"The Duke of herlington and lady Astria herlington". The cards of each guest was announced at the ballroom door before entry. The duchess stood graciously besides the door ushering the guests in, making small conversations with her friends. Gossips around the ballroom continued as usual as people wondered about the sudden arranged masquerade party. Lady Melinda had already started rumors that there was a possibility that young Lord Alex will be betrothed to the shy lady Herlington. This is because of the close relationship between the two parents, Lord Alexander Houston and Lord Thomas Herlington, Duke of Herlington, and of course about the close friendship between the late duchess, lady Stephanie and Alex's mother. Everyone had their eyes on the door, waiting for the lucky lady who will have the pleasure of marrying Lord Alexander and becoming the future duchess. Whispers we're heard, admiration from the young lads in the room and curses from the jealous ladies, who had their clutches ready to ensnare the young Lord . They glared at young lady herlington with hatred, which was carefully hidden beneath their mask. This was the first time that Lady Herlington was being introduced to the society. She had just turned nineteen Last moon. Dressed in an elegant blue gown that clung perfectly on her body, revealing her delicate curves, Lady Astria walked towards the centre of the room, escorted by her father, she had men practically drooling over her.
In amidst all these,Leyla snuck into the party, unchaperoned. Her grandmother had taken ill and therefore couldn't attend the ball. She herself didn't want to come but her stubborn grandmother insisted on her to come, since she had already arranged for a carriage to take her and besides it'll be rude of them not to show up after being personally invited by Lord Alexander. So here she was, sneaking into the party since she forgot to carry her invitation card. Of all the things one could forget!!.
It was all thanks to the arrival of those guests that were just announced. Duke of herlwanton...no it wasn't that. Lord harnton was it . Lord harmton ...no that was not it either.. Aaargh!!. She sighed in frustration. why were their names so complicated. It didn't matter matter who it was but she was thankful that they were able to draw the attention away from her. They must be from the higher ranks if they were given so much attention.
She looked around the crowd and immediately fell out of place. Her outfit was scary, unlike the rest who only had simply gowns and a simple mask on their faces. She had gone overboard with her costume and her two horn-like mask . It was a masquerade party after so who cared about her anyway??. Except everyone did, because all eyes were now on her. This was a masquerade party not a Halloween party for crying out loud!!!. And so tommorow, articles will be all over the town about the lady with a "unique" dress code. Seems like lady society will be making a fortune with such a story since most ladies, who had nothing better to do than arrange for tea parties and gossip for hours will pay handsomely for such delicious information. Lady society had already thought of the title: "The Grand Entrance". She smiled satisfactory as she gathered more information from the gossip mongers she associated herself with during the party.
Who wears an Halloween costume to a masquerade party?. Alex asked himself as he watched everything that was going on from upstairs. He was awaiting the announcement of the arrival of the Morgans ,when he saw her sneak shamelessly through the guard and his mother, who at the time
had their eyes on the Herlingtons. He had to praise her guts though, no one in their right minds would even think about sneaking into their place, he'll have to deal with her later on. Now he had important things to do, the rest could wait for a while. When the burtler announced that the Claymores were the last group, he lost hope of ever seeing her today. He felt defeated. He had his mother arrange this party specifically for her and she had the audacity to miss it?. Wait till he sets his eyes on her,...he will...he will.... What would he do?. It's not like he could punish her for it, for what crime?. It will be hilarious if it were taken to court. "Miss Leyla Morgans, you are hereby accused of not attending a masquerade party, which was organized mainly for you, and which you knew not about, taking all that into consideration, how do you plead?". Alex could almost laugh at himself when he thought about it. He'll think about what to do to her but first he had some pending issues or rather someone to deal with.
He needed to find a way to get the weirdly looking lady out of the ballroom before she created chaos into the party. After which he had to grace Lady Astria with his presence since, thanks to his mother, her card had his name for her first dance. His mother had convinced him to give her that dance, since, according to his mother, this was her first social outing. He didn't mind though. Lady Astria and him had been great of friends when they were young, but as Alex grew up and took up responsibilities of the ton, they grew apart, but he had a soft spot for her. She was like a sister he never had.
He was about to descend down the stairs when he noticed that the "Halloween" lady was not where he left. He cursed under his breath. Could this day get any better??. Here he was playing cat and mouse with God knows who.
Towards one of the exit, leading to the garden, he sported a figure plucking some flowers. Walking closely , he felt his eyes on something bright from, wait, the hands were glowing. That meant that whoever it was wearing a silver bracelet or...
No. It couldn't be. She couldn't be here. But then again, his mind went back to the weirdly dressed lady who had sneaked into the party. Since no one in their right mind would dare sneak in or rather dress up like that, that only left him with one option. Leyla. Exactly, someone who knew nothing about their ways, someone who was not from this time!.
Walking closely , he was welcome by a scent he knew too well. It was definitely her. His heart jumped in joy. She came. She was here!. He smiled for the first time since the party began.
"Leyla?".