'His heart’s beating so fast too'

The ball started once the sun had set. There were greetings, refreshments, and more greetings to those who were arriving. More drinks came out and then the snacks were offered.

Amelia met and talked to her guests, walking around to see how everyone was fairing. She vaguely remembered her very first ball. She went around greeting everyone, even the newly appointed Duke of Thuenia who looked every bit annoyed of everything and everyone else.

"You seem to be in a good mood tonight, your grace." One lady from the group she was talking to noted. "You looked troubled when you entered earlier that we got worried."

The duchess showed a curt smile, "It's the first ball I'm ever hosting so I was nervous if beautiful ladies like yourselves would find it worth your while." The ladies blushed at the compliments, and they started giggling. Amelia, too, giggled. It was weird giving out such cheesy compliments, but Oswyn has been telling it to her every chance he could that she somehow picked it up.

"We were all looking forward to this day, your grace. And the hall is the most beautiful hall we've ever seen." Said another and they all nodded in unison.

As the duchess conversed with a lot more people, she would scan the room now and then to see where her advisor—grandfather—was. She hadn't wrapped her mind around calling him her grandfather but whenever their eyes locked, he would smile at her and nod softly. This made her heart race and, though this was her first ball and so much preparation went into making this a possibility, Amelia was also dying for it to end.

"Are the Mulford brothers coming, duchess?" Another lady from another group asked her shyly.

"I've sent them an invitation, but Osmund went back to school overseas, Piers just got knighted and was in charge of a new division, so he's got his hands full at the moment, and Elias is currently in charge of the duchy while the duke is in Ragalla."

"Well, that's unfortunate." Some of them sounded disappointed. After all, the ball is also a perfect venue for matchmaking. Amelia also asked Ayland to come but he's currently somewhere researching.

"There'd be more ball to—" Amelia wasn't able to finish her sentence when she heard someone call her from behind, "Excuse me, I'll see you around, ladies," she smiled at them before leaving.

"A letter came with the royal seal," it was Oswyn, whispering to her, with the paper in his hand.

"Royal seal?" Amelia's brow arched. She first thought it was from Duncan because she purposely left him out when writing the invitations. But knowing him, he'd just barge in uninvited and feel right at home. "Who gave you this?" she inspected the letter for any seals aside from the one keeping the letter closed.

"He said he was a royal messenger." A royal messenger wouldn't come so late at night just to deliver a letter if it weren't urgent. "Maybe this is about your rejection of his invita—" Amelia was forced to look up when Oswyn stopped and distanced himself.

"What's the matter—" She also couldn't finish her sentence when she felt a hand on the small of her back.

"Staying in a corner and whispering so close to a lady is not how a gentleman should act in a ball." A smooth, deep voice drowned Amelia's thoughts, "And handing her a letter too? Should I be worried about this, Cice?" he asked, but almost in a whisper too, and the duchess couldn't help but draw a small smile before turning to face him.

"Greetings, Duke Alexander," she said, bowing her head slightly, and reaching out her hand, Alexander took it and placed a kiss on top of it. Instantly, all eyes were on them; whispering, judging… but none bothered the duchess.

She had never dared to do this before, and in front of so many people at that. But she was in a good mood, and she hadn't seen Alexander in a while. He has gotten a bit tanner than the last time she saw him, and bigger in built too.

"Greetings, Duchess Amelia," he showed a roguish smile and Amelia could just hear every single lady swoon and sigh. "I believe I will be your first dance?"

With the worries of the royal letter, she didn't realize that the dancing had started. She handed the letter over to Oswyn and told him to bring it to her office so she could read it later.

"Who was that? I haven't seen him around before." Was Alexander's first question when they managed to arrive at the middle of the hall.

"Oswyn. He's new at the Keep and has been helping me with some things these past few weeks."

"Weeks, huh? So, it's been a while." Alexander's eyes scanned the room to find him.

"You're not jealous, are you?" Amelia stifled a giggle.

"Me? Jealous? Ha!" he puffed his chest, "Why would I be jealous when I can see you wearing the ring I gave you?" Amelia blushed. She has been wearing the ring on a regular basis and it has become a part of her. Whenever she was uneasy, she would fiddle with it. She only takes it off when bathing. "Though, I must say, I am not happy with how much skin you're showing." The duke pulled her closer and leaned forward to whisper. "You have no idea how you're making me crazy right now," Amelia blushed even more as she felt his warm breath on her ear. He even sighed after he said that that his breath slightly brushed the side of her neck.

Madame Camelia has dressed her in an off-shoulder wine-colored dress ball gown with its shoulder line well below her natural shoulders, showing off her neck, shoulders, and upper chest with a bit of cleavage peeking.

"I thought you said a gentleman shouldn't whisper to a lady in a ball?" Amelia whispered back and she felt Alexander's hold tighten.

"Any sane man wouldn't be able to keep his sanity in front of you like this," he said, distancing himself now. "I want this song to end already," he muttered looking the other way as they danced around the hall until it was finally over. And when it did, they both bowed at each other, and Alexander guided her to the sides.

As if coming back to reality after a brief intermission, the duchess scanned the hall again and when she didn't see her advisor, she left Alexander's side without saying anything.

"Duchess!" it was Constance who called her. "Are you okay?" she held Amelia's arm, worry stamped on her face. "What are you in such a hurry for?"

"Cice…" Amelia heard Alexander calling and both ladies looked back. "What's wrong?" the duke reached out to her, and she took his hand, not minding the many stares following their every move.

His hands were big, rough, and warm, and then suddenly, the duchess' eyes started to well. "You…" Alexander looked at her dumbfounded and in a sort of panic. Even Constance was too surprised to move. "The duchess is not feeling well, she will retire for the night. Please enjoy the remainder of the ball." He said loud enough that those closer to them could hear then he took off his coat and placed it over Amelia's shoulders.

"I'm fine," Amelia said after a while on their way back to her office.

"I didn't ask," was all Alexander said then he was quiet again.

Amelia looked at his hand holding hers, while her other hand was holding onto his coat. It was as if he was hugging her from behind. Her office wasn't that far from the ballroom hall, but the duke took his time walking, and somehow that relaxed Amelia enough to stop thinking about where her advisor was.

"Alexander, I—"

"No, not now." He said as he picked up the pace and Amelia got confused.

Is he mad about something?

When they reached her office, Amelia took off Alexander's coat and placed it on the back of a settee as she walked around her table, remembering the letter she had Oswyn brought here. As she looked for it amongst the other letters on her table, she heard the foot of the chair screech and she was forced to look up.

"How have you been these past few weeks since we last met, my love?" Alexander had stood up from his seat and walked towards her with a soft smile and a longing gaze.

"I…" Amelia unconsciously stepped back, realizing that it was just the two of them in the room. Suddenly, she felt conscious of how she was dressed and wished that she hadn't taken off the duke's cloak.

As Alexander continued to approach her, the duchess' breathing hitched. Why does this man always drive her into an emotional frenzy? She feels nervous but at the same time expectant. Normally, in moments like these, Alexander would've hugged her or asked her for a kiss, but he's just standing in front of her, looking over her desk and touching some paper.

"Oh, you got my gift," he crouched a little to touch the crystal sculpture he sent her instead of picking it up.

Amelia shook her head and cleared her throat. "Ah, yes. I had Laila bring it here when she moved some documents that needed reading."

"You like it?" he looked up smiling at the duchess with sparkles in his eyes, and Amelia couldn't help but smile and reach out to run her fingers through his hair.

Time stopped between them as Amelia noted Alexander's surprise. They stared at each other long enough that their breathing synced. When Alexander straightened himself, Amelia moved closer. Her hand moved down to caress the side of his face, noting his strong features.

And his eyes… It seemed to her as if she hadn't seen these eyes for an exceedingly long time. His eyes that always seemed to look and see only her. Her hand then continued to slide down before finally resting on his chest.

'His heart's beating so fast too,' the duchess thought as she discreetly took a deep breath, pressing her hand subtly on Alexander's chest, aiming to stop it from trembling. But just as she was about to take her hand and step back, Alexander caught it, and this time it was him who took a step closer.

She felt Alexander squeeze her hand, and his amber eyes lingered, hinting at something more—and Amelia realized she wanted just that.

His lips on hers.

His arms around her.

His warmth enveloping her.

She wants that—and she wants it now. She didn't know why, but now, that's what her mind is telling her.

It might be because of the wine she had or the brooding tension between them that it felt right to close the gap and kiss or simply because she's at an age where she's curious about these things.

As the silence between them grew with Alexander doing nothing, Amelia pressed her lips against each other, waiting. The duke smelled like sandalwood which oddly reminded her of their time at the cabin.

"Cice," he murmured under his breath. He took another small step forward, placing Amelia's hand around his waist, and his other hand around hers.

He was about to say something else but in the heat of the moment, Amelia placed her other free hand on the duke's cheek, her thumb lightly grazing the soft contours of his mouth.

"Kiss me," she said in a soft voice, which surprised even her, but it was too late to back out—and she didn't want to. So, when Alexander pulled her closer, she closed her eyes, her heart beating so fast she felt like it would burst out any second.

It took a while and the duchess thought of opening her eyes, but she didn't want to ruin the moment or to see how he looked at her. The duke had pulled her close enough to feel the hardness of his body against her and the heat emanating from it slowly enveloping her.

With his free hand, he tucked away some stray hairs from her face, his fingertips slightly brushing the side of her face making her even more impatient. Then Amelia felt the warmth of his soft lips but not on her lips—on her forehead.

Amelia opened her eyes, demanding an explanation. Her mouth opened and closed but she was too stunned to speak.

"We'll have plenty of time together in the future. For now, I think you should rest." Alexander told her plainly before he distanced himself and grabbed his cloak to wrap it around her again. "Arabella will come running here any minute once she hears from Constance that I took you somewhere to rest. Until then, I'll stay here to accompany you." He said, grabbing a random book from her shelf before settling back to where he sat.