The Lady Knight

Chapter XXXVI: Pianofortes and Presents

"That is because the arrival of our guest is a farewell surprise of sorts for you, old chap," Ned rolled his eyes, wincing as he rubbed the spot I had hit him earlier.

"And it will not be much of a surprise if we told you, would it?" Evoric chuckled, continuing to sip on his wine, clearly enjoying the drink at ease.

"My mind will explode soon," I groaned, gulping down the wine in one go, "I have been wondering and wondering since the moment I finished packing two hours ago."

"Your head is already about to explode from how full of yourself you are," a familiar sarcastic voice commented behind, "wondering for a mere two hours has nothing to do with it."

I turned around to find Julie striding towards me, neatly dressed in her army uniform, with her hair tucked under her beret in a neat bun. Clearly, she did not give a damn about the dress code.

And I loved it.

"You may want to stop staring, old chap. It is not polite," I heard Ned snicker under his breath, as he nudged me by the elbow.

I shot him an irritated glare in turn, as Julie approached us, grinning, accompanied by her equally impeccably dressed best friends.

Lisa placed her hand in Evoric's outstretched one, and he brought it up to his lips in a brief kiss, as they smiled at each other. The perfect understanding and harmony they portrayed in that one gesture without words was something that never failed to amaze me every time I saw it.

In the meanwhile, Ned seemed to have engaged Kat in a heated debate about ways to butcher meat, of all things he could talk about. The two were a strange pair of friends, each with an eccentric mind of their own.

But my heart, my eyes were only for one Lady there.

"For your sake, I am going to pretend I did not hear that, Julie," I smirked, "you look most lovely this evening."

Julie scowled almost at once, instead of blushing like I had half expected her to. "Another evening of tedious, pointless conversations. By God, I would not even have come in the first place," she muttered, huffing, "if not for – " she stopped herself in time.

"Yes, if not for who, ma petite chérie?" I prodded, shooting her a charming smile.

This time, I succeeded in making her blush. Indeed, I almost thought she would give in and blurt out the secret, but then again, I kept forgetting the fact that this was Julie.

"Patience, Your Royal Highness," a slow smirk spread across her lips, "you will know soon enough."

"That is what everyone tells me," I grumbled.

"Where are Tess and Clara, Nick?" she grinned, changing the subject, "I thought they would be with you."

"Lady Clarisse is with Captain Everard," I pointed to the far end of the chamber, where the pair stood beside the doors, chattering to the dozen with each other.

The usually shy Lady Clarisse was truly glowing in Captain Everard's company, laughing so loudly as if no one else could hear her.

Julie chuckled under her breath. "Those two," she shook her head in amusement, "what about Tess?"

"She is escorting our special guest here," I muttered darkly, "will you at least tell me now who it is?" I insisted.

A small, amused smile played upon her lips. "Nay."

"Attention, everyone!" Lord Roche cried then, tapping his wine glass with a metal spoon.

At once, everyone ceased what they were doing and turned to face him, where he stood beside the pianoforte.