Elias Devoncourt, tall in stature and considered an extremely unattainable man. More unattainable than a royal prince, if you wish to believe it.
Relaxed in his mannerisms, giving a light smirk to the passing onlooker. Seconds, minutes, and hours passed all at once and not at all. Katarina’s heart slowed and quickened in tandem.
Each step Elias took echoed through the ballroom. Demanding everyone’s attention. His hair a reflection of deep night slicked back in a presentable fashion that contrasted against his alabaster complexion. His shoulders were wide and square. Jaw chiselled to a point was what most would describe the Grand Duke of Devoncourt. The gallery looked on, not daring a peep as they watched with eager eyes.
Elias’ strides were large, slowly closing the space between himself and Katarina. Marchioness De Costa moved forward to interpose herself between the Grand Duke and her daughter but was stopped short by Arsenio.
The Marquis looked into Elisé's eyes and shook his head, allowing the towering figure to approach. The Grand Duke's light smile didn't sway as his hand reached out and waited for Katarina’s response.
Katarina’s eyebrow twitched. Her mind screamed to run but her body did not allow an inch. A distinct aroma of Redwood and cedar drifted from the Grand Duke, momentarily forgetting herself.
Katarina blinked as she slowly rested her fingers on the imposing figures’ palm. Not like her father’s. The Grand Duke's palm was cold to the touch.
Inhale for three seconds. Exhale for four seconds. She reminded herself.
The Grand Duke lightly pressed his lips on Katarina’s fingers before releasing them, fixing his position to stand upright. A cold chill ran through her fingers, up her arm and down her spine.
It’s dirty! Her thoughts whispered as Katarina declined the need to yank her hand away from the Grand Duke’s grasp at that instant.
The Grand Duke’s eyes were guarded but his smile was easy to look at. “If I could have a word.” His deep and nonchalant tone broke the tension he created. A cascade of light conversation resumed as noble men and women turned their attention away from the two as if nothing was amiss.
Apprehension set into Katarina, followed by a deep reluctance. The young maiden eyed the Grand Duke’s lifted arm. Katarina turned her head toward her father. The Marquis gently smiled in reassurance.
Downcasted, Katarina nodded in compliance, placing her fingers on the Grand Duke’s forearm. The Marquis’s throat was taut as he held his wife in place. Arsenio watched his little girl get whisked away, out of arms' length as a sense of deep dread was left to fill the space.
The air was filled with excitement as eyes were locked on the couple in the far corner of the palace veranda.
The moon hung in the sky, illuminating the brief glimpse of flowers before the shadow of night swallowed them whole. The gentlemen, tall with broad shoulders. The maiden exudes nobility.
The couple was picturesque from a distance, and perfection up close. As the silence settled around them, both parties allowed the façade of pleasantries to drop.
It was Katarina who stepped away first as her hands fell to her side.
Keeping an appropriate amount of space from her counterpart. The cobblestone clicked under the weight of Katarina’s heels overlooking the royal garden. She had no mind starting the obvious conversation so instead, she remained as talkative as a tree.
The inaction made the Grand Duke sneer before he gave a porcelain-like smile toward the young lady.
“Young Lady De Costa, you look lovely tonight.” The sconce flickered in the wind as Grand Duke Devoncourt addressed Katarina with a proper greeting but it wasn't enough to hide his cold tone.
A faint air of unwillingness could be felt as Elias rested his eyes upon the person in front of him, before extending a decorous bow. Katarina’s eyebrow hitched at the action, but smothered her grimace and returned his greeting. Wondered what type of stance she should take with him.
Aloof? Cold? Demanding?
You’re Katarina De Costa, she thought. Snapping on a mask of authority and condescension in an instant.
“The Grand Duke is quite handsome as well.” Katarina flippantly offered a compliment that held no weight.
Elias eyed the socialite with unconcerned eyes. Katarina tilted her chin to meet the Grand Duke’s stilled face. She observed him with scrutinizing eyes but the closeness between man and woman was straining her façade.
“Grand Duke Devoncourt, the pleasantries are not needed,” Katarina spoke, masking her anxiety by matching his arrogance and reluctance.
The rumours of the Grand Duke hopping from one woman to the next was understandable considering he was quite easy on the eyes. Her father often described him as relentless in nature and sometimes revolting to look at.
Katarina rarely saw the Grand Duke and was surprised to find the rumour mill in Vicon was accurate when it came to his looks. His personality as a cold and unfeeling young master not only lived up but superseded its rumours. An untouchable aura radiating off the Grand Duke forced Katarina to take another half step back.
Inhale for three seconds. Exhale for four seconds. Katarina repeated.
The Grand Duke’s eyes offered no warmth but neither held hidden intention either.
But it didn’t ease Katarina’s subtle fiddling of her ring. Slowly spinning it in increments of threes.
No matter the amount of decorum Katarina placed between herself and the Grand Duke she felt all the eyes from inside the ballroom on the veranda.
Anxiety formed at the thought of the baseless rumours that would be spread at the breakfast table the next morning.
Elias shifted his eyes to the clinging of Katarina’s bodice to the crook of her neck as his eyes darkened.
Katarina willed herself not to flinch as he appraised her. Her index finger pierced her thumb as she returned his gaze with an appraisal of her own. Letting her eyes visibly roam over his body. Pushing herself to the threshold until bile inched up her oesophagus before casting her gaze away.
The Grand Duke was always surprised at how quickly news travelled through such a large city. Accounts of the Grand Duke having a drink with Marquis De Costa on several occasions was suspicious and juicy enough to become the talk of the town. As the word of engagement made its rounds. Elias made no effort to beat around the proverbial bush as a smirk arose.
“I see that talk in social circles is swifter than my formal request to the Marquis,” Elias commented revealing a calculating tone, his eyes meeting with Katarina’s side profile.
The sconce flickered in her direction casting shadows under her eyes, seeing clearly her sharp features. Women in Vicon were soft. Their features were rounded and blush-stained.
Katarina’s face was angular as her jaw took a sharp turn to meet her ear that held a single studded diamond. The refracted light played off the stone, staining shimmers of luminescence against Katarina’s slender neck.
Elias’ eyes were dark as he took in her every feature.
'A rare beauty against the backdrop of the soft and tender.' Elias thought.
Her straight shoulder and unbending back developed an aura of formidability. But it was her eyes that convinced Elias, of a countenance that held no signs of budding affections.
‘My daughter isn’t like other girls. Even if she does agree to this engagement I can’t imagine her being the slightest bit interested.’ Elias shook the Marquis’ voice out of his head.
The Marquis was right. Katarina De Costa was indeed not interested. His eyes flickered from left to right until he caught sight of her index finger innocuously stabbing into her thumb. The action was small but not enough to escape Elias’ eyes. Glancing back up toward Katarina who was staring into the darkness.
Elias’ eyes rested on the moving of Young Lady De Costa’s chest. Rising for three seconds and dipping for four. It was patterned and controlled. Elias’ cold expression finally broke into a smirk.
'She’s nervous?' The thought fluttered across his mind.
'The Young Lady was on edge? Why?' Elias questioned as her quirks became more visible before his eyes. Her flesh transitioned from red to white rhythmically as her nail cushioned itself into her thumb.
The buzz of potential matchmaking entering the De Costa household was news that engaged high society. Was the attention too much? Or was it something else? The Grand Duke wondered but didn’t allow the questions to leave his lips.
In any case, Elias understood two things. Cocking his head to the side resting his fingers on the marbled railing as he observed the young maiden, whose eyes held no excitement.
One, Katarina De Costa was indeed not interested in a thing called 'marriage'.
And two, She was hiding something.
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