On one level, he did not like attending these sorts of gatherings any more than he had used to. On another, he seemed to have softened towards them slightly, even looking forwards to them on occasion... but that, he was realising, had more to do with the company than the event.
It was much harder to deny it to himself when he had moved into the drawing room with the other men, scanning the place for where he might sit and, upon not finding her face amongst its occupants, suddenly having little desire to sit at all. It had taken some time to work up the courage to inquire after her with one of the other ladies - especially as the rest of the party were now calling on some music to be played, something that might have made staying more bearable for a time - but Evander was pleased he had inquired.
Slipping through the open French doors into the cooler air, Evander stepped out onto the terrace, spotting her looking out on the darkened gardens. It probably wasn’t his place to say, but it did not seem much like her, to be alone outside when she was usually so much a social butterfly, flitting about any room with natural form.
For a moment, he thought he had better not intrude upon her, if she did not desire company. Even so, he did not want her to think he hadn’t noticed her absence or didn’t care to know what was wrong, if something was; he need not impose upon her for long to clear up both matters.
“Miss Delaney,” Evander offered quietly, to announce his approach before he reached her shoulder. He glanced at her sidelong, half in warmth and half in concern, trying to discern the expression on her face for some sort of clue to her feeling. “I thought you might have left.”
It was much harder to deny it to himself when he had moved into the drawing room with the other men, scanning the place for where he might sit and, upon not finding her face amongst its occupants, suddenly having little desire to sit at all. It had taken some time to work up the courage to inquire after her with one of the other ladies - especially as the rest of the party were now calling on some music to be played, something that might have made staying more bearable for a time - but Evander was pleased he had inquired.
Slipping through the open French doors into the cooler air, Evander stepped out onto the terrace, spotting her looking out on the darkened gardens. It probably wasn’t his place to say, but it did not seem much like her, to be alone outside when she was usually so much a social butterfly, flitting about any room with natural form.
For a moment, he thought he had better not intrude upon her, if she did not desire company. Even so, he did not want her to think he hadn’t noticed her absence or didn’t care to know what was wrong, if something was; he need not impose upon her for long to clear up both matters.
“Miss Delaney,” Evander offered quietly, to announce his approach before he reached her shoulder. He glanced at her sidelong, half in warmth and half in concern, trying to discern the expression on her face for some sort of clue to her feeling. “I thought you might have left.”
