Fired up with embarrassment and shame to having to witness such atrocities, Lady Francesca immediately closed her eyes and covered her palms so as to save her innocence further. She also turned her back into them as she felt the heavy and awkward atmosphere building.
She didn't know Verindale could be this wild and scandalous as she read it in the London publications and tabloids. It was a common knowledge to everyone that the Verindale's present 19th earl of the earldom was a bold rebellious aristocrat who consistently tries to break the natural flow of the aristocracy as we know it.
Just recently, Lady Francesca had heard of his bold attempt of bringing up a commoner as a muse during the grand birthday celebration of the prince regent at the most prestigious St. James Palace. That very event where she was being banned by his late father in attending to. Now, she couldn't help but to wonder who that earl really was.
She was excited to meet a man as scandalous as her, and maybe more. And before meeting such man, who had also sparked her interest in coming to this earldom aside from the temporarily running away from the grasp of her wicked stepmother, she barely could believe her eyes on what she just witnessed not long ago.
The Verindale folks sure did know how to act lasciviously. What more? In a board day light at an unsecured place.
"Ahem." Lady Francesca was taken aback her sense when the man behind her cleared his throat. Apparently, to grab her thoughts who obviously had been flying into those ridiculous gossips she heard and read about the place. And the man was not bit wrong at all.
Not wanting to appear so much aloof and innocent, the young lady took a deep breath to calm her nerves and finally regain her composure back. After the death of his father, she was forced to mature fast and learn the lists of dos and don'ts of her ladyship.
One thing she learned was to not let any man took an impression of her for being someone they can easily prey on. Being frozen in her feet planted on the ground with just one occurrence like this can be an indicator of being such.
After some rustle of someone moving to fix his or her garments, Lady Francesca took her cue to turn around and face them after the sound stopped.
"Pardon me young lovely couples for barging into your business rather very personal to conduct in such a public domain. Not to mention, a clothing boutique," she snorted with sarcasm all over her tone.
Her eyes steadily fixed on the tantalizing crystal blue eyes of the man in roguish coat yet obviously tailored made custom designed for him as it perfectly fits him so well.
The high bridge of his nose and slightly sharp center jaw lines with strong bones on both sides exudes strong presence and irresistible masculinity. His biceps were evidently appearing despite the garments concealing it from the naked eye. He has a long stature of about two meters and well-balanced body metrics in proportion for his height. He was rascally hot and handsome.
'Seven hell and damnation, Francesca! How can you have afforded to exquisitely described a man's physique at complicated times like this?'
Mentally shaking the thoughts away, she raised her right eyebrow to expressed her dismay. She could barely have managed to suit herself when the rascal looked back at her with an intense regard. Charismatic and demanding of attention.
'Oh gracious! How could he to managed appear more attractive when he looks at my way?' Lady Francesca was too inexperience to resist overwhelming presence of the man. Her lack of clairvoyance with men had made her struggle to keep up.
"Oh! What a terrible coincidence was it? To let your pure and innocent ladyship witness my vulgarity as you call it…" he retorted back with ease and confidence.
How can such man caught in a scandal be able to keep his cool and composure? Even she, herself can doubt to keep such level of serenity when act in an act. 'T was regardless of the petty scandals she had acquainted herself into in the past. The man was sure a pro on this.
Lady Francesca couldn't help but to maintain her eyebrow on firm high. "What an overly topnotch confidence you have there? Certainly, you are an experience pro of being caught ravishing sweet young ladies on the street?"
She graced the blonde woman standing sandwich tight beside the rascal. With pale complexion and nice figure, the Feledencian heiress could hardly believe that it was of low class. A commoner to be exact, if not only of the shabby dress it wore. Simple cut dress with minimal designs of obviously embroidered by an amateur hand. Perhaps, she tried to do it herself to put some flashy fashion on her garments.
"I wonder. Was this some hobby instilled in the young bloods of Verindale? To be wanton and atrocious. Surely, I am disappointed of your lordship," Lady Francesca added and threw a grimacing look at the two of them and turned her back around.
The rascal was in doubt an elite while the other was a commoner. An unrequited love at the socially caste-stricken system. A rich man of a wealthy family cannot marry a woman with a lowly birth and vice versa.
There is no point of discussing proper decorum and etiquette on them when she, herself had just found the meaning of it not long ago. She definitely not in the position to preach just yet.
But before she could take further steps ahead, she was being halted by the man's unforeseen query.
"Been used to hearing that words by now," the man mindlessly spat out when something suddenly appeared in flash in his memory. It was about the young maiden in ball dress who without prior notice rode on his horse Rodnie when he visited Feledencia for a short vacation.
He didn't know also but he felt an immense sense of familiarity on the outright woman on her front now to the reckless woman she met before. Her fierce auburn curly locks and hourglass figure reminded him of the familiar back he once witnessed to bravely ride a horse with no regard to the dress code of the society expected from a ladyship.
At that time, he knew for sure that they both shared boldness. Such a shame he could not get hold of her when he had the time to because of some sudden loss of the dukedom's manor. The duke had passed away due to an illness. Any proponent for marriage with the bold young lady, who stole his horse, was definitely untimely and out of timing.
"Take not, this as an insult or whatsoever, but do you mind of enlightening me if we had met before? You exuded so much familiarity on me. Of someone whom I was immensely surprised with, though I am afraid I couldn't see any resemblance on your characters but only in physique," the man had asked out of the blue which took Lady Francesca in surprise.
Met before? I don't see any string of connection nor a familiarity between us. Shaking her head, she gracefully rejected the idea.
"I am afraid you have mistaken me for someone else. At a rate of a hundred percent that I am pretty sure I never had met you before," Lady Francesca answered, clearing the small spark of hope from the vulgar man she was currently talking to.
How could she possibly know such kind of man in her life when she only takes a vacation here in Verindale very seldom since she hit puberty? It was also the same time when her father had taken Lady Carlotta August home as his new wife and replacement for the late Duchess Savrina, her mother.
Having no desire to further the conversation, the young Feledecian lady had grabbed on the expensive silk garment of her skirt and started walking away from the two.
Bidding a last farewell look on the peach muslin that first caught her attention to walk straight into the boutique, she continued to walk straight into the pavement to rejoin with the wider one where she remembered to have walked through earlier.
She couldn't possibly face the seller of the establishment after catching it doing something inappropriate things inside her store. The blonde looks young, that she assumed to be the same as her age. That's why Lady Francesca thought, the woman was actually just a daughter of the real owner of the store or perhaps a part timer who was contributing with the labor force at such young age.
Such a shame it does not have any sort of self-restraint and discipline in mixing personal pleasure and business ventures. Not to mention she just lost a customer because of that, like who would be tough and feisty enough to stay after having witnessed such.
'As expected by low breeds.' Her sheltered and extreme dedication to the social elites led her to develop such thinking and conclude like that. Little did she know, it could be the very words she'll soon come to regret thinking.