Chapter 14: Masked Mischief
In short time Lillian had earlier been in the ballroom up till this point, the servants had done a wonderful job in properly decorating the room.
It looked something straight out of the fairy tales Lily was accustomed to reading in her spare time. Dimmed, golden lights hung loosely at the edge of the windows, lighting up the darkening day in an enchanting way.
"This looks impressive," Ava muttered from beside Lillian. "Perhaps, I may hire the workers for my birthday party in the next few months."
"Wouldn't that be lovely?," Lillian smiled. "I'm thoroughly impressed, the decorations make me feel alive."
Lillian thought maybe it was the excitement and the anxiety she felt, or even the anticipation. But the adrenaline coursing through her veins was enough to have her alert, eyes skimming through the guests as she took in all the men and ladies in expensive dresses and dress suits.
It was certainly a sight to behold.
From the entrance to the ballroom, Lillian caught sight of Sir Benjamin and his mother. She was able to recognise them despite the masks they wore. She immediately turned to tell Ava but paused when she saw Ava blushing profusely already.
"Ahh...you've seen him already. I should have expected it," she lightly teased. "You must have already been watching out for him, isn't that so?"
Ava glared at her, flustered at having been caught flustered. She grabbed Lillian's arm, dragging her in the direction opposite from where the object of her affection was heading.
"Why are we walking away from him or not to him?," Lillian asked incredulously, staring at Ava.
"I want a drink is why!," Ava snapped, obviously still flustered and somewhat embarrassed.
Lillian rolled her eyes. "Certainly, you are joking, Ava. This is no time to be shy at all."
Her mildly chastising words caused Ava to pause in her steps and glance back, worry evident in her anxious expression.
"It is unnerving," she said.
"What?," Lillian asked. "To be in his presence?"
Ava nodded. "What if I do not look good? Or I make a fool out of myself before him?"
Lillian simply could not believe the words coming out of the mouth of her friend. Was this what love could do? Could love make even the most confident of people feel not enough for the object of their affection?
She thought about the days where her mother would try on many dresses, trying to find the one her father would like best on her. But her mother never questioned her beauty, she simply wanted to look her best at times for her father.
Perhaps, was her mother only confident as such because she was already married to her father?
"That is ridiculous reasoning, Ava," Lily furrowed her brows, displeased with the way Ava was speaking about herself.
Ava's emerald eyes remained sad. "You can not be sure, Lillian. It is possible Sir Benjamin prefers blondes such as yourself."
Lillian opened her mouth to keep chastising her friend but a sound from behind her made both Ava and herself jump in surprise.
"While that is a valid assumption, I would like to clarify that, in fact, I have no biased preference for blonde ladies," Ava and Lily turned to find the object of their discussion standing before them, his famous, kind smile on his lips.
Lily was speechless because she was aware of the horror Ava felt at the moment. The silence dragged on for a few seconds more before Benjamin broke it again.
"A fine evening to you, miss Lillian," he greeted her before bringing his attention to Ava. "And to you, miss Burguess." He offered a low bow to the ladies and when the silence, once again, dragged on, Lillian was forced to speak up.
"Sir Benjamin! Lovely seeing you here!," she greeted, giving a low curtesy of hers in return. "A fine evening to you as well."
"Thank you, Lillian," he replied and Lillian didn't miss the way his black eyes darted back to Ava briefly before settling back on her.
Lillian sighed inwardly, still wordlessly chastising her friend in exasperation. She lightly nudged her, trying to coax her out of her mortified state.