Lucien twirled across the ballroom floor with Lady Clements in his arms. His expression was as cold as ever, a tinge of boredom entering his gaze as Lady Clements chattered incessantly about their upcoming wedding. Lucien felt apathetic towards the whole affair, almost looking forward to the day arriving in three months, if only so his fiancée would stop droning on about it.

As their dance ended he heard a pair of familiar voices call out to him. He turned to see Daniel and Ransom approaching him, with what could only be described as a vision in pink silk in tow. Momentarily awestruck, Lucien almost didn’t register Daniel speaking to him. “Evening, Winterborne.” Daniel flashed him a dimpled grin, which quickly slipped into a forced, polite, smile as he turned to address the blonde on Lucien’s arm,

“Ah, and it's…pleasant to see you as well Lady Clements.” Daniel’s expression looked like he’d tasted something sour, and Ransom elbowed his friend discreetly. “Yes, it's certainly something to see you with your fiancée.” Ransom said gruffly before he turned his gaze to Lady Valentine. “That’s right, she arrived this morning, and I dragged her out to socialize.” Daniel recovered and beamed with pride, putting a hand on the small of his sister’s back and pushing her slightly toward Lucien.

Daniel gave her a mischievous smirk, and seeing her up close finally snapped Lucien out of his stupor. “You’ve returned. Welcome back, Lady Valentine. You look…well.” Lucien managed to say with his usual air of indifference despite the waves of emotions crashing over him. He’d never been so…affected by a woman in all his life yet looking into her eyes made him feel overset with nerves yet warm inside.

This new, fluttering feeling bothered him, and he frowned ever so slightly. Beside him, Lady Clements narrowed her eyes at Lady Valentine immediately sizing her up and seeing her as a threat.