THE DUKE.

By the time Yvette made it outside, the tea party had already started.

There were multiple tables set out in the garden, various young ladies and young men seated around each other and sharing polite conversation. Genevieve had called it a tea party, but it seemed as if this one was more of a... group date than anything else. Genevieve herself was sat at a table next to a tall, good looking man. He had white, silvery hair, a light complexion, and sparkling blue eyes. Yvette assumed it was that Duke Olivier that Genevieve was going on about yesterday.

Sabine was sitting at the table with them, pretending to read but sneaking looks at the Duke every once in a while.

Adele was sat at her own small table to the side, overlooking everything with a smile on her face.

Yvette didn't linger any longer and walked around the group, making sure to keep herself hidden as she walked deeper into the gardens, past the hedges and to the fountain hidden deeper inside.

While the gardeners all maintained the gardens well, this area was a bit more neglected since it was further away from the manor, and none of the Decauxs liked to visit here. The fountain that sat in the centre of this area of the garden was beautiful, though, or at least that's what Yvette thought.

The grass and bushes surrounding the area were obviously a bit neglected, but the fountain stood tall and clean amongst the greenery.

Yvette sat on the edge of the fountain and breathed in the fresh air.

Her plan was to crash the tea party, surprise everyone there and catch the duke's attention. With the duke's presence it was likely that no one would want to start any drama, so they'd just have to begrudgingly accept her attendance with a smile.

Having taken a moment to collect herself, Yvette then stood up, ready to gate crash the party, only to see the duke already standing before her.

A breeze blew by, picking up strands of her hair in the wind as purple eyes locked onto blue.

A long moment stretched between them, neither of them saying anything, before the duke suddenly blinked and took in a breath, as if to steady himself.

"Apologies." He spoke quietly. "I didn't mean to... interrupt."

Yvette tucked some of her hair behind her ear. "You're not interrupting."

"You're... Why have you not joined us for tea?" He stepped forward slightly, uncertain in his words and in his steps.

Yvette smiled, though it was cold and somewhat unfeeling. "I was not invited."

The duke was clearly surprised at her admission that she was not invited. But if she was not invited, and yet he had found her here on the Decaux estate....

Duke Olivier stilled.

There was no one who didn't know the story of Yvette Decaux. The invisible Decaux sister, who was rumoured to be ill and deformed, has not stepped foot once outside of the Decaux manor because of her hideous appearance.

Claude and Adele pretended they only had two daughters, and Sabine and Genevieve acted as if they only had one sister. But people didn't forget about how Adele had been pregnant two years after Sabine had been born, and neither did they forget about how after the child was due to be born, Adele didn't appear in any social functions for another two years, until she appeared suddenly one day, pregnant again.

The mystery Decaux middle child was like a ghost, until Genevieve was old enough to host her own tea parties. There, it was said that a dirty, ugly child, that mysterious middle daughter, appeared. Whenever the children would return from those tea parties they always had something different to say about Yvette Decaux. Sometimes they said, "She's a girl but she barked like a dog!" and other times it would be, "She looks so ugly she's like a monster!"

Genevieve, of course, had told them all to say those things, but the adults had heard it enough that even they started to believe their children's words. Yvette Decaux was hidden because she was ugly and deformed, Yvette Decaux never left the house because she was mentally ill.

As Duke Olivier stood there and took in Yvette Decaux, however, he realised that none of the rumours were true. Yvette Decaux... was beautiful, even more than her sisters, more than her mother, more than any other woman he's ever seen. Her purple eyes in particular, were captivating in a way that he couldn't describe. The men around him often complimented the Decaux sisters on their pretty pink eyes, but he couldn't help but think that their eyes simply couldn't compare to Yvette's purple.

"Yvette Decaux." He whispered, an odd tone to his voice.

Yvette's eyes widened slightly. "You know my name, but I'm afraid I don't know yours."

"Bastien... Bastien Olivier."

Another breeze swept by, making Yvette's dress flutter and sending a strange chill down Bastien's spine.

"Ah... the duke." Yvette remarked. "My sisters have been looking forward to your visit."

Bastien looked away somewhat awkwardly, before taking another step closer to her. "I'm afraid I'm not quite as interested in your sisters as they are in me."

Yvette's eyes lit up just a bit, and she seemed to take a step forward too. "Oh. Is there someone else you're interested in, then?"

Standing closer now, he could see more details on her face. The point of her nose, the corners of her lips, the curl of her eyelashes. He swallowed, slow.

"There might be." He answered.