Deviating from the original plot

Chapter thirteen

Victoria narrowed her eyes at a group of women who were clearly talking about them. "What do you suppose they're whispering about?"

Damien smirked. "Probably about how stunning we look together."

Victoria's face twisted instinctively in disgust.

Damien turned to her, feigning offense. "What was that?"

"What was what?"

"That face. That—" Damien dramatically mimicked her earlier expression, scrunching his features. "This one right here."

"I have no idea what you're talking about," Victoria said innocently.

"Oh, you absolutely do," he said, narrowing his eyes.

"I really don't," she insisted, and then promptly burst out laughing.

Damien stared at her. "Unbelievable. I'm deeply offended."

"Sorry," Victoria said through her laughter, clearly not sorry at all.

He held out for a second longer, then gave in and laughed too. Their shared amusement echoed lightly over the music—until a soft voice interrupted.

"Excuse me..."

They both turned to find Evelyn standing nearby, slightly breathless, her eyes flickering between the two of them, a polite smile that didn't quite reach her eyes.

"Lady Evelyn," Victoria greeted, blinking in surprise. She truly had no idea how they kept bumping into each other like this.

"The famous Lady Evelyn," Damien added with an easy grin. "I am Viscount Damien. It's a pleasure to finally meet you."

Evelyn nodded. "Likewise. I hope I'm not intruding."

"Not at all," Damien said. "I was just helping Victoria navigate the crowd."

Evelyn's smile twitched. "You two seem rather comfortable with each other," she said with a short, dry laugh.

Victoria nodded calmly. "We've known each other for some time. He's like my aide."

"Ah, I see..." Evelyn replied, her voice quieting.

There was a moment of silence long enough to grow awkward before Damien clapped his hands once.

"Well, I believe I'm overdue for a drink," Damien said. "I'll leave you ladies to it."

Victoria's eyes widened slightly as he disappeared into the crowd. She hadn't expected him to abandon her so quickly—especially not now, with Evelyn here. A twinge of guilt crept up as she remembered turning down Evelyn's invitation for tea, and now here they were, face-to-face.

For a brief moment, neither of them spoke.

Then Evelyn broke the silence, her voice gentle and her smile warm. "You look absolutely lovely tonight."

Victoria gave a small, polite nod. "Thank you. You look beautiful too."

"I wasn't expecting to run into you," Evelyn said. "But I'm truly glad I did."

"Yeah... I had to come. I'm trying to work on building my reputation," Victoria replied, her fingers brushing the back of her neck in a nervous gesture.

"Oh, how admirable," Evelyn said.

"Yeah..." Victoria murmured, trailing off.

Then Evelyn's expression lit up, her tone suddenly enthusiastic. "Well then, would you like me to introduce you to a few people, Lady Victoria? It might help with your reputation-building, of course."