[Elise Hampton (Lin)]

"Now, with no one to interrupt you feel the need to do so yourself, your Grace?" Elise said with a quirk of a smile. Then she tilted her head for a moment, pretending to consider his question before nodding. "I shall be delighted to receive you. And look forward to it most.. Impatiently." There, she had said it. It had taken a lot of guts, and a full blush to her cheeks, but she had got the words out. Perhaps now it was all clear with them. This meant something, she was sure of it. Calling once was perhaps a coincidence, but a second time? She was starting to feel a little lightheaded; could she have garnered the attention of a duke?

"Do remember to bring flowers. I would think that is one area of ill grace that can never be forgiven?" Again a joke, accompanied by her brightest smile.

OOC: Enter Julianne?!

[Julianne Grafton (Liz)]

After dancing with Lord Foxford (who she had found incredibly handsome, if perhaps a touch roguish - after all, he was Irish), Julianne had begged her mother's permission to step out onto the terrace. The ballroom was practically suffocating, and as loathe as she was to admit it, heat did tend to make it hard for her to breathe. She always chalked it up to the fever she'd had as a child, and Lady Raulings was inclined to agree. As her next dance was with her own brother, Julianne had informed him she would be on the terrace and that he should come collect her when the sets began to form.

She had no sooner stepped out into the refreshing evening air when she spotted Elise, wearing a blindingly bright smile. A split second later, she noticed the gentleman standing next to her and recognized him as the Duke of Leighton. To interrupt or not? Her decision was made before she had even completed the thought. "Elise, my dear! Is that you?" she asked in a slightly raised voice, gliding gracefully across the terrace toward the couple.

[Nicholas Gosling (Alexandra)]

"I swear I will not neg - " Nicholas's rather intimately hushed response was interrupted by a sparkling greeting from across the flagstones.

He turned, noted and bowed silently to the newcomer. Lady Julianne Grafton. An Incomparable beauty, the gents at his club would have it, and Nicholas had seen nothing yet this evening to dispute her claim to the lofty title. She seemed to positively radiate good health, good humour, good spirits. Even her good breeding was evident the second one laid eyes upon her. A rose, he confirmed his earlier opinion of the girl.

However, he was less than pleased to see her at this moment. The lady was to be his partner for the tenth... and she looked just the type who would adore gazing up at him with the twinkle of a secret in her eyes as if to say: caught you! Not he hastened to add to his internal monologue, that there was anything to be caught doing and - if there were - the very last thing he would feel compelled to do would be to explain to some tiny nobleman's daughtes.

[Elise Hampton (Lin)]

Elise was still smiling up at him as he began to answer when a familiar voice rang out across the terrace. She shot Nick an apologetic look. They both knew that peace was too rare a luxury in the ton. One needed to speak when one got the chance, or they risked interruption. "Julianne!" She turned to her friend, welcoming her to their little conversation. She didn't however, have a way to explain both hers and Nick's rendezvous on the Terrace, and neither did she have any inkling when Gabriel would return for her.

"Look at you, absolutely glowing with excitement!" Elise told Julianne, she was glad her friend was back to her old self, no longer thinking of this nasty business with Lady Juliet. Julianne was the only one who deserved to be crowned reigning princess, Elise thought to herself stoutly. "His grace was simply congratulating me on my debut... Are you acquainted?" Surely she would be, but there was no other way to bridge the potential gap in the conversation.

Her mind was still reeling with the sheer joy that had taken over her heart when Nick said he would call on her tomorrow. Accompanied by the telltale flush of her cheeks and her starry eyes, Elise too, looked glowing.

[Julianne Grafton (Liz)]

Upon reaching Elise's side, Julianne laughed her practiced tinkling laugh, the one that her mother adored and that her brothers said sounded absurd, and waved her friend's words away, making sure to move her head in a way that was sure to draw attention to the delicate white peacock feathers that seemed all the more translucent when placed in her bright red hair. After all, what good would it do to have spent hours carefully placing them if they (and thereby she) were to be ignored? "Oh, Elise, it is not excitement that has me glowing, but the heat from the ballroom! Naturally, that is what brought you out here, was it not?" She smiled knowingly at her friend, willing to keep her silence for now. There would be plenty of time for further conversation during the upcoming week. She especially wanted to ask why her friend looked so exquisitely happy herself; Julianne could not help but assume it had something to do with the very intimate way His Grace had appeared to be addressing her before Julianne's own appearance.

Turning to face the duke, she curtsied low, as befitted a man of his rank, and rose, smiling apologetically. "Please, forgive me, Your Grace, for not greeting you immediately. I confess I did not recognize you in the dim light!" She hoped he would understand that his unchaperoned presence with Elise would go unmentioned to anyone by Julianne herself. Of course, men were terribly thickheaded, and she would not have been surprised if her message had gone unreceived. "Indeed we are acquainted, Elise," she continued, still smiling pleasantly. "In fact, His Grace was so kind earlier this evening, when we were introduced by my sister, and requested the last dance with me." It was...not ironic, but certainly interesting that the duke chose to open the ball with one half of their friendship and close it with the other.

[Nicholas Gosling (Alexandra)]

"Lady Julianne." Nicholas bowed and her comment about the lighting flew straight past him.

He had not realised that the ladies were friends, had not thought about it at all. Obviously Miss Hampton would have a circle of friends and who more respectable to count among number than Grafton's youngest? Unromantic, perhaps, but good connextions were important. Which reminded him... some research would be required as to Miss Hampton's own background. He would summon his solicitor in the morning and have him tackle the matter.

"Indeed. I look forward to our dance." Unconciously, he half glanced at Elise as if for her approval that he had asked for the hand of her friend for the final dance.

[Elise Hampton (Lin)]

It was not completely obvious whether Elise was okay or not with the fact that his grace was dancing with Julianne for the final dance- if she was indeed unhappy about it, it was not evident as she smiled, again quite brilliantly at her friend. "I am so glad you have enjoyed yourself this evening, Jules." As to his grace looking forward to the dance with Julianne, she again gave no reaction, her posture still and elegant. It would not do to have an undue reaction to something that might still end up being completely nothing at all. Of course, the Duke is calling on me tomorrow, which ought to be something! That thought she held close to herself, not wishing to speak a word of it to even Julianne yet.

"Your Grace, Lady Julianne is my dearest friend- I believe we were friends even in the cradle!"

[Julianne Grafton (Liz)]

Watching the couple as she was for any hint as to the level of their intimacy, Julianne couldn't help but notice the way the duke's eyes cut over to her friend as he spoke. How very interesting, she thought, smiling back at her friend, though not quite as brilliantly as Elise, who seemed to really be turning on the charm. And why should she not? Landing a duke would be quite the coup for the daughter of a solicitor! Julianne never did put much stock into the tales that Elise might actually be Lady Emerson's natural daughter. The very idea was ludicrous, and Julianne's own mother had often said that she had visited with Lady Emerson not five months before Elise's birth and that there was no sign of any such condition on the part of Lady Emerson what so ever!

Still, Julianne had sometimes wondered, had noticed how very similar Lady Emerson and Elise's chins were, how her eyes and Charity's seemed almost the exact same shade of blue at times. Then, of course, she felt terribly disloyal and pushed the thoughts from her mind. Still, when her friend alluded to their long friendship, going so far as to reference cradles, Julianne couldn't help but recall the rumors. But this was neither the time nor the place to dwell on such things. Smiling brightly at the duke, she nodded and said, "Yes, Your Grace, I am pleased to say that I cannot remember a time when I was not so lucky to count Miss Hampton as my friend and confidante. Lady Raulings and Lady Emerson have always been close; my mother's mother is French, as is, of course, Lady Emerson."

[Nicholas Gosling (Alexandra)]

"And I am sure you made a lovely pair, then as now," Nicholas said with a nod to both ladies. Clearly the moonlight had him sounding uncharacteristically gallant tonight, Nicholas thought as he spoke. Will would be proud.

The two ladies were both looking up at him with flawless smiles and Nicholas felt that it was high time to return inside. He had to find Avening's sister for the next and could barely recall what she looked like. Blonde. Of course. The gossip mongers would expect nothing less of me!

"May I have the pleasure of escorting you inside?" he enquired of both. He suspected not. His limited experience with young females at balls suggested that they would like nothing better than to be left alone to trade secrets and giggles. Cassie would have shooed him off with a wave and a promising smile.

[Elise Hampton (Lin)]

(ooc: My apologies. Internet's been an elusive creature this past weekend- yesterday's freak hailstorm was no help!)

"I must regretfully decline, your Grace. But you have my thanks. I believe Gabriel will return shortly for me." Elise said with a nod, her blonde curls bouncing. Elise was not quite yet ready to trade secrets. Right now, her mind was swimming with too many of her own thoughts that she could not even comprehend the idea of learning more! Even the event of the thieving from Emerson House had been pushed to the back of her mind. She turned to Julianne with an unspoken enquiry. Maybe she would desire his lordship's escort. Elise wondered if she should add 'Until tomorrow' to her farewell, but instead was only able to blush vividly, the words unspoken, on the tip of her tongue.