Well this is Awkward [Caitrin]

[Aidan d'Amory]

Aidan d'Amory wasn't exactly sure what he was doing at the de Archer estate. His father knew Lord Rouland but even so, he'd heard about Rouland and that was hardly enough for an invitation such as this. Still, it meant that he was no longer dining with this own family so it was an invitation well received. Struan had been making comments about Rouland's niece as soon as he'd heard about Aidan's plans for the evening. Lady Caitrin was said to be quite a beauty, and she was rich too. For his sake, Aidan hoped his brother was right. When it came down to it, he'd choose a rich thistle over a poor rose, but he'd much prefer a rich rose, or a rich Caitrin if this was the case.

Although he could have easily made the journey on horseback, he chose to take the carriage instead. Firstly, it would save his leg discomfort and secondly, it would give off a better impression. He didn't want to turn up to dinner red faced and hair all over the place. No, it was much more dignified to arrive in a carriage. It was slower too, so it gave him longer to prepare for the evening ahead of him. All he had to do was be charming and charismatic and then Caitrin would obviously be infatuated with him and then he wouldn't have to worry about Struan cutting him off. Charming and charismatic couldn't be that hard, and if all failed he had his name. The de Archers may be a well established and influential family in their native Mercia, but the d'Amorys were a well established and influential family in Camelot. Any young woman would be only too happy to marry into such an elite name.

Eventually the carriage came to a halt and the door was opened so Aidan could step out. The building was rather grand, but then from what he knew about Rouland he wasn't the most modest of men. It was in better taste than his own though, his father was no stranger to extravagance. His admiration was soon stopped though when he was shown in by a servant and told his presence would be announced. Hmm. He wasn't entirely sure how he felt at the moment, but he certainly wasn't brimming over with confidence.

Tagged: Caitrin de Archer
Timeline: Series two

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[Caitrin de Archer]

Caitrin de Archer pulled a comb through her hair and she looked at herself in the mirror. She wasn’t too sure what she felt about this dinner just yet. She was sick of her Uncle suggesting different suitors for her. True, she had been living with him for three years, and she was eighteen now and without any serious suitors, or so to speak. Sure, she had plenty of men who were interested, and that wasn’t her just feeding her own ego, she was never short of a man to share a dance with; or more. Her Uncle had conveniently agreed this meeting with this Lord Aidan and had then decided that he had business somewhere else in Camelot. He had said he wouldn’t be returning until the morning, so that left her and Aidan alone all evening; how wonderful.

Caitrin of course wasn’t completely ignorant, she knew the d'Amory family were quite influential and dominant within Camelotian society. No doubt that was why her Uncle had arranged this little meeting. However, apparently she was only meeting with the second son, and not the first. In her opinion, that was poor planning on her Uncle’s part. If she was going to be put up in front of a man to see if she took his fancy, she would rather have someone with a little bit of influence. She frowned at herself in the mirror as she put her circlet in place. It matched her deep scarlet fitted dress which cut low around her chest. Well, even if she didn’t like this situation she could still make the effort. She still had no intention of entering into any relationship or agreement with the man. She hadn’t even met him yet after all. That didn’t mean she couldn’t have a bit of fun with him though. She smirked into the mirror, and took herself off to the solar. After all, she could hardly receive Aidan up here; it would give the wrong impression after all. It was no fun if she made the aim of the game too obvious.

Caitrin moved herself down into the solar, and just stood around waiting. Her life seemed to be a waiting game at the moment. Hopefully this Aidan would at least be nice to look at, so the evening wouldn’t be a complete waste. It turned out she didn’t have to wait that long though, as a servant quickly poked her head around the door, “Lady Caitrin, Lord Aidan d'Amory has arrived.” Caitrin nodded and let a small grin purse her lips as she brushed down her dress. She knew how effective just having the right look could bring to unwitting men. Perhaps Aidan would be one such man, she certainly hoped so as it made everything so much more interesting.

“Send him in.” The servant bowed her head and rushed off. Once again, Caitrin wasn’t left very long on her own before a man entered the solar. Caitrin didn’t catch much of his features apart from the basics as she swept into a low curtsey. Even if she had no intention of marrying this man, there was everything to gain by making a good first impression. “My Lord d'Amory, it is a pleasure to make your acquaintance. I am Lady Caitrin de Archer” Caitrin had bowed her head purposely, to keep him guessing at what she truly looked like. She gave a small, innate smile before she looked back to him and raised herself back to her normal height. “My Lord Uncle sends his apologies, but business has called him away from the estate this evening.” He always left her to deal with these things on her own, “I hope this does not inconvenience you at all?”

[Aidan d'Amory]

Aidan was not kept waiting long, no sooner had he been shown into the parlour, Caitrin arrived. She was certainly a beauty so at least that was something. After she had introduced herself he followed suit, dropping into a bow. Of course she already knew who he was so he did not introduce himself, instead he went with those well rehearsed pleasantries that she was probably far too used to hearing. "Lady Caitrin, I assure you the pleasure is all mine."

In truth he hadn't actually noticed Rouland was not with her until she said his name. He'd all but forgotten about the man, after all, he wasn't that important to Aidan at the moment, but now that Caitrin had said he wasn't going to be here, he couldn't help but feel rather awkward. He had never met either Caitrin or Rouland before, but least with Rouland there was some common ground. If all else fails he could just lie and pass on his father's compliments. Now he was going to have to dine alone with Caitrin. This could go either way.

"It is not a problem at all, milady." He lied somewhat convincingly. "Although I must admit I am a little disappointed at his absence," rather an understatement, truth be told, "I hope he is not unwell." He'd better be on his death bed to subject Aidan to this. He hadn't agreed to have dinner alone with her. What was he supposed to do? Exchange pleasantries about the weather?

He didn't really know what to say now so already the evening was going well. "I hope you are not unwell also," he began, his voice a little higher than usual. It was not often that he became nervous so he put it down to the fact that this was not an ordinary meeting and he really could do with making a good impression. "You do not look unwell. Indeed you look very well- very nice. Very...well." Hmm. It was probably all down hill from here then.

[Caitrin de Archer]

As Aidan bowed towards her, she quickly took in his features. He certainly wasn’t a bad looking man, and probably turned a few heads at court. That was one thing, but if you could only turn heads, and not keep them turned, then you were only half way there. She inclined her head towards him as he exchanged her pleasantries. In her opinion such speeches were incredibly dull, and only done for the sake of the society they lived in. However, now that was over the conversation could commence. Caitrin hoped he had something distinguishing about him, or else the conversation was going to be incredibly one sided.

Caitrin just listened rather intently as Aidan spoke. She couldn’t help being somewhat confused, she had just said her Uncle had some business to attend to; why would he be ill? She didn’t show her confusion of course, because that wouldn’t be good manners. Though Caitrin wasn’t one for playing by the rules, she also wasn’t one for upsetting influential families just for the sake of it. She had nothing to gain by pointing out everything Aidan was already doing wrong in the wittiest way she could manage. No, this was going to be a fun and more subtle game. Caitrin was a bit annoyed Aidan was disappointed her Uncle wasn’t here. Surely it was her he had come to see and woo? Hmm, perhaps not, perhaps this time Rouland had intended his niece to just be a pretty face and smile when she needed to. But that made no sense, because he wasn’t here. Caitrin was probably over-thinking everything so she just looked on at Aidan with a small smile. “He is quite well, I assure you my Lord. He just has business to attend to.”

Her Uncle wasn’t ill, and neither was she. She resisted the urge to frown at his words, really she was expecting him to be a bit more charming than that. She had made quite the effort, just to be told she didn’t look ill. Well wasn’t that flattering? Perhaps it set the tone for the evening; as usual Caitrin would be left to lighten the mood one way or the other. He wasn’t completely bad looking either so this could only go well; hopefully. “Thank you my Lord, but I am not unwell.” She assured him softly. She now felt slightly paranoid; did she look ill? Was that what he was actually saying? She hadn’t looked ill when she had been staring into the mirror. She tried to brush these thoughts from her head, as they were utterly ridiculous. She looked fine. “Did you ride over from your estate my Lord?” She asked him, trying to think of topics to drag him away from complimenting her any further. Giving his first attempts, anything he would say to try and compliment her might just end up insulting her. How wonderful this evening was going to be. “There might be a wait before dinner if you would like to be seated?” She gestured to two chairs in the corner of the solar, so at least she could sit down and bear this chore more comfortably.

[Aidan d'Amory]

This was already going very not according to plan. He was supposed to be being charming and alluring and he'd already made a fool out of himself. Well done there, Aidan, he thought and tried to think of a way to salvage the impression he was making. "Yes, yes sorry you said, didn't you?" He replied, standing there with his hands behind his back because anything else would be less awkward and therefore would never do.

He was already wishing to be somewhere else. He wasn't good at making impressions on people. His time was spent moping which was obviously something that made people look at him and go "Oh gosh he looks like a fun person" but he could be fun person, just not right now because his mind was rambling when he should be making small talk and honestly, who even cares about small talk but he had to carry on with it anyway because if he didn't that would be rude and everything would be more awkward and he could really do with not being in this situation right now.

"No, I took the carriage," he replied, thankful that her question had given him something he could actually talk about. "Riding isn't the greatest of idea what with...my leg..." Was that something he wasn't supposed to talk about? He wasn't exactly sure. Well he'd said it now so he was just going to have to go along with it.

He was equally grateful when she gestured towards the chairs and offered him a seat. While his leg was usually fine he didn't want to risk it at a time like this, somehow he didn't think needing to have a physician sent out and not being able to walk was going to go terribly well in his favour. "Thank you, milady." He sat down and stretched his leg out, it was always easier than trying to bend it although he did look a little too casual. That was just something he was going to have to live with. "I haven't made an awfully good impression have I? Would you mind starting again?"

[Caitrin de Archer]

This was the most awkward introduction that Caitrin had been subjected to. Had her Uncle even met Aidan before arranging this meeting? Probably not, he had just heard the family name and jumped at the opportunity. She nodded at his words, “Yes, yes I did.” What on earth was wrong with this man? She hadn’t heard much about Aidan, but from what she had heard she didn’t expect him to be a nervous man with the social skills of a child. Hopefully he would settle or else this would be a very dull evening.

Caitrin decided very quickly not to ask about his leg. It would hardly set the right mood after all. She just looked on at him, hmm, what could be wrong with his leg? He still had two didn’t he? She hadn’t noticed if he walked with a slight limp or anything when he had come into the room; she had been too preoccupied trying to play the part she was forced to play. She realised she was staring, not knowing quite what to say, so she went back on her confidence and managed a rather soft smile. “I’m sorry to hear that my Lord, after all, riding is one of my favourite pastimes.” She left her words open so they could be as alluring as Aidan wanted them to be, or they would just go straight over his head; either one. It would show her just how honourable he was by his answer. If he caught her drift then he had one thing on the mind, if not then, well, she knew this was already a lost cause. “I always much prefer it to taking the carriage.” She hated taking the carriage anywhere, mainly because it was just so stuffy, and only allowed her a limited view of her surroundings. She much preferred the view on horseback, plus Lily, her mare, was always so energetic that it made the journey fun no matter what the task in hand was.

As he took up her invitation of a seat, Caitrin’s eyes dropped to his leg. Well, he did walk with a bit of a limp. Caitrin hoped nothing too bad had happened to him, after all, it could hardly be fun to sport such an injury, especially as a man. She tried not to stare at the fact he had stretched his leg out, it hardly looked conventional after all. His words took her by surprise; at least he acknowledged that he was making a fool out of himself. Why was he so nervous anyway? “Good idea.” She said with a smile and stood up, she wasn’t mocking him, no she was just trying to lighten the mood, “Should I go outside and come back in and introduce myself?” She gave him a wicked smile to let him know she was only joking with him. She no longer felt quite so awkward around Aidan, but she took up her seat next to him again, “If you want to start again, I’ll reintroduce myself, but I’m not going outside.” She winked at him, “I’m Lady Caitrin, but most people call me Caitrin, or just Cait. I don’t mind which you choose.” Her Uncle was not here, so formalities weren’t as necessary.

[Aidan d'Amory]

Aidan was quite convinced there was a hint of suggestiveness in her tone, and he was rather surprised. All the noblewomen he knew were far too full of themselves and proper to even realise that what they were saying could be taken in another way. Aidan, being male, did not have this problem. "Perhaps one day I shall join you." He replied, not wanting to be too overt, after all, she could have meant her words entirely innocently, but if she didn't then he didn't want to come across as someone easily affected by that sort of talk. There wasn't anything wrong with a little bit of harmless flirtation, it was just a shame he wasn't very good at it.

Although Caitrin appeared to be joking, Aidan still felt the need to answer, she might think him rude otherwise. "Staying here will be quite alright." He replied, grateful that she seemed to be taking everything well rather than chastising him for being awkward and really not very good at making acquaintances. He was never really at court - unless he was dragged there - so he hadn't mastered the art of making conversation. His father preferred he stayed at home rather than embarrass the family by limping about in court.

After she introduced herself for the second time that evening, he inclined his head and replied, "It is a pleasure to make your acquaintance, Cait. I am Lord Aidan d'Amory, my friends call me You." Hopefully he wasn't going to be quite so awkward this time.

[Caitrin de Archer]

There was nothing in Aidan’s tone that was overtly suggestive, it seemed that he, like her, was playing it safe for now. At least he was responding to her flirts rather than going against them, because that would have been no fun. She looked him up and down, and gave a small grin, “I’m sure that could be arranged.” She replied in an equally neutral sort of way. Time would tell whether they were being suggestive with each other, or just speaking of quite innocent matters. Caitrin would prefer the former, but the latter could be fun every now and again. She had to remind herself that this wasn’t an ordinary meeting, and that her Uncle expected something from this. Inwardly she wanted to pull a face, she didn’t want to play this part; why should she? She was his ward, yes, but she still intended to marry a man of her own choosing, and she had made no haste in reminding her Uncle of this important fact many times, but as usual he never listened.

It struck Caitrin very quickly that she hadn’t seen Aidan at court before. Caitrin was at court quite a lot, but she couldn’t recall seeing him. Maybe she just hadn’t been looking, as her attentions were usually directed by whatever suitor wanted to play her hand that night. Court was always a fun game to amuse herself with, and it filled the long years that she had been here in Camelot for. The court here was livelier than the one in Mercia, but she still sometimes found herself longing for her former court. Caitrin let out a small laugh so that Aidan would know that she was indeed just joking with him, after all she wasn’t intending to come in and reintroduce herself.

She was glad that he chose to call her Cait, as it was what most in Camelot called her. Caitrin was sometimes a mouthful for those without the correct accent, and it annoyed her sometimes people pronounced such a simple name incorrectly. Aidan however was safe in his choosing. She let out a small laugh at his introduction, “Well, I shall call you Aidan, as long as that is pleasing to you.” She winked at him, she understood his joke but she still wanted to call him by his first name. It made the evening a little less formal, and more of a friendly affair, well, with undertones of course. “Again, I am sorry my Uncle is away, had I have known sooner I would have sense word.” She shrugged softly, what she would have done didn’t matter, because they were already here. “Would you like a drink Aidan? My Uncle usually hides his wine so well, but I believe I have liberated a bottle or two for the evening.” The trouble she went to for her courters! That wine had taken all afternoon to source.

[Aidan d'Amory]

Aidan was not at his best around women, which was probably painfully obvious, but he was starting to relax once the initial awkwardness had been overcome. Besides, he needed to get over the initial awkwardness for the next stage of awkwardness to begin. This stage involved Aidan being not quite sure about Caitrin's meaning and whether she was being inappropriate or not. He was just going to play safe again and hope she wasn't suggesting anything untowards. "Then I shall look forward to it." Aidan replied with a smile, already feeling the next stage of awkwardness. It was times like these that he wished he hadn't spent quite so much time on his own, reading, and generally not acquiring any social skills, but then he reminded himself that after tonight he wouldn't be in a social situation for quite some time so as long as he just survived everything would be alright.

Luckily, Caitrin seemed more capable when it came to situations like this and was managing to ease some of the awkwardness and make Aidan feel a lot more relaxed. He did want to make a good impression and enjoy himself, he just didn't know how. His idea of a good time was sitting in his room with a candle and filling his mind with whatever new knowledge he'd found, but for some reason this wasn't quite good enough for his brother. Struan had decided Aidan needed to actually be able to behave like a noble and that meant finding himself in situations like these. Still, if it found him a rich wife, he supposed.

"It is no problem at all." Aidan replied after she apologised for Rouland's absence. He had heard about the man from his father, and although it might have been nice to not be alone with Caitrin, Rouland's company probably wouldn't have made the situation any better. Indeed, it was the lesser of two evils.

Hmm, wine was rather tempting, although he probably disapprove of her "liberating" it from her uncle. As a general rule, he didn't drink so this could all go horribley wrong. But Aidan was rather good at controlling himself, and he was sure that he wouldn't let himself drink too much, so there could be no harm in it. And, if she was having to be quite so sneaky about acquiring some he could hardly turn it down. It wouldn't be polite. "That would be lovely, thank you. Do you make a habit of liberating alcohol?" He asked with raised eyebrows, trying to keep a relatively serious expression but failing somewhat.

[Caitrin de Archer]

Caitrin wasn’t sure whether to laugh or not at Aidan’s response. Usually she could tell with men whether they were being suggestive with her or not, but either Aidan was an incredibly good actor or he had no idea what her tone of voice was for. She bit her lip softly, chewing the flesh softly for a few moments, raising her eye brows to him. If he didn’t know what she was going on about, then she would make sure he would after a few exchanges with her. “Well I’m sure we can arrange something, I wouldn't disappoint, of course.” She said with a soft wink and settled herself back in her seat in a casual manner. If he missed all those signals then she would be impressed more than anything. That would make the situation slightly awkward though, Caitrin wanted something out of this exchange after all.

She was glad Aidan didn’t overtly protest to her Uncle not being there. There were some of course who would want her to have some sort of guardian at a meal like this, but Caitrin hated having her Uncle breathing down her neck. At least if he wasn’t here she could mould the evening to something she would actually enjoy, rather than a formal meal, which would have been what her Uncle would have insisted on. Those sort of occasions were incredibly boring, however, so long as Aidan was obliging, this evening could be something to remember. She didn’t see him as anything serious, a friend perhaps, but something more intimate in the short term.

As she opened the wine, she shot a grin at Aidan as he spoke. She only liberated wine when the company demanded it. Perhaps a glass of wine would even make Aidan relax into the evening a bit more. “Why? Are you going to tell my Uncle?” She said teasingly and handed him a goblet and winked at him. She poured the wine into his goblet, but as she did, she leant forwards slightly, so the lacings and what they covered were on full view at the top of her dress. She stayed there longer than necessary, but took the wine bottle and then proceeded to fill up her own goblet as she straightened up. She sat down next to him, and took a small sip of wine. “So what would you like to do, to pass the time before dinner?”

[Aidan d'Amory]

Aidan was sure Caitrin was being inappropriate now. There was no way she could be saying what she was with any innocence. The only problem with this revelation was that he wasn’t actually sure what to do now. Talking to people wasn’t one of his strong points, unless he happened to know that person for several years and, preferably, that person wasn’t a female and they definitely weren’t flirting with him. He shuffled rather uncomfortably. What was he supposed to say to that? “I’m sure you wouldn’t.” He replied – was that the sort of thing she was looking for? This was all rather unchartered territory and he didn’t want to disappoint.

It seemed Caitrin wasn’t making any effort to make Aidan feel any less comfortable. Winking and speaking in that tone of voice definitely weren’t making the situation better and he was quite convinced that her thoughts were anything but innocent. He took the goblet from her gratefully, “Thank you.” Right, wine, a beautiful woman...what could go wrong? There probably wasn’t enough time to answer that. “How are you going to stop me?” He asked, not entirely sure why he was saying that. It sounded like a good idea at the time.

Right. She was definitely doing this on purpose now. He immediately diverted his gaze and started staring at the floor. When Caitrin hadn’t moved he shuffled rather uncomfortably. What was he supposed to do? “Erm...well...I believe it is customary in situations like this to...erm...” it was rather difficult to keep looking at the floor as she was now sitting next to him and rather too close. “Discuss the weather. How are you finding the weather?”

[Caitrin de Archer]

Aidan still wasn’t giving her much to work with. Usually men either just looked the other way at her flirts, or they joined in with as much enthusiasm as she had to offer. Aidan was stuck somewhere in the middle, and it wasn’t something she had experienced before. She wasn’t sure she liked it that much, but she saw it as a challenge, which was what she needed. “Trust me, I won’t.” She was quite confident in her abilities when it came to men, she’d had enough practice after all. She gave Aidan another small wink, and returned to pouring him a goblet of wine.

Her smile turned into a mischievous one as he asked her how she was going to stop him telling her Uncle. She could think of a few things straight away, though she wasn’t sure he would want to hear them this early in the evening, perhaps that would be something to save until later. “I’m sure I could think of something.” She winked at him, and bit her lip naturally, before returning to her seat, so she could take a small sip of her wine. “That is... if you want me to stop you?” She was teasing him, letting him know what he could have at his fingertips if he played his cards right, but she wanted a firmer confirmation than what she had been gaining from him. He hadn’t returned her flirts in an overt way which said where they stood, he was being vague, and it was encouraging more than deflating. However, Caitrin was determined to get a reaction out of him.

Something about the way Aidan was speaking to her told her that he wasn’t used to these kinds of situations. He wasn’t as confident as she was, or perhaps they had just got off to a bad start. Caitrin knew she had a big personality, and sometimes that could be intimidating in the same breath. After all, she had entered this conversation with one purpose in mind. It might not be the same one Aidan had, but he would learn to love it. “The weather is... beautiful.” She finally managed, not sure why they were talking about the weather. She looked at Aidan for a few moments and stood up quickly, “Would you like to take a turn in my Uncle’s garden? As the weather is so fine.” She needed to liven Aidan up a little, because not only was she in danger of not getting what she wanted, she was in danger of becoming bored.

[Aidan d'Amory]

Aidan was no longer sure what was expected of him anymore. He'd been throw into this situation knowing virtually nothing about Lady Caitrin and expecting to be dining with her uncle as well and now he was sat there trying to work out whether she was being inappropriate or not. If she wasn't then he was being very ungentlemanly for thinking so, if she was - was this a test? Was he supposed to be being inappropriate back (not that he really knew how to do that) or to just run away, metaphorically speaking of course. It was all very confusing and something Aidan really hadn't been expecting. How he hated formal dinners.

She was winking at him, and biting her lip in a rather suggestive manner so it was more likely that she was being intentionally inappropriate. Well that was one question answered at least. It didn't make him feel any better though. Did he actually want her being quite so forward? She was beautiful, yes, and, if the rumours were true, rather experienced, but still, he was probably supposed to just sit there and try not to stare at her chest. "I'm sure you could. A young woman like you must have many talents." That sounded a lot better in his head. He was just going to have to go with that one now and accept that he'd just given her more cause to be inappropriate.

It was fairly obvious - even to Aidan and his lack of people skills - that Caitrin was not overly enthusiastic about discussing the weather. He'd panicked and inevitably said the wrong thing. But now she was suggesting taking a tour of the gardens and although he could probably do with the fresh air their dinner was in the process of being prepared and he didn't want to be late for that. Food would give him something else to focus on, or give him another oppurtunity to be awkward and nervous. "No, no, I'm fine to stay here. Unless you want some fresh air. It is rather," he cleared his throat, "Stuffy in here."

[Caitrin de Archer]

The only problem with acting in the way that she was, some men saw it as a test to resist. She had had an experience like this in court once, and she had to admit, it was the most frustrating thing to come across. She was trying to test him in a way, to see how long it would be until he practically jumped on her. She wasn’t testing him in the other sense though, to see if his intentions were honourable. That would be a complete waste of her time after all. There was no point in trying to seduce someone unless you got something at the end of it.

Caitrin still wasn’t incredibly sure whether Aidan knew she was being inappropriate or not. The lines that he was feeding her just allowed her to continue, but he could have said them out of innocence she supposed. This would be incredibly awkward if Caitrin thought he was after one thing, when in actual fact he was completely innocent; that sometimes did happen. If, however, they were on the same page, she guessed that Aidan would not disappoint. He was certainly handsome enough anyway. “Perhaps I will be able to show you just how many talents I possess, my Lord.” She dragged out every word with underlying suggestion dripping from every syllable. Caitrin winked at him, as she finally snapped her chest back to its original position. If he wanted more then he would have to ask for it. She needed a little more enthusiasm and encouragement than just some words she could expand on. Caitrin bit her lip slightly, if none of this was working then drastic action would have to be taken, or she would just have to get this dinner as quickly as possible.

Now Caitrin wasn’t quite sure of what to do. If Aidan found the room a bit stuffy then perhaps they should go outside, but it didn’t sound like he really wanted to go outside anyway. Caitrin just smiled back at Aidan, “We don’t have to go outside if you don’t want to.” She smiled softly, just to show him she didn’t mind in the slightest. Taking a sip of her wine, her mind was ticking over what they could do now. “I could give you a tour of the estate? It might give us a chance to get to know each other better.” She was back to the suggestive tone again, but she didn’t care, she knew what she wanted and it was just a matter of time until Aidan got the drift of what she was hinting at. The estate was quite large after all, and there was quite a lot to show off. Perhaps by the time they made it upstairs Aidan would be a little more enlightened as to her intentions. That was if he wanted a tour at all.

[Aidan d'Amory]

Right...she was definitely, definitely, being beyond a doubt inappropriate. Of this Aidan was absolutely certain, and really, really hoping he was right. It was awkward enough with his certainty, it would be horrendous if she was being completely innocence. But she couldn't be being innocent. There was too much of a tone in her voice. Caitrin knew exactly what she was doing, and it was making Aidan even more uncomfortable because now he had no idea what he was supposed to be doing. Was he supposed to be playing along or being honourable? Which one was more likely to offend? And, if he was supposed to be playing along...how far? Aidan's experiences with women could be summed up in one word: none. Whereas Caitrin's experiences with men would probably need an entire library.

"Well," he cleared his throat, trying to pay attention to the conversation and not how his thoughts were wandering. This was probably the effect she'd been trying to acheieve, which was all very well and good, but Aidan was still at a complete loss as to how he was supposed to act. If she could just stop being all...innuendo-y and just tell him what was going on everything would be so much easier. "I'm sure you have many...and that will be...enjoyable..." He really wasn't good at this whole flirtation business and his awkwardness was just making that all the more apparent. If he had the confidence he could just blag his way through their entire conversation. Unfortunately all he could do was sit there and try not to offend her.

“I could give you a tour of the estate? It might give us a chance to get to know each other better.”

He almost choked on his wine. Get to know...? She couldn't possibly mean what he was thinking of? He'd heard some, quite frankly, startling rumours about Caitrin de Archer but even so. She was using that tone again - the one that was telling him that his understanding was indeed correct, despite what his sense of propriety was trying to tell him. But that was not the worst part, or even the most confusing part. Aidan wasn't actually sure which meaning he wanted to be true. Yes, part of him was all for running away but another part of him was finding Caitrin's manner increasingly more attractive. There was just...something about her. She was beautiful, of course she was, and the more she flirted the worse his thoughts were becoming. Maybe getting to know her was the way forward - not like that - but in order to...convince himself that she was not in any way being suggestive or inappropriate. "A tour sounds...well I'm sure it would be very interesting and erm, much appreciated."

[Caitrin de Archer]

Caitrin was starting to enjoy the direction that this evening was turning in. Aidan, she hoped, had at least realised what her intentions were, and that she was no blushing maid. No, she wasn’t that in the slightest, and the quicker he realised that then the quicker they could actually enjoy their evening together and get to know each other a little better. Caitrin didn’t know that much about Aidan, but she wasn’t sure if that was a good thing or not yet, so far he just seemed quite reserved, which was sweet in a way, but it wasn’t for her. It didn’t mean she couldn’t have a bit of fun in the meantime though, and who knows, he might even enjoy himself along the way. Caitrin was sure, unless Aidan lived in a hole, that her reputation probably proceeded her in this case. There weren’t many in the court that didn’t know of her antics, well, they all thought it was rumour, and that was the way she liked to keep it. That way she kept away unwanted attention.

Of course Caitrin couldn’t act as smug as she was feeling. She was sure that she was having the desired effect on Aidan, and that he eventually would come around to her way of thinking. Caitrin pressed her chest out slightly as Aidan spoke, and let her lips slip into a gentle grin. If he was being serious with her, and his words were in the same tone that her own were meant in then this was going to be an incredibly enjoyable evening all round. Perhaps Aidan would even be a little less awkward as soon as he loosened up a little. “Well, I’m sure I can indulge you in some of my talents.” She let her eyes wander over him, her voice dropping to a low whisper, “If you want me to show you.” She bit her lip slightly as she drew back, leaving the temptation there. It wasn’t subtle, but it wasn’t meant to be. She was trying to tempt Aidan to her way of thinking. It wasn’t a trap though, she wanted this, because it really had been far too long.

Well, at least he was going to go on the little tour of the estate with her. It allowed them an informality which sitting in the solar couldn’t offer and it would make the evening much more enjoyable than just trying to make polite conversation. Polishing off her wine, Caitrin grinned and stood up, and extended her arm to Aidan, “If you would like to follow me my Lord.” She winked at him but the arm was still there for him to take, “Now, we can explore the rooms here, upstairs or we could go out into the gardens, which would you prefer?”