Beauty & the Brit —Chapter 21 **PATRONS ONLY! ** (Patreon)

CHAPTER TWENTY-ONE: ELTHAM

Paige spent the next day reading a book she’d borrowed from one of Derick’s libraries and writing in her travel journal (which she had been neglecting) until it was time to get ready to go to the dinner with Derick that Saturday night.

She got ready with a sense of nerves and excitement. Derick had wanted to keep the venue secret and her imagination was going wild with ideas. He’d already shot down Buckingham Palace but that didn’t mean that other such places—castles and old, historic buildings—weren’t off the table.

So where were they going?

Tonight she stepped out in a gorgeous violet coloured soft net evening gown featuring crystal beaded, metallic lace appliqués on an a-line silhouette with sheer, elbow-length sleeves and a Queen Anne neckline. She had half of her hair swept back into an updo while the rest hung down her back in slightly curly waves. Her makeup was simple and elegant with a thin black eyeliner on the top and a dusting of a pale shimmer across the lid completed with mascara and Paige’s own smile.

Derick looked even more stunned seeing her tonight. “Excellent choice. This particular colour is...wonderful for you.”

"Thanks Derick. You look very handsome yourself," she remarked back, eyeing him up in his slate grey suit and blue tie.

He smiled back and looked himself over. “Well I’m not...as put together as you. Perhaps I ought to change.”

She chuckled. “Don’t be ridiculous. You look wonderful!”

“I look… I think I chose the same tie from the other day. Would you do me the favour of waiting right there so I can change it?”

“Derick,” she urged, “you look great!”

“Well now I want to match your colours a bit. I won’t be but five minutes. I have the perfect tie in mind: a deep violet-plum colour I believe you’d call it. Indulge me, please,” he begged with a shy smile as he pulled a chair away from a nearby wall where it had been resting. She hadn’t noticed the chair before but it was wonderfully plush and she decided to sit down and indulge him.

“You have five minutes,” she mused, “On six Martin and I pull away and you make your own way there— wherever we are going,” she chuckled.

He had mirth in his blue eyes at her playfulness. “That’s a fair deal. See you shortly I promise.”

The man kept his word and returned less than five minutes later in a deep coloured tie with a barely noticeable micro-basket-weave pattern in the fabric and matching pocket-square. It suited his look and did subtly compliment hers though not perfectly enough to immediately be considered intentional.

Paige found herself both excited and nervous in the car ride over but calmness came to her in waves enough that she didn’t think Derick noticed her inner feelings, thankfully.

Before long, though it was in fact a lengthy drive from the manor, Martin had pulled into a parking lot and Derick moved swiftly to assist her to her feet out of the vehicle. She looked around. “Oh this is beautiful!” She could make out a lot of green and hedges and assumed they were visiting a garden of some sort judging also by the greenhouse-looking building in and amongst the one level brick buildings she saw here.

“Actually this isn’t our final destination,” Derick admitted with a blush, “we have to walk for a couple minutes. These were the directions we were given. Not everyone has access to Martin who can pull the car away once arrived,” Derick mused looking shy.

“Oh no that’s fine!” Paige reassured, “It’s pretty here, anyway.”

Derick smiled back at her optimism and kindness.

They bade farewell to Martin and Paige took Derick’s arm and followed his lead. “I again apologize that we have to walk,” he spoke, “but it’s a nice walk I think if I remember correctly.”

A nice walk it was indeed. It was a small path somewhat narrow and paved. They passed hedge walls and small gardens and various greenery and grass along the way and Paige felt like she were in a magical fairytale-like place. She kept the comment to herself and kept her arm linked in Derick’s as they went onward.

It wasn’t long before they exited onto a semi-residential road and turned an immediate left then came down a cobbled path framed by trees soon opening into a wide-opened space with a huge paved circle in front of a grand manor.

Paige’s eyes grew wide. “What is this place, Derick?”

“It’s called ‘Eltham’...’Eltham Palace’.”

“S-sorry palace?” she repeated, incredulous.

“Yes. I realize it’s probably not what you’d picture when I say that word—”

“N-No, not really,” she admitted. Paige gazed at the brick building which had a mixture of red and some pale yellow worked into the design. They were on the north side of the building looking at what Paige would learn later was a medieval-styled Great Hall to the right while the entrance to the place before them resembled something more Greek to her mind; pale stone composing columns, arches and carvings both of a woman and an urn in the stone above their entryway were what did it. To the left by where they had emerged from their walk the building was very much a manor-looking design in mixed brick with large windows on two floors.

“It’s lovely though, isn’t it?” Derick concluded and she mutely nodded. “I hope you’ll enjoy the inside as well.”

Paige certainly did. The Great Hall where their event tonight was to be held was medieval and as such made Paige gasp in astonishment and awe as she beheld the wooden beams of the ceiling, the small, curved windows at the top of the hall and the setup of the modern tables that gave way to an empty space for a dance floor.

“Th-this is like a castle or something,” she breathed.

“This would be the part that would definitely be more palace than mansion,” he agreed softly, grinning ear to ear at her reaction as he escorted her in on his arm and leaned in a little to speak to her as they walked, putting his free hand atop hers.

She seemed dumbstruck and was entirely at his mercy as she seemed to walk on on autopilot as her eyes glistened and took in the space. Once Paige finally came to terms with what she was looking at and how gorgeous it all was, she began to get excited instead and a grin spread onto her face that would not leave her for practically the entirety of the night.

“I definitely feel like I’m in a palace now,” she whispered and Derick just caught it. His heart was warmed.

The dinner itself went quite smoothly. The food was delicious and the speeches were fun and engaging.

Derick saw that Paige was truly enjoying herself. He was glad. He was too. 

This charity was one of his favourites and their event tonight only solidified his esteem further.

As a bonus, there was live music and a dance. The first things played were traditional songs from the medieval era that may have been actually performed in this same Grand Hall many centuries ago. Actors in costume performed roles of dancers in the open space set out for the activity and the crowd watched on with excitement and awe seeing what resembled an actual lost-in-time moment. Paige herself became particularly lost in it all and only was brought back to reality as they concluded and the guests all clapped around her. It had been incredible.

She beamed at Derick and he beamed back, clapping as enthusiastically as she was for the performance.

“That was absolutely amazing! Incredible!” she exhaled to Derick as he leaned in to hear her words over the announcement that the entertainment would now shift to contemporary instruments and tunes.

“I’m so glad you liked it! I’ve rarely seen anything like that performed,” he admitted honestly. “It’s been so long.”

“I’m so glad we got to see it!” she gushed.

Grinning, he stood up and stepped in front of her just as a song started up over the loudspeakers. “Time to dance,” Derick announced and Paige’s seemingly permanent grin faltered just a little.

“Wh-at?” she stammered haltingly as she watched Derick getting to his feet and offering his hand to her.

“Dance. C’mon Paige,” he invited with such the warmest expression that she almost forgot to be nervous for a second.

Her heart thudded in her ears. She wondered if he could hear it now as she hesitated to reach for his hand.

She didn’t realize that he was having the same sensation of barely being able to hear as his own heart banged out a rhythm that he wished would slow lest she find out.

“I…” She had no good reason not to accept his invitation except that the idea of dancing with Derick even if it wasn’t slow-dancing seemed altogether serious and intimate in some way. Dancing could be fun or sensual or relaxing or romantic or in rare occasions a complete embarrassment but somehow no matter which of these it was Paige secretly and quietly felt that dancing with him was checking off another box in their growing friendship.

Someone had once said (or did she read it?) that you shouldn’t dance with anyone you didn’t want to fall in love with.

‘Too late on that one’ she thought anxiously as she felt renewed feelings for Derick surfacing.

Taking a glance at the dance floor and a deep breath inward, she looked back at him feeling a bit less intense and took his hand. It seemed to her she had needed those few quick moments before touching him otherwise he’d somehow (in some ridiculous way) know what she was thinking and feeling.

The two went to the dance floor together and Derick moved their arms in a way that prompted her to spin, laughing and releasing a bit of nerves and excitement over all this.

They danced to the upbeat pop tune, loosening up and calming themselves down even more so that by the time a slower song came on, Derick and Paige both felt a little more at ease to continue on without much thought to join the other patrons around them in a slow dance together.

They got into position with his hand gently on her back and her free hand on his shoulder as they began to dance. Her thudding heart gradually slowed and the moment felt peaceful; nice. Things felt...easy.

”You smell nice tonight,” she blushed as she said it.

“Heh,” he chuckled ever so softly and looked down for a moment before gazing back into her eyes, “Thank you I suppose.”

“You’re welcome.”

“Whatever perfume that Natasha got for you it’s… well it’s simply incredible. It’s just...soft and subtle and lovely, like you Paige. It suits you well.”

She found herself blushing as the two danced on for a few moments in silence.

“Paige, I—” Derick found himself faltering.

She suddenly realized that they had drawn closer and closer to one another with every passing moment. And her eyes fluttered ever so briefly to his lips and back into his eyes.

The two at once seemed to know some sort of unspoken thing between them. And they came together in a soft, chaste kiss. It seemed perfectly natural like it had always been meant to happen in this way; in this moment.

After the kiss the two held themselves there with subtle space between them; their noses still touching gently as they rested there in that wordless moment. They didn’t know how long they stood there just gently pressed against one another, their lips a breath apart.

Both of their eyes closed taking in the soft emotion of it all. There were no nerves, there was no apprehension, no shock or surprise, no excitement even; just a sense of finality, sense of peace, a feeling of tranquility. It was like nothing else existed except that calm feeling in their hearts. When they finally pulled back to look at each other, still for some reason everything seemed suspended in time as though they were unable to process or feel anything else other than the real sense of something coming together between them and inside of them that this kiss had calmly instigated.

Paige gazed back into his eyes —those gorgeous blue eyes she had become so fond of. Then something came over her. He too was suddenly filled with something he couldn’t explain as they stood voicelessly. It was hard to say what pulled them out of the seeming trance they had both fallen into.

Paige’s eyes appeared to search him as though her gaze pouring into his could read his heart and his soul suddenly. And although this should have been terrifying, Derick felt instead an ease about the whole thing.

Whatever it was she was searching for it was hard to tell if she found it for her face made little expression any more than it had when they had pulled away to look at one another and her countenance bore a tenderness and almost daresay a vulnerability.

Paige didn’t know what overcame her next but she pulled Derick close and rested her head against his chest and everything just felt right. And the two danced in the middle of the dance floor—the initial song long gone, now changed over to something new.

But the transition that had gone on between the two of them seemed to go on so naturally—and yet in hindsight it was difficult to picture where they had stepped off from or exactly how or why, but it was something that didn’t seem to need explanation; only to be felt.

“Paige,” Derick finally murmured.

“Mmm? she hummed, content and trying not to let her thoughts get away with her to overwhelm her about the fact that they had just crossed a barrier that would never be uncrossed again.

“Seems to me like they’re playing something new. We’re a bit off the kilter now.” His tone was casual and soft and she opened her eyes to pay attention to what he was saying and realized the same. Pulling away from him gently her cheeks held a bit of pink a second later and she bashfully looked up into his gaze.

“Um...” He didn’t seem to know what to say now.

“Um,” she repeated even softer, not realizing she had echoed him. She too was a little lost at first; her thoughts not really coherent –at least not enough to form a sentence or even full perception and awareness of reality.

“Perhaps something to drink,” she managed finally and his curt nod seemed to say that somehow he was going to suggest the same thing. “Perhaps some of that strawberry champagne.”

“Yes,” he agreed in an almost whisper and later that night on separate occasions they would realize that strawberry champagne was what had brought them together when they first met. And, it was now subconsciously the first thing they’d have together after sharing their first kiss. The first of many.