The party was in full swing, nobility and those wealthy enough or charming enough or just downright scheming enough to warrant an invitation whirling easily through the large house as though each and every one of them owned the place. Music was playing somewhere, faintly heard in her tucked away corner but still audible.
Yvaine Devereaux simply watched the spectacle around her and nursed her drink- which she thought was some sort of wine but honestly wasn't sure. She was literally counting the seconds until she could be considered to have attended for a "respectable" amount of time and could make her escape.
"Pardon me."
She looked up to find a man standing in front of her, a friendly smile on his face and his hand outstretched. "I noticed you tucked away back here and couldn't help but think that it would be a shame if no one asked such a lovely young woman for a dance."
Yvaine gave him a quick once over. Maybe thirty, middling height, not unpleasant to look at though hardly the most handsome of men, clothes fine but not as fine as her own. Probably an up-and-coming merchant or something looking to make connections in this world.
She couldn't think of a way to refuse him without seeming rude. Swallowing a sigh and abandoning her drink, she took his offered hand with her sweetest smile and a demure, "I'm honored, sir."
His smile widened and he lead her from her safe little corner to the ballroom, where the music was much more audible. He introduced himself- she had been right, not a noble, but an aspiring businessman- and started to lead her through the steps of a simple waltz.
She smiled and nodded and laughed and looked interested in all the right places as he talked, half her mind focused on this task while the other wandered, taking in their surroundings. She couldn't help but find her attention frequently drawn to another room just off the ballroom, the door propped open. She could hear laughter, mostly masculine, and saw a fair number of men and a few women moving in and out.
Intrigued, when the dance was over she curtsied to her partner and thanked him graciously, then excused herself as politely as she could and made her way across the to the mystery room. Stepping inside, she found a rather cozy gathering of tables and chairs scattered around the space, each one occupied by a different group of...players.
It seemed she had come across the card room. Her first reflex was to back out of the room quietly. Games of chance were not suitable for young ladies, according to her mother, and she could see now that the women in the room weren't playing but rather sitting next to husbands or brothers and talking softly with one another.
But then she remembered that her parents were rooms away, in fact she probably wouldn't see them for a few more hours. She had plenty of time to satisfy her interest.
Her curiosity got the best of her. Moving gracefully toward the nearest table, she halted a few steps away and clasped her hands daintily in front of her body. "Excuse me," she said, soft and sweet. "Would you mind telling me what it is you gentlemen are playing?"