30th August, 1888 — The Destiny Hotel

The dinner had been charming enough - Orlando could cope with eating and maintaining conversation, that was the easy part - but now the mood had turned towards dancing and pairing off and he was rapidly feeling uncomfortable. Quite apart from his own misgivings he had spotted more than one scornful or mocking look directed at his sister and it was all he could do not to insist upon escorting her home to spare her the cruelty that was sure to come as the night went on and the drinks became more liberal.

The pocket watch he had been given buzzed and, bemused, he ignored it. He doubted very much Miss Valentine could find him a match made of true love so there was not much point putting himself through an awkward dance and denying some poor girl the opportunity to actually meet a gentleman that could make her happy. He would feel terrible. And dancing would mean he couldn't keep a proper eye on Ada and...wait...

He scanned the ballroom for his sister and spotted her quickly enough - he ignored the small part of him that acknowledged how much older she looked compared to some of the rest - and his eyes immediately found another young woman, edging towards Ada with...

Well, he couldn't tell if it was malice or not but he refused to take that chance!

"Excuse me," he said smoothly, spinning them both towards the floor and into what promised to be a truly awkward waltz. "I hope you don't object too terribly Miss?"

  

Caroline had been quite enjoying her evening, balls after all were her foretee. This one was enchantingly set up to introduce people to the right sort of person and as such suited her needs perfectly. Dinner had been nice, the company enjoyable enough, even with the dour lady seated beside Shawn, but Caroline had thought that she had handled that quite aptly.

While the first assigned dance partner was the charming Mr. Umbridge, Caroline had found him polite but distant. Then there was the poor gentleman she’d walked into. But really she’d had several nice dance partners and overall had been enjoying herself. She’d even found people eyeing her gown with approval and was immensely happy with that particular effect. The seafoam green gown was enchanted at the bottom hems and train to look like waves crashing on a beach. The hair had even been twined with pearls to create the effect of a mermaid or something coming out of the sea. Quite the twist on her own situation, and indeed even with the theme of the ball if one were to consider it closely enough. Yes, over all this ball was something of a success. Now she just needed to find someone for both of them.

Speaking of Shawn… she hadn’t seen him in some time she realized as the latest dance number ended. She looked around the room trying to find him, he was speaking with a gentleman by a table, likely business. Caroline started his way to remind him this evening was about a different sort of business when gentleman stepped into her path and spun her out onto the dance floor without even asking. She had to admire the confidence in that, even if it was a bit odd. The British didn’t seem the sort to do something so… brash.

“Not at all.” Caroline gave him a charming smile, she really couldn’t afford to turn anyone down. Besides, he might have more spine than half the gentlemen she’d met since they’d arrived in London. “Might I have the honor of knowing whom I am dancing with, though? I’ve often found that a dance is more enjoyable when one has their partner’s name.” She replied lightly as if this were nothing out of the normal.

  

Within moments of the young woman speaking Orlando began to wonder whether he had grossly miscalculated and inadvertently put himself in a position where he not only had to dance, but looked as though he was utterly desperate to do so. The maliciousness he had seen from a distance did not seem quite so evident up close, and she seemed cheerful enough, but what if he was wrong?

“Orlando Lovegood,” he supplied, taking note of her accent and immediately discounting her as one of the girls of Ada’s circle who developed claws the moment they debuted. “Perhaps you are acquainted with my sister?”

  

“It’s a pleasure to meet you Mr. Lovegood. I’m Miss Caroline Delaney.” She supplied in her most charming voice as they moved in time with the music. The question of his sister had her tilting her head, a small frown forming on her features as she ran through any Miss Lovegood’s she might know. Unless of course the sister was married, then she was hopelessly lost. But seeing as she knew so few people she quickly came to her answer. “I don’t believe I’ve met any Miss Lovegood’s since I’ve arrived. The fog did rather hamper my ability to meet people.” She admitted with a more planned frown than the one before.

  

He had misjudged this, hadn’t he? Everywhere he went he saw ill-omens hovering around his sister, though Orlando could not really remember the last time one of the people he had suspected were about to unleash some torrent of abuse on Ada had actually done so. And now he was dancing with a woman for no discernible reason.

Slightly awkward.

“Of course,” he replied with a crooked, ill-at-ease smile. It was hardly her fault he had jumped to the wrong conclusion: he owed her a passable dance at least and fortunately dancing was one of the few aspects of courtship he had found mostly pleasant. “May I ask where you arrived from? I suspect you’re not a native of these isles.”

  

It was hard to miss the look on his face, almost as if she had interrupted him and asked him to dance. Caroline schooled her features to a polite and charming smile before her frown appeared. Mentally she reviewed their short acquaintance and the only fault she could see him coming up with was her accent and the knowledge that she wasn’t of the ‘right set’. As if her very place of birth should cause abasement to her. It wasn’t as if she could eschew her very own voice, nor should she have to. No, Caroline Delaney was a fine catch, regardless of her own origins and she would let society, and this gentleman, know it.

“Boston, Massachusetts.” Caroline answered charmingly with a bit of a prideful mixed with sheepish smile. She could play coy when it came to it, even if it was acting as if she were ashamed to have been born on the wrong side of the pond. “Are you from London?” She asked with a curious tilt of her head, throwing the question back to him in a charming way. He wouldn’t even know it was her own silent way of pointing out the fact of did it really matter?

  

Which meant she was even less likely to have any intentions, cruel or otherwise, towards his sister. Chances were she didn’t even know as Orlando doubted even a scandalous action like leaving the Minister at the altar would have held the attention of those overseas for too long. They had their own troubles after all. Ada’s love-life was hardly a major political issue.

“Originally yes, but my family and I migrated to Hogsmade in ’87 like everybody else. Well,” he inclined his head, spotting a few faces around the dance floor he recognised. “More or less everybody. Are you enjoying our fair city though? It seems quite the shame for you to arrive at such a trying time.”

  

"The idea of Hogsmeade is so intriguing to me." Caroline admitted as he mentioned the migration. "We don't have any all magical towns back home." Her tone was tinged with her natural curiosity, the one she had pressed to have her brother bright her across the sea to a new place.

"It does seem rather a shame, yes. But I've very much enjoyed London. I am hoping to be able to see more of Hogsmeade now that things have begun to settle down." If she had it her way she'd likely be staying for another year. But that relied on swaying Shawn. Something she could do, but she'd need to be strategic about it.

  

He was aware of course that Hogsmeade was almost unique amongst their kind for its size and scale - no other village where wizards dwelt hidden away from muggles was quite as expansive, but he hadn’t realised until now quite how fortunate they were. It was a privilege he had almost forgotten they had, and one he was keen to exalt the virtues of.

“You simply must come up and visit the village Miss Delaney,” he said emphatically, spinning her neatly as the music reached a crescendo. “Now things are settled perhaps we could even convince you to stay a little longer. I’m sure society would be thrilled to have such a charming addition,” he finished, knowing the words to say perfectly even if his delivery was a little stilted.

  

“I would be delighted to visit.” And indeed she would. Shawn seemed to avoid the town but Caroline was intrigued. She still was disappointed that Shawn had taken up residence for them in London rather than Hogsmeade. But she had a head for business and understood that as such it was a good thing for the company if not for her own personal plans. At least they hadn’t been hindered by the fog itself. That would have been dreadful not to have any magic this summer, it had been bad enough without a social life.

At his compliment she smiled charmingly, enough to let him think he’d flattered her. “I wish I could, but I’m afraid it’s my brother you have to convince.” She admitted, a small tug of worry on her lips.

  

Ah, as was so often the case behind every spirited young woman there was a shadowy male figure making her decisions for her. Orlando had always tried his hardest not to be that man for Adelia – he had been forced to disown Olive and it had never sat well with him – but his younger sister had chosen her own path and would have done it with or without his influence. Mores the pity.

“You must point him out to me,” he offered, coming to the end of the dance and rather glad he had gotten away with his misstep so well. In fact it had gone better than most intentional dances did. “Regrettably new blood is hard to come by in Hogsmeade.”

  

The last steps of the dance swirled around them as Mr. Lovegood led them to a stop. Caroline smiled prettily. “Certainly.” Anything this gentleman might say to Shawn likely wouldn’t help, but it was gallant of him to offer and perhaps if Shawn saw her having some sort of success mother might hear of it and suggest an extended stay in London despite Shawn’s reservations. “Perhaps he might see reason if you were to speak to him.” Her tone hinted at a coy admiration of the man.

Spotting Shawn she nodded in his direction as Mr. Lovegood led her from the dance floor, “That would be Mr. Shawn Delaney.” It would be rude to add anything additional although she longed to mention his antisocial tendencies. It was one thing to tease her brother at home, another entirely to tease him in front of a gentleman who was all but a perfect stranger.

  

Orlando nodded his greeting to the gentleman, awkward though it was and quiet though the man clearly intended to remain. He couldn’t blame him, being of similar disposition himself and he sensed immediately that he was not likely to be able to follow through with talking the man into remaining with talk of society and the appeal of Hogsmeade: it would, to put it mildly, be like the blind leading the blind.

“You must both forgive me my rudeness but I promised my sister the next dance and I would hate to leave her abandoned,” he offered as an excuse, immediately tensing at his own foolish choice of words. “I hope to see you again Miss Delaney. Thank you for the dance,” he added with an affable smile before taking his leave.