When Elaine did not return with Carrick after a few moments Prince Ewan decided to investigate. Using the subtlety that came naturally to him, he waved to someone on the internal balcony overlooking the ballroom and approached the stairs that led up to it. On the way he asked his entourage to stay below as he ascended for privacy as he investigated his nanny’s actions. At the top of the stairs Ewan immediately turned and walked into the darkened gallery next door.<br/><br/>The kiss was innocent and gentle, with Simon taking great pains to not frighten Katherine with any overt signs of the passion he felt for her. Still, though, the depth of his emotion was betrayed by the quivering of his lips and the gentle touch of his fingertips on hers. It was all he could do to not swoop her off her feet in a fit of passion. The kiss lasted for what seemed like an eternity until Elaine could be heard calling out from below.<br/><br/>“Miss Katherine? Are you here? I have Mater Carrick, your brother and sister with me. I was hoping we could all talk about proper ballroom decorum. Miss Katherine?”<br/><br/>Simon broke off the kiss with an expression of agonized resignation.<br/><br/>“Damn it… I should go, m’lady. Will you look for me tomorrow? I’ll be pruning the hedge maze,” he added with a smile. He knew at the maze would provide the opportunity to continue where they had left off, if she was so inclined.<br/><br/>Later, once they had said their goodbyes, Simon hurried through the dark where he promptly bumped shoulder-to-shoulder with one of the guests who had been apparently lurking in the shadows.<br/><br/>“Please, begging your pardon sir!” Simon said in a low but sincere tone, taking his hat in hand. “I meant no offence,” he explained as he retreated – not wanting to be caught in that place and reported to the Duchess. Prince Ewan was silent as he watched the young man retreat, the older man sporting a wide grin.<span style="font-style: italic">That was a useful tidbit of information</span>, he thought to himself as he listened to Elaine speaking to the children off in the distance below him.<br/><br/>Elaine began the lecture by reviewing the importance of respecting the master of the house and all the work and preparations that went into events such as this one. She then moved on to mention how children who cannot follow their parent’s directions are disobeying the Fifth Commandment. For good measure she threw in how it was a privilege for children to be invited at all to these sorts of things, and I they were caught misbehaving they would never be invited to another.<br/><br/>“How sad would that be?” she asked the trio.<br/><br/>“Very sad,” Carrick said with a mischievous smile. He did everything he could to stifle a giggle but failed. He looked at his fellow compatriots with glee to see if the speech was also giving them the giggles.<br/><br/>Elaine put her hand to her head and looked to Katherine for help.