has the authority to make you. Least of all me.”
A small smile curled on Caitlyn's lips as her gaze focused back on Vi, her eyes gleaming in fresh mischief. “I suppose you're right. But I do wish to dance more, so you see my dilemma.”
“All dancing takes is music and two people, does it not?” Stepping back, Vi gave a slight bow, holding her hand out to Caitlyn. “I see no problem here as we are two people and your quartet is quite loud.”
Letting out a soft chuckle Caitlyn curtsied, the skirt of her deep blue velvet gown pooling at her feet. “I suppose you're correct.”
Her hand slid into Vi’s and Vi pulled her into a soft and simple waltz. Coming from a much lower upbringing, Vi wasn't much of a dancer, but she knew a few of the dances that graced the courts through watching more than her fair share of events like these. Leading Caitlyn into a half spin she looped her arms around the Duchess's shoulders, pulling her in close so Cailtyn's back was pressed against Vi's torso. Caitlyn leaned into it, tipping her head ever so slightly to the side so as to let her long blue locks fall away from her neck. The gown she had chosen that night lay off the shoulders, leaving both them and her neck bare in an elegant and inviting line.
Unable to help herself any longer, Vi pressed her lips to the spot where Caitlyn's neck met her shoulder and she felt the exhale of breath against her own chest. With all the preparations for Caitlyn's appointment and hunting after rumors of threat against Caitlyn's life from other nobles who vied for her family’s land, they had spent so little time together of late. Vi tried to keep herself busy when not chasing a lead. She distracted herself as best she could so the ache of missing Caitlyn didn't feel so heavy. But as she took a deep breath, her senses filling with the familiar scent of juniper and jasmine, she felt that ache resurface and deepen.
A hand came around Vi’s head, carding through her short-shorn locks as Caitlyn leaned her cheek against the crown of Vi's head.
“I've missed you too, my dearest.”