Letting out a deep breath, Annette felt her nerves calm as the distance between them and the viscount's family grew. She was glad the lord had excused himself; otherwise, she would have done so herself.
She trailed behind Vincent, staring mindlessly at random things as he busied himself with acquaintances. Their discussions held no value for her, so she saw no reason to listen in.
Just as they were about to walk away, the call of her name made her stop abruptly. Even though they had only met recently, she didn't easily forget a voice. Annette slowly turned around to see Elizabeth making her way toward her. She was draped in a lovely mint-green dress, her hair loosely gathered behind her.
Elizabeth was a striking woman. She carried herself with grace and confidence—truly the poise of a noblewoman.
Annette smiled at her. "Heavens, Beth, you look ravishing," she complimented genuinely.
"Oh dear! You are too kind." A faint blush painted her cheeks as she placed a hand lightly over her mouth to hide her giggle. Her eyes scanned Annette's dress. "You look amazing too, Annette. You will surely be the talk of the town for the next week," she added with another small giggle.
"I highly doubt that," Annette replied.
Annette watched as the lady's eyes suddenly widened, her gaze shifting past her.
"M-my lord," Beth greeted with a slight bow. "Good evening."
"Good evening, Miss Raine. Wonderful seeing you this evening," Vincent said, his hands buried in the pockets of his trousers.
"You too, my lord," she answered, looking between the viscount and Annette as she continuously smoothed the side of her dress, a sign of her nervousness.
"You look stunning. The color green suits your eyes perfectly."
The lady's eyes widened even more. Annette almost laughed out loud at her comical reaction.
"Oh… I… thank you, my lord." She was completely flushed. "You look… good too," she added with an awkward laugh at the end.
Vincent smiled. "Thank you for your kind words, Miss Raine."
A short moment of silence followed.
"If you would excuse us, my lord, Annette and I would like to take a walk," Elizabeth said, stepping forward and linking her arm with Annette's.
"Very well."
She offered him a small smile before pulling Annette along with her.
"Oh my gods! I would have passed out if I had spent any longer in his presence," Beth whispered, causing Annette to laugh.
"I cannot help but wonder how you two plan on getting married," she said, still laughing.
Beth sighed. "I wonder that myself, which is why I wish to stall this marriage for as long as possible, until I'm able to stand his presence."
Annette suddenly felt a sense of pity for the young lady. It must be hard being forced to marry someone you have no interest in for family affairs. More importantly, someone like the viscount.
She placed her hand over the lady's. "You will be fine. Very soon, you'll have no need to worry about the viscount."
Beth smiled. "I really hope so."
"Elizabeth!" a voice called out.
They both turned in the direction of the voice to see three ladies standing a few feet away from them. They wore dresses in almost the same color, though in different shades. Strange.
It would have been understandable if they were sisters, but judging by their different features, they clearly were not.
"Please… not them," Beth whispered, clearly displeased by the girls.
Annette turned slightly toward her. "Who are they?"
"Troublemakers. Unfortunately, we can't avoid them." Still holding onto Annette's arm, she pulled her toward the ladies. "They are sharp-tongued and spoiled. Don't mind them too much."
Annette frowned. The last thing she wanted was to have trouble with rich noble fools.
"Good evening, ladies," Beth greeted, as polite as ever.
"It's good seeing you, Beth. It has been a while," the tallest of the girls spoke, her eyes shifting to Annette. "Ah, a new face here. I am Isabelle." She pointed to the girl next to her. "Camilla." Then to the last girl. "And Matilda."
The girls gave small waves as they murmured their good evenings.
Annette could already feel the thick, unsettling tension coming from them. She could tell they didn't like her much. Still, she smiled.
"Good evening, ladies. I'm Annette, and it's wonderful meeting you all."
"So, you're the viscount's mistress. It is quite odd seeing the bride-to-be and the mistress befriending each other," Matilda commented, her catlike eyes darting between Annette and Beth.
Here we go. These girls have no idea who they are messing with, Annette thought to herself.
"I don't think it's odd. Beth is a wonderful woman, and I'm deeply grateful to call her my friend," Annette replied coolly.
The girls eyed her suspiciously.
"Hmmm. I think Beth is far too nice." Isabelle took a sip of blood from her tumbler. "I would never be in the same place as my husband's mistress."
"That's why you aren't Beth—and I don't see your husband anywhere," Annette retorted.
This must have deeply disturbed the lady, as her face darkened and she shot daggers at Annette.
"You should be careful how you speak to me. I'm not as nice as Beth. I'll crush you."
Annette burst into a fit of laughter, one hand over her mouth and the other clutching her stomach as she struggled to control herself. After much effort, it slowly died down.
"Oh my! I haven't had a good laugh like that in so long," she sighed.
"Did you just say you will crush me? What are you, a child? I'm sure you can come up with a better threat—or can't you?" A smirk stretched across Annette's lips.
"I—"
All the girls gasped in shock as Isabelle suddenly threw the contents of her tumbler onto Annette.
"Oh my goodness! Why would you do that, Isabelle?" Beth questioned in horror.
Annette wasted no time. She picked up the tumbler within reach and threw its contents at Isabelle, making sure it ruined her dress.
Before anyone could react or say a word, she turned and began walking away toward the powder room, though she had no idea where it was.
"Annette! Wait!" Beth hurried after her, grabbing her hand. "This way. The powder room is this way," she added, pointing in the opposite direction.
Silently, they made their way there, Beth closing the door behind them. Thankfully, they were alone.
Annette stood before the mirror, inspecting the damage. The liquid had splashed onto her face, the veil over her chest, and a few drops had landed on her dress.
Now she would be forced to remove the veil.
Gods, she didn't want this.
"I'm so sorry, Annette. I feel horrible. If I had known she would behave like this, I would never have brought you to them." Beth spoke with tears in her eyes as she handed Annette a wet towel.
"It's not your fault, Beth. We can't control people's actions. I'm just glad it didn't get all over my dress." She carefully wiped her face, neck, and the spots where the blood had splashed.
"Are you sure it's alright?" Beth pouted, looking like a sad doll.
Annette chuckled at her expression. "Yes. Very. I've had worse. It's not that bad."
She began pulling away the veil. "I just have to remove this—which is rather unfortunate." She sighed, folding it over her arm before turning to Beth whose eyes were fixed on her chest.
"Oh my, Annette! You have lovely breasts." Beth's hand flew over her mouth as if she hadn't meant to say the words out loud.
This caused Annette to laugh.
"Dear gods, that sounded very perverted. I promise I didn't mean it in a bad way. I was only—"
Annette placed her hands on Beth's shoulders.
"You apologize a whole lot, dear Beth. I assure you, I'm not in the slightest offended by your words."
Beth sighed in relief. "I swear, I meant it as a compliment."
Annette rolled her eyes with a smile. "I understand. Please don't apologize to me again. I'm much harder to annoy than you think."
This time she linked her arm with Beth's.
"Let's head back to the ballroom. I'm famished."
"Me too. Me too," Beth added.