She saw the questions in his eyes: why attend a Delyalda festival this year? And why this particular one with its nod to marriage? Had Gaeres been the one to motivate her to go?
He asked all of these with his gaze but kept the words behind his teeth. Emerence gave him an answer that was true and would please him. “I refuse to let street muck like Culkhen Goa turn me into a fearful hermit. Tonight I will attend a celebration and enjoy myself.” And bid farewell to a man who’d given her a brief view into what it might be like to fall in love.
Smiles wreathed Tocqua’s lined face. “Do you need an escort?”
She almost declined then changed her mind. “I’d love one.”
Tocqua wasted no time. He abandoned his tea and hurriedly exchanged his shoes for his boots. He donned his coat and rushed to open the door for her. “Ready?” he said.
They both checked her house before they left. Tocqua had replaced the broken lock earlier in the day, adding a second for good measure. He’d done the same to the door that opened to her back garden. Satisfied the house was locked up tight, they set off for the Sun and Rose celebration.
The host for this popular Delyalda event changed every year, and this year’s host was the powerful Jakarin family whose estate sat at the end of Timsiora’s market district, surrounded by a high wall that protected a mansion set in the middle of an expansive, manicured garden.
The festival was open to the public for a price. Proceeds went to funding the following year’s party at the next host’s residence and to repair any damage done at the current residence. The second usage was a rare event. No one wanted to be blacklisted from a Sun and Rose celebration.
Her father left her at the main gate where a huge crowd of celebrants had gathered to wait for entry. “When should I return for you?” he said.
“You won’t have to. You know how this works. I’ll just join one of the big groups that always travel together. If you’re still awake when I get back, I’ll knock.”
She chatted with several business acquaintances who waited with her outside the gates. Once inside, she paused to admire the gardens decorated for the festival and the great house shimmering with the light of countless lanterns. Hundreds of people strolled the grounds or gathered in clusters to drink or partake from the numerous tables of food laid out in various spots to be enjoyed.
Emerence set a meandering course toward the house, her gaze sweeping the crowd, looking for one face in particular. She spotted him inside in one of the three packed ballrooms, surrounded by a flock of Beladine maidens whose infatuated expressions told Emerence he’d managed to charm them just as quickly and thoroughly as he’d charmed her. She chuckled under her breath at the hunted look he wore.
Dancers swirled around them, and she caught sight of three dressed in garb not of Beladine fashion and similar in style to Gaeres’s. The cousins, she was sure, and somewhere among the crush of people a venerable dahran watched them with a hawk’s gaze.
This was a young crowd for the most part, but there were plenty of watchful parents or relatives playing chaperon who were closer to her age as well. Emerence’s attention on Gaeres was drawn away by a handsome lord she recognized as one of her father’s clients. He asked her to dance. She obliged and soon found herself whirled about by one partner after another until she begged a moment to rest and fled for small corner of the room, away from the crowd, where she could cool off and enjoy the taste of wine from a goblet a servant had given her. The drink was cold and soothing on her parched tongue and throat.
She spotted Gaeres again and this time his gaze met hers across the room. So much for catching her breath. The look he bestowed on her was hot enough to set her clothes on fire. That look made her wonder what it might be like to stretch naked under the light of a summer sun.
Gaeres began shouldering his way through the crowd of celebrants toward her, his gaze locked on her. She’d come here as he’d asked to say goodbye. Maybe if she were fortunate, he’d kiss her hand or possibly her cheek when he bid her farewell. It would be a lovely