Lhurriel grinned wickedly and leaned forward, placing one sun-kissed hand over his to hold the slightly trembling fork steady. With a teasing glint in her eyes, Ree closed them and delicately lipped the souffle off of William's fork. She made an uncharacteristic giggle, giving him a wink, and eased back, watching his face as it turned red and his tongue tied itself into nervous knots. She couldn't help herself.<br/><br/>Ree laughed gently, eyes sparkling with sympathy for the victim of her merciless teasing. "Thank you for that. But don't you worry, the Cook probably has more souffle made just for me. He<em>loves</em>having me over, unlike Corsair here," the mage said, curtsying rather rudely for the young lord who was chuckling at the head of the table.<br/><br/>"Indeed," he murmured, smiling. Affection softened the chiseled lines of Corsair's face, making Ree blush slightly before she turned back to William.<br/><br/>"A gentleman should always be rewarded for his acts of chivalry, don't you think?" She purred teasingly, tapping his chin twice with a contemplative finger before turning his head gently and kissing his jaw softly. A wink and two seconds later, she released the poor young guard and bid her farewell to the others, pleading hunger and saying that she wished to pay the cook and the housekeeper a long-overdue visit.<br/><br/>When she left, Corsair tried not to choke on his laughter. "Well done, Sir William. I do believe you've earned Lady Mage Keladar's undying love and affection for your generosity with your dessert. She does adore sweet confections so," he replied blandly. Mild updates about life in the capital insued for several minutes until the butler cleared his throat, a regal young woman on his arm.<br/><br/>"Sir, the Lady Chirtoff and Miss Chirtoff,  the Lady Randolph and the Misses Randolph, and Miss Sandoval," the butler intoned rather pathetically (in Corsair's eyes). Right after his doom-and-gloom announcement, a parade of six ladies entered the room, making Corsair's hair rise as feminine, high-pitched giggling echoed in his comfortable dining room. He'd become so used to Ree's down-to-earth, husky laughter... and at the thought, shook his head mentally.<em>She is no longer yours to gloat over and protect, Corsair,</em>he reprimanded himself, before standing as gracefully as he could manage and give a half grimace, half-smile.<br/><br/>"Ladies... I wasn't expecting you," he said carefully.<br/><br/>"Ohh! I knew you wouldn't mind. When I heard that the King's Guard was arriving to stay, I knew we had to show them Duchlarevan hospitality," one of the ladies cooed. She was dressed in a frilly, complicated-looking pink confection of lace and taffeta, and she sauntered up to Corsair, grabbing his arm in a death-grip and smiling prettily at him. Corsair wanted to throw up - he had forgotten why he usually stayed away from young misses straight out of the schoolroom. The girl on his arm, the younger Miss Randolph, was but eighteen. Lady Chirtoff was an elderly widow set on marrying her seventeen year-old daughter to Lord Atadel; Lady Randolph was a much younger wife, wanting to cuckold her husband or marry off her daughters to Lord Atadel, or both; Miss Sandoval was the elder Miss Randolph's bosom bow, and thus were always together.<br/><br/>Somehow, the six ladies maneuvered the entire entourage of women, guards, and Corsair into the sitting room, with its many seats and couches and lounges available. Each young lady snagged the arm of a guard, and the lucky Landy Randolph managed to squeeze her way onto Corsair's arm, handing off her daughter to William.<br/><br/>Corsair just wanted to groan when he saw the entire scene. Chittering, chattering young schoolgirls. Two widows set on snagging him in three different ways. A room full of high-pitched laughter and giggling. And he HATED giggling young chits.<em>Gods be damned! I hate when the locals gossip about me!</em>