A Charming Suitor Catches Emmaline's eye

Emmaline looked around the room idly as she considered her options, sipping from a glass of deep red wine. She found that as she turned from side to side, scanning the room, her eyes kept meeting those of one particular stranger. He was tall, with short brown hair, and a strong jawline. If she had to guess, Emmaline would say he was probably a soldier in the Gallian military, though from his confident demeanour and intelligent eyes, he might have just been one of the young nobles who liked to spend their time playing military captain.

It wasn't uncommon, of course, for Emmaline to catch a man's interest, especially not at a place like this. She had initially intended to use that to her advantage in tracking down information about the diadem, but now with her sister likely in the mix, things were much more complicated.

Emmaline frowned. All this stress was getting to her head. Perhaps what she needed was a nice little break, then she could get back to all this tedious crown searching later.

As if on cue, Emmaline felt a presence next to her, and a clear voice said "Pardon me, Miss. but I don't believe I recognize you," when Emmaline turned, it was the gentleman from earlier. She smiled politely, but offered no answer, prompting him to continue. "It's just... well I'm well connected here, or so I thought" he laughed. "I'll admit, I am somewhat new to Dieudonne's masquerades, but I was under the impression that I was finally starting to become part of that inner circle. But then you show up. A beautiful face like yours? I know I'd recognize you if I'd seen you someplace before."

"Oh, I'm just a friend of the Lady," Emmaline said, letting her wine glass sway easily between two fingers. as she lied. The man seemed to be listening to her gullibly enough. "Former business associates, turned something a bit more intimate"

"Ah. Very well, then," the man said. Emmaline watched his eyes, tracking where they stared. He seemed to have good manners, even despite the ludicrous cut of her dress, but she could tell he wanted her. Luckily, the feeling was mutual. "Perhaps we should get better acquainted, then? I would hate to make a bad impression on one of the lady's closest confidants."

Emmaline's eyes wandered down from his face, over broad shoulders, to a muscular chest that was still rather notable even through his suit. Even lower still, she could almost swear she could make out the outline of a sizable bulge against the fabric of his trousers. He would make for quite the excellent distraction indeed.

"Hmm, I can think of a way for you to make a pretty good impression," Emmaline said with a wry smile. "Though, perhaps it would be best if we had our 'discussion' elsewhere. Away from prying eyes?"

The man cocked his head, feigning ignorance. In response, Emmaline simply finished her glass of wine. She turned, and after a quick glance over her shoulder to make certain he was following, lead the way up toward the stairs to the second floor, where the guest rooms were waiting for them.