April 23rd, 1891 - Minister's Masquerade
Night Sky hour
@"Verity Greengrass"

Jacob was thoroughly enjoying himself this evening, keeping an eye on Zipporah, dancing with several delightful young ladies and keeping a wary eye out for Miss Belby, though he was starting to think she might not be here this evening. It was a pity, but he was not short on company, which was a small solace in the sea of fancy dresses and masks.

The lights had dimmed a little while ago at the top of the eleventh hour and Jake took a breather from a more lively dance to down a quick measure of whiskey. It was only his second of the evening, but at this rate he was going to need another to keep himself powered through to midnight. The burn at the back of his throat gave him a good start, as he set the glass aside once more, moving around the edges of the dancefloor, seeing the opalescent glow from the brooches and pins they'd received upon arrival. Jake kept near the windows, the moonlight filtering through giving him better visibility, as apparently he'd managed to misplace the provided lapel pin.

Which is of course why he felt the delicate form a young woman run smack into him. Between his dark suit and his dark complexion, not to mention he'd even opted for a simply black mask, he must have been like a shadow in the night. "My sincerest apologies miss." He apologized quickly. "I have misplaced my provided night light." He felt a bit silly, as he could just faintly see her, one hand presumptuously on her elbow, until he was certain he hadn't caused any damage. 

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hello handsome by MJ

Grace's debut was tomorrow and Verity might as well have matched her complexion to her intricate green mask for all the envy she felt. It was terribly unfair that Grace was allowed to debut at a private ball when Verity hadn't been afforded the same opportunity. Everyone would be doting upon her graceless sister and commenting on how young and beautiful she was, meanwhile Verity would be off to the side as a certifiable spinster. It was all just so terribly unfair.

She had insisted upon going to the minister's ball tonight, though she needn't have pushed so hard as both of her brothers and mother were in attendance. The charms casted upon her newest dress hadn't given her any trouble that evening, turning the beautiful mauve into a rich green with gold details. On more than one occasion Verity thought her talents wasted, for she was as incredible a seamstress and designer as the late Marcus Lytton. Better, even, now that the fellow was a bloated corpse fished from the sea.

The minister's wife had a talent for organizing, and Verity was greatly enjoying the darkness of the eleventh hour when she collided into a man cloaked in darkness. His pin was gone, hers too in the scuffle, and, the worst of all, his hand was on her breast.

A man was touching her breast.

Verity inhaled sharply and swatted at his grip. Without any light it was impossible to tell who he was, but would he be able to see her? Would Miss Binns paint her as the next hussy in Meredith Watchword'a gossip rag? Merlin, all she was thinking to do was visit the balcony above the dance floor!

"It appears mine is now misplaced, too," she answered, stepping back to look for the soft glowing orb. "Can you see it? The floor will be impossible to navigate without it."

  

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set by mj

The way his hand was swatted away suggest the elbow he thought he'd aimed for was not exactly what he found in his hand and he immediately flushed, though it was hidden by the dark and his own mask, the words tumbled out quickly. "I do apologize again, let me look." Better to put his hands to good use than to accost unwitting ladies in the dark.

With his own lapel pin missing in action and only the light from the night outside in which to really search by, this might be no small feat. It was quite the conundrum. If he'd knocked hers off when he'd run into her, it couldn't be too far. "Are you certain you had it just now and I'm just the clumsy oaf who managed to knock it off?" His had been misplaced so easily already, he wondered if maybe they weren't the most secure of accessories.

Still, he bent low, careful not to brush against or bump her in any way or get anywhere near her skirts in an effort to be some kind of useful. 

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hello handsome by MJ

He apologized, because that was an adequate solution to touching her breast without permission or invitation. He ought to have volunteered to marry her on the spot! Anything other than having the sudden fear that their encounter was being watched from above. Verity refused to have her first real season ruined before it had even begun.

Had she misplaced it sooner, though? Verity was now unsure. He wouldn't have crashed into her if she was illuminated though, would he have? "Of course I did," she said with more confidence than she felt. "You're the only person with whom I collided, an impossible feat at this event without some guidance." Verity stepped back again but didn't crouch down to look for her own light. With her luck, someone wouldn't see her hunched form and would trip, causing even more of a spectacle.

There was a soft glow coming from beneath the nearest table. "There. Is that it?"

  

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set by mj

This one was feisty. If Jake didn't feel like a total oaf for nearly having run her over and otherwise earning her ire, he may have been a little more miffed at her responses. As it was though, he was generally pretty easygoing and so therefore he wasn't overly fussed.

As she mentioned she saw something, Jake looked about like he could see her pointing (if that was indeed what she was doing) before mentally slapping himself. Not being able to see anything was how they'd gotten here in the first place. He scoured the floor for a glow and found it not too far to his left. He moved cautiously toward it, but still whacked his head on the table he found it under. Muttering a quiet curse under his breath, Jake came up with what looked like a lapel pin instead of a lady's brooch.

Well, it was something. "Afraid not." He held it up with on hand as he head his bruised head with the other. "Could you make it work?" Jake didn't mind being invisible for a while longer if it meant that the young lady could be seen instead.

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hello handsome by MJ

A lapel pin was something, she supposed, at least until she could find another discarded brooch or simply resigned herself to the upper balcony for the remainder of the night instead. She would be disappointed to miss the dances, but if it was that or a possible scandal due to ridiculously tall clumsy men then what choice did she have?

Only, she went to afix the lapel pin to the sleeve of her dress, the green fabric was seemingly gone. All Verity could see in the soft glow was the bare skin of her forearm, which meant something had gone horribly wrong with the charms on her dress. Horrifically, horribly wrong.

Immediately, she thrust the lapel pin back towards him. Better to be enveloped in darkness than it was to risk someone catching sight of her in anything less than proper attire. "My dress," she murmured fearfully. "Something's happened to my dress. I need — I need to find the retiring room." That was only if someone wasn't in them, too, for how would she possibly explain this disaster?

  

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set by mj

Well wasn't this entire encounter one surprise after the other. Jake couldn't see well enough to know exactly what was wrong with her dress, but he was sincerely hoping this time it wasn't his fault. If it was a malfunction of some kind, the only thing he could do was offer her his coat and help her get to one of the less-public spaces.

"Here, take this," He said as he swung off his jacket and held it out to her. It would look likely just as suspicious as whatever was wrong with her dress, but better than exposing herself somehow at the very least. "I believe the retiring rooms are this way." He gestured, forgetting they could scarcely seen one another. "Behind you." He tried again, rolling his eyes at himself and hoping she definitely couldn't see that.

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hello handsome by MJ

It was with great reluctance that Verity accepted the gentleman'a coat. (Could he even be called a gentleman after causing such an awful turn of events? Her dress and pin were fine before his clumsiness ruined her evening.) Still, she had little other choice. His coat was the only barrier between the outside world and her petticoats. Merlin knew what would happen if Ford or Mama caught her like this. And their outbursts would be preferable to anything anyone outside of their family might say.

She nearly collided with him again in the darkness as she struggled to find which way he was pointing. Her hand grazed what she hoped was his arm in an attempt to steady herself before turning and moving towards the back of the hallway. Without her small light navigating was nearly impossible, a fact proven by what would be a hideous bruise on her thigh from walking into the corner of a table. "This way you said?" She asked quietly, fearful of who else might be lurking in the shadows.

  

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set by mj

This had descended into a disaster rather rapidly and Jake wasn't sure if he should feel guilty or amused. He settled on a mix of the two, if only to make himself feel better. Clearly the poor girl who whom he had unintentionally thrust his company upon was not having such an enjoyable evening.

He felt her hand brush his arm and Jake tried to leave it extended so he could maybe guide the way. "If you'd just, hold on, the retiring rooms are this way." He knew the railing for the balcony was to his left and it was a complete circle of sorts, they would find their way there eventually.

Alright he was leaning toward guilty after all. Hopefully they could get this sorted soon enough without too much further embarrassment.

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hello handsome by MJ

He'd given her his coat and now he was urging her to touch him! Any minute now the hour could switch again, exposing them to the sight of any nearby partygoer and effectively ruining her. She thought to decline his offer and insist on figuring this out herself, but when her hip struck the corner of a nearby table she knew she needed help. Hopefully, he would be kind enough to ignore her hiss of pain.

"Quickly, please," she whispered through gritted teeth.

  

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set by mj

Jake kept his arm extended, away from his own body and just enough so that she could follow along. It wasn't entirely improper for a gentleman to guide a lady through a crowd, related or not, he was keeping it firmly polite, despite how their interaction had started.

He had his other hand on the railing and knew they had to find the stairs. He saw the light from one of the retiring rooms, open and close and it at least gave him a goal to get to. Jake found the top of the stairs easily enough, and fortunately it was the larger, more easily manageable set. "Watch your step on the stairs." He warned gently. "The retiring rooms are just off to the side at the bottom of the staircase, I suspect you can make it from here?" He was getting the impressions his Mystery Miss would rather like to be shot of him now.

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hello handsome by MJ

At least her mystery assailant was treating this situation with the same level of caution as she. Verity could think of at least three rakes who given the chance would have used her scandal and the darkness of the hour to leverage her for some unforgivable acts. Acts that, dependent upon the demand and consequence, she likely would have had to follow through upon.

Finally, they arrived at the stairs and Verity withdrew from the polite touch. "I thank you, sir, for your chivalry." Even if the chivalry was only required due to his clumsiness. Shrugging the jacket from her shoulders, Verity pressed it back into his hands and without further ado hurried up the stairs.

  

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set by mj