The Misplaced Prince[COMPLETE]

A Glowing Beacon

There were any number of things Joshua would have preferred to be doing right then-namely: pummeling the frustration currently roiling within him on a willing opponent in the gentleman's ring--or an unwilling one in a back alley, he wasn't picky--reading a good book or obliging Lady Halstead. She was almost an embarrassment to herself with how she had taken to ogling him and dropping broad hints since her husband had turned up his toes.

But instead, Joshua was stuck in the Rochester spring ball, summoned there by a thinly veiled threat in the form of a note that had been delivered at his doorstep from his 'brother' who had warned Joshua to turn up to the event and put up a good face or he would fear the consequences.

Joshua didn't give a damn about the Earl's threats, whose delightful beatings he had outgrown years ago. Now all the foot shorter man could do to Joshua was impotently glare and flare his nostrils and publically try to humiliate him, all of which served to amuse Joshua and make the Earl swell in fury. It was a vicious cycle.

However, Joshua had a measure of respect for the previous Earl who had given Joshua kind shelter in his house for the first five years of his life before succumbing to a particularly nasty bout of consumption. Publicly snubbing his son would result in nothing but malicious gossip regarding the Earl, maligning his bloodlines with speculations of his cuckolding wife. After furious contemplation, Joshua decided that he wished to have no part in it.

He was about to take his leave, thinking he had done his duty by the late Earl, when a flash of red caught his peripheral vision. His gaze snared, he followed the girl with eyes, his brows slowly narrowing. She looked a lot more demure than she had in the bookstore--deceptively, he was sure. Her wild red hair was pulled up and restrained, and a dark green silk gown encased her slim frame, making her look like a forest nymph.

He stalled his thoughts, snorting. A forest nymph. Good God, was he being fanciful tonight!

She was being introduced by a portly lady, and Joshua heard snatches of conversation where she claimed the forest nymph as her ward.

Was she planning to launch into society? Well, good luck to her.

Joshua stilled, frowning. Good luck to society, more like.

He grinned.

And turning away from the door, he decided to stay.

The moment her gaze found him, a zing of awareness pulsed through her entire body.

She stilled, hugging her arms, absorbing the sensation of the gooseflesh rising to attention on her skin, and then flushed when Dick stilled beside her and shivered before sending her a curious frown.

"I'm just cold." She said automatically, even though she knew it was no use lying to him. True he might not understand their cause at times, but feelings rarely escaped him.

She stepped away from the crowd, looking around blindly, but a few moments later, her gaze was drawn back to corner of the room like a moth to a flame, and Dick followed it. She blinked, but still he was a vision to look at, and her feet carried her forward. He was visible through the partially open doorway leading into a room laid with tables that held various forms of cards and vice,  seated on a table near the fireplace. The glow of the fiery light slid over him, framing him, loving the sharp planes of his cheeks, the soft flutter of his eyes, lighting his midnight black hair to a blazing pitch.

"Dick, try to keep your eyes in your head!" Kasey hissed absently.

"Of course my eyes are the problem." Dick drawled.

"Tony!"

Tony snapped his head around from ogling a passing lady, looking sheepish, "This realm does seem to spend an inordinate amount of time grooming..."

"They groom in our realm too," Dick said gloomily, looking around, "we're just too busy eating dirt in the arena to notice."

Kasey rolled her eyes. That was certainly an exaggeration. The two brothers had enough female attention back in their realm to last ten men. However, it was true that attending leisurely parties such as this wasn't usual for them, with the tireless hunt for the prince King Sebastian had engaged his army in for decades. She had never seen the brothers so groomed and polished in her life, and it had momentarily stunned her into silence how handsome they looked.

Had it not been for the wickedly handsome man in the next room, she would have suspected they would have looked the handsomest of the lot.

"Perhaps once we're done with the mission, old Sebastian will let us stay a few more days and-"

"No, Dick." She said in exasperation. He quirked her a smile.

"Don't be jealous. You look very pretty today yourself."

She rolled her eyes, even though a part of her felt the oddest urge to consult her reflection in the nearest reflective surface, and that irked her into frowning. She had never cared about her appearance before, what did it matter now?

"Do you feel him?" Tony nodded towards the doorway.

"Huh?" Dick glanced at Tony. Tony looked expectant.

"Do you feel him, Dick? Any rush of agony?" Tony wagged his brows.

"No, not that I would tell you, with the constant mocking." Dick glared.

"I'm not mocking you."

"I am able to recognize mocking when I see it, Tony, and-"

"Hush!"

They fell silent, glaring at each other.

Kasey took a deep breath. "Alright. I shall go investigate."

"You shall, shall you?" Dick sneered.

"He obviously has you two enthralled." She glared back, "Since I'm the only one with any real sense in this situation, I will put an end to your curiosity so that we shall proceed with our mission immediately."

"You do that!" Dick called behind her, and then added in a soft murmur, "And also end your curiosity while you're at it."