The night had reached its peak by the time the clock struck midnight. While a significant amount of people had left the remaining ones had gathered in a cluster in the middle of the room centered around a stableboy who strummed familiar folksongs on a guitarr that he'd previously retrieved.
The tables had been moved as to leave the floorspace undisturbed and while some of the remaining guests were seated on top of them most had joined in on the dance that'd been initiated by a particularly intoxicated pair.
It was nothing like the dances that Amelia had been taught or even seen before. The movements didn't seem to follow any set structure or coordination yet the pairs looked to be in perfect sync. While it'd likely be regarded as uncouth in the context of a ball the people looked so happy that she found herself beeing a bit envious.
"Here."
Dario held a glass of water directly in front her face and waited for her to take it before he sat back down next to her.
"Thank you" she smiled and clasped it between her hands.
Even though Amelia was growing increasingly tired she was thankful for Darios suggestion to sober up a bit before retiering for the night. And of course there was the perk of getting to spend time with him.
Ever since they had reunited earlier he'd been diligent in his persuit, bringing her water to drink and sweets to eat at regular intervals.
She didn't make any attempt to refuse him despite the nausea that made itself known everytime she swallowed. Though it was preposterous she couldn't help but to find his actions cute.
She glanced at Dario from behind disheveled locks of hair that had at some point escaped her hairdo. His face had become flushed by the alcohol and the slightly unbuttoned white shirt stuck to the sweat on his body. His swept back dark hair had become untidy, yet he somehow looked even more charming than in the beginning of the night.
Amelia felt her cheeks flush when he met her eyes and she quickly averted her gaze back to the dance.
In the crowd she noticed a young man motioning to Olivia, asking her for a dance with a blushing face. She looked flustered but seemed to accept his hand by the encouragment of the surrounding maids.
A couple other servants followed the maid's movements with envy in their eyes as she accompanied the man onto the floor.
Amelia wasn't surprised to see that Olivia was popular amongst her collegues. The way that the her light steps floated across the floorboards when the dance begun reminded Amelia of a fairly engolfed in swirling pink fabric. Her face was glowing with happiness and sweat as she whirled in perfect synchronization to the music.
Could there be a man who wouldn't be charmed?
Amelia spotted Paul in the crowd and realised that he too couldn't tear his eyes away.
"Your Grace, may I have a word?"
Amelia was surprised by Gordons sudden appearance. When the butler spoke the look of concern he wore on his face seemed to transfer to Dario.
"Can it wait?" Dario asked with a tone of slight annoyance.
"That would be unwise Your Grace" answered the butler, seemingly unaffected by his obvious aversion.
Dario sighed and met Amelias gaze.
"I'll be right back."
Amelia gave him an encouraging nodd and watched him as they left the room. She tried to ignore the gnawing feeling that something wasn't right.
When Olivia finished her dance and curtsied to the young man with a bright grin, Amelia could no longer see Paul in the crowd.
Curious she rose to her feet to look for him and was thankful for her body's new steadiness.
She found him in the hall outside, leaning his upper body out an opened window. The cold drafts eminating from outside carried a familiar scent of cigarr-smoke.
"What are you doing out here, Sir?" Amelia inquered as she joined his side by the window.
"Ah, you surspised me. Happy birthday, miss."
"Thank you" she smiled and leaned against the windowframe, embracing the cold air against her flushed skin.
"Though I am doubtful that a knight would be surprised given my heavy steps" she teased.
"Well, I am quite drunk."
Amelia laughed and her hot breath formed into mist that was illummimated by the faint candlelight from the corridor. She watched it disapear into the darkness as it traveled away from were they stood.
When she inhaled to fill her breathless lungs her mouth was filled with the loathsome taste of cigarr-smoke, and she grimaced. She had always hated the smell of cigarrs.
Her father had been such a frequent smoker that the odor had always clung onto the tips of his fingers. In his study the sticky taste had always lingered on her tounge even when he wasn't smoking, as if the smell had seeped into the soft furnituring and permanently tainted the air of the room.
"I'm sorry, do you want me to put it out?" Paul asked with a concerned look and Amelia shook her head.
"That is not necessary, I was merely surprised by the cold."
Paul didn't look convinced by her lie and he promptly put the cigarr out on the windowsill and tossed the bud out the window.
"I was done anyway" he said.
Amelia couldn't hide her relief as the smell slowly disappeared.
"You didn't answer my question before, Sir. What are you doing out here? Are you not going to ask her to dance" she inquiered and Paul feigned a look of confusion.
"I am sorry miss, but I don't believe I understand what you mean."
Amelia kept her eyes fixed on his face and put on an expression of apparent skepticism.
Paul was quiet for a while but eventually sighed.
"Was I that obvious?"
"Quite" she smiled. "But I am sure no one else noticed. Especially not Olivia."
She left out the part that it would probably have been difficult to notice his gaze among all the others.
"Is she the reason that you volunteered as my escort knight?" she asked him instead.
It hadn't made sense to Amelia why Paul would do such a thing as to volunteer. While being the escort of a real duschess would be considered an honor this was definitly not the case for her despite the rumors circulating among the servants. In reality this would likely be regarded as a degradation for any knight recognized by the duchy.
"I assure you that I am not your escort for a dishonorable reason such as that, miss."
"It's alright, Sir. Truthfully it would give me a piece of mind since I do not trust in unconditinal sympathy."
Paul seemed to hesitate.
"Well, I cannot deny that it partly influenced my decision" he finally admitted.
"But when the captain asked for a volunteer I couldn't stand back along with the others, it seemed cruel."
He paused with a tense expression on his face as if he'd just said something hurtful.
"I apologize, I misspoke."
"No, it's alright. Is it not what's to be expected?"
She truly wasn't hurt by his words. Even though Amelia had spoken to some of the knights since, there was no getting around that their first and for most of them only impression was of her kneeling on the floor in only her nightgown that cold autumn night.
"I do not feel that way, though" Paul added.
"That it is to be expected."
"And why is that" she wondered, absentmindedly staring at squirrel that scurried across the snow covered yard beneath them. She didn't notice that she'd asked Paul this out loud until she heard his answer.
"On a personal level I respect you for your ability to adapt" he stated. "And as a knight of the duchy, I am thankful towards you."
Amelia turned her eyes to him in surprise and watched as he carefully weighed his next words.
"The duke has my utmost loyalty and respect, I am sure I speak for my collegues as well. He tends to be rather... prickly however. Especially since the war."
She could understand what he meant. Even though she'd only experienced kindness from Dario she'd still noticed the traces of his many sleepless nights.
"He seems to gave gotten better since you came here though, so how could I not be thankful? I may be just a subordanate now, but we used to be comrades and I'd still like to view him as such."
Paul suddenly let out a quiet laugh, then leaned closer towards her. His following words were almost whispers.
"Righteous wishes of his wellbeing aside, since I am only human: this way he doesn't hound us as bad."
Her laugh came out more as a snort and Pauls heartly chuckle followed.
There was no denying that this man would be perfectly compatible with her friend, given their similar disposition. Amelia made a mental note to find a natural way to get him and Oliva alone together.
"The audacity" she snickered.