The Baroness Misbehaves
Chapter 86: First Kiss In The Dining (1)

Chapter 86: First Kiss In The Dining (1)

Returning to the ballroom, Inna once again spotted the young man as he took his seat at the far end of the ballroom, where there were less guests and people to bother him. He just finished drinking two glasses of his caramel-colored whiskey and was going for the third one.

The dim blue lights and the golden lights of the Chandelier hanging on the tall ceiling bathed him, further enhancing his striking features, and Inna’s eyes narrowed to form a suspicious slit as she had come to the conclusion that this stranger wasn’t someone she was familiar with.

The fact he had chosen to wander around the mansion when he could have simply asked the servants to directly show him where the men’s washroom was only heightened her suspicions, and something told her he wasn’t good news.

"Who are you?"

His eyebrows hung low in boredom as his gaze continued to scrutinize the event before him, as though wondering when it would come to an end, but what Inna didn’t expect was for the suspicious man to look in her direction, catching her in her glares and she instantly straightened up.

"Hmph!" She haughtily averted her gaze and got herself mixed with the crowds, disappearing from the young man’s line of sight. It’s best she informs Orson about this since her brother won’t have the time to fully listen to what she has to say, and it would be even better to send him out since his presence doesn’t suit her nerves at all.

After the dance had successfully come to an end for both couples, a soft sound of applause resounded in the ballroom, and the two couples quietly stepped back to give space to the rest of the guests who were interested in taking a dance with their partners or companions.

The ballroom was instantly occupied with sounds of laughter, chatters, and the soft music that kept playing from where Cassian and Maddie had left off.

Some of the guests had come over to congratulate them while offering gifts, also complimenting them on their outfits and the little dance they had put together to entertain everyone, and Madeline recalled all of Inna’s instructions on how to behave with such guests once they walked up to greet them.

It took some minutes before they were left alone once again. Even at that, Madeline could feel odd gazes staring in her direction, but she tried as much as she could not to pay attention to it and keep herself composed.

"Hey, you’re doing great." She suddenly heard the young lad whisper to her as his warm breath tickled her earlobes, and when she looked at him, she felt relief wash her hesitation away as she stood by his side, but they could barely start a conversation with themselves since most of the guests kept approaching them.

Madeline’s eyes watched as the guests naturally mingled with one another, indulging in small talks while blowing airy kisses to those they were familiar with. At the corner of the ballroom, some guests stood admiring a painting hung on the wall.

Others were busy discussing business deals or exchanging social pleasantries with Richard who escorted them towards the stairs.

It was her first time witnessing what it felt like to be among the social elites, and Madeline had to admit that it was quite boring and not as fun as she anticipated, except for the part where she had to dance with Cassian and knowing she celebrated this day with him. Apart from that, nothing else has piqued her interest.

Stealing glances at the handsome lad who remained composed beside her, Madeline couldn’t tell if he felt the same or if she was the only odd one here. Regardless, she tried not to show her discomfort and remained collected like the young lad standing by her side.

Elaine had showed up some minutes later, introducing her to a lot of people, and most times, Cassian was steered into meeting other important guests by his father. They were both immediately separated since Cassian’s attention was seeked, while she had to mingle with the relatives that wouldn’t stop questioning her about her background.

"Maddie." Elaine made her look in the direction of the guests who were smiling at her. "Meet Mr Hermon and his wife Luciana, one of our family’s distant relatives." She introduced with a warm smile, and Madeline could tell from how Elaine spoke that they were on good terms.

"A pleasure meeting you, Mr and Mrs Hermon." She curtsied with a smile, earning their amused looks in return.

"She is beautiful, and well-mannered for someone who comes from the upper west quarters. I never expected Cas to be this..... lucky." Luciana added as she was one of those who was aware of Cassian’s many schemes, and Madeline could only offer her thanks.

They were all stylishly dressed for the evening, but Madeline could make out from their expression that it was all for show-off. She had really anticipated what the occasion would be like, but at this point she felt like getting away from all these people as they only heightened her nervousness.

The worst part of the evening was when her feet started to ache from the shoes she was wearing. She had to force a smile all through while dealing with the torture her feet had decided to place in order to make this evening more memorable for her.

Finally standing all by herself at a corner, her eyes searched for Cassian, wondering where he could have gone when she felt someone tap her shoulders from behind. Lo and behold! It was the dark prince himself.

"Cas..."

He placed a hand to his lips, silencing her to avoid drawing attention to where they stood. "Come with me."

Holding her arm, they quietly exited the ballroom and stepped into the opened hallway. It was empty as most of the guests were savoring the meals and drinks Frederick had ordered the servants to bring, as per the young Lord’s request.

"Where are we going?" She asked, trying to keep up since her feet were still hurting terribly. Cassian finally stopped after they made it to the empty dining room, and he made the woman sit on one of the chairs before crouching to his feet.

"What are you...." He had already taken off her shoes before she could complete what she planned on saying, and the relief that washed over her made her sigh in assuagement as she wiggled her toes free from their prison.

He shook his head at her relief reaction. "Was there really a need to hurt yourself? Why didn’t you take them off sooner?" He asked, his expression stoic after taking note of the slight bruise she had earned from walking for hours with an aching feet.

"How can I?" Madeline inquired, wondering if he wanted her to walk bare footed in a ballroom filled with people she never imagined crossing paths with in this life, and he clicked his tongue.

"Lift."

"Hmm?"

"Your dress." Madeline’s heart thumped in her chest, but she looked around to make sure the dining room was completely empty before lifting her dress and exposing her sexy legs to his gaze.

Something in his eyes flickered when he looked at her legs, but he retracted his gaze down to her foot to take inspection of the faint red marks on her skin.

It is a good thing the scent of her blood was much fainter now.

"If you feel uncomfortable wearing something, then take it off." To Madeline’s surprise, he began to massage her feet gently to ease the slight pain she felt. "It’s not mandatory to please everyone while you suffer the pain. Don’t do it again." He admonished without looking up at her.

"Are these the sandals?" Out of nowhere, Oliver showed up, handing two comfortable sandals to Cassian who received them.

"Yeah." He took them from Oliver. "You can leave now, it won’t be good if that mother of yours sees you here."

"Private lessons tomorrow?"

"Sure."

Oliver grinned before walking away and heading to the ballroom. Their unexpected brief conversation had left Madeline wondering when did the two of them start talking, but she couldn’t ask since a certain someone looked quite upset with her.

Cassian finally slipped the sandals smoothly into Madeline’s small feet, and the lady couldn’t hold back a smile seeing him tend to her feet with such care, even when he was clearly upset.

"Feel better?"

She nodded. "Thank you."

He finally rose to his full height, and Madeline stood up with much ease this time. "How did you know I was in pain from those shoes?"

"I’ve been watching you, and I had to do something about it."

"Thank..."

"Is excessive thanking another trait in your family?" He popped a question, making her recall the day he asked the same thing about her stammering, and she shrugged.

"I have nothing else to offer for your kindness to me, so...."

"If you wish to offer me something then I do have a wish you have to fulfill right now." He asserted while looking down on the woman who failed to see his intentions behind his gleaming eyes.

"What? I’ll do it if it’s within my capabilities." Madeline looked determined to do whatever he asked of her, and then the scheming being no longer looked upset as he asked a question she never expected he’d ask.

"Don’t you think we’ve prolonged getting our first actual kiss for too long?"

Madeline blinked at his question, looking dazed. "What?"

"You already agreed cause it’s definitely within your capabilities, you can’t back down on your words, it’s about time I get to discover what my wife’s lips taste like." And he licked his lips to further taunt the woman before approaching where she had frozen.