It was difficult to form an opinion of the young woman’s looks, owing to the mask on her face. If nothing else, the arrangement of her hair was rather interesting – his gaze naturally rested there, perhaps a side effect of her height. Family resemblance made it easy to pick out the other Veros, clustered nearby. Tiberius waited a beat and then, when no one approached to make introductions, tried to ignore them. They – presumably – tried to look like they weren’t listening.
“Ah, I feel a bit like a thief in my own home. How very novel.” He dipped his head, smiling at Nymeria beneath his mask, and weaved his way back out of the Vero family’s protective circle to fetch the promised drinks. Satinala punch was mostly rum and sugar, fortifying but rather overwhelming in both taste and in its efficacy at intoxicating party goers. He wouldn’t offer a lady more than half a glass without knowing her better.
He poured himself a good deal more, draining his glass to approximately the same level on his way back. With the brothers Vero primed to stare at the two of them all night, Tiberius felt he needed it. He handed off Nymeria’s glass and spent a few seconds in dumb silence as she performed a graceful curtsey and called him mister.
“And now I feel positively ancient. Please, do call me Tiberius.” She was difficult to read, polite but not warm. Calm, slightly put upon. If this – if he – didn’t represent an opportunity for her family, he had no doubt that she’d have been somewhere else tonight. That … That he could work with. But not under observation.
“Since this is your first time here, would you like the tour?” Tiberius offered his arm, bracing for rejection that might not come. An unchaperoned walk on the grounds went against propriety, but that was what their families seemed to want. “It’s late in the year for blooms, but even so, I believe the garden is worth seeing.”
@Nymeria Vero
“Ah, I feel a bit like a thief in my own home. How very novel.” He dipped his head, smiling at Nymeria beneath his mask, and weaved his way back out of the Vero family’s protective circle to fetch the promised drinks. Satinala punch was mostly rum and sugar, fortifying but rather overwhelming in both taste and in its efficacy at intoxicating party goers. He wouldn’t offer a lady more than half a glass without knowing her better.
He poured himself a good deal more, draining his glass to approximately the same level on his way back. With the brothers Vero primed to stare at the two of them all night, Tiberius felt he needed it. He handed off Nymeria’s glass and spent a few seconds in dumb silence as she performed a graceful curtsey and called him mister.
“And now I feel positively ancient. Please, do call me Tiberius.” She was difficult to read, polite but not warm. Calm, slightly put upon. If this – if he – didn’t represent an opportunity for her family, he had no doubt that she’d have been somewhere else tonight. That … That he could work with. But not under observation.
“Since this is your first time here, would you like the tour?” Tiberius offered his arm, bracing for rejection that might not come. An unchaperoned walk on the grounds went against propriety, but that was what their families seemed to want. “It’s late in the year for blooms, but even so, I believe the garden is worth seeing.”
@Nymeria Vero
12-14-2024, 04:33 PM
