Marie-Fey could almost feel Zaydan vibrating with excitement beside her and she had to resist from rolling her eyes as everyone around them looked on, gaping.

"Y... your..." Lashby stammered.

At that moment, Antoinette happened to glide past with three of her closest friends – who also happened to be ladies of the Queen's inner circle.

Lashby launched over without any obvious thought, grabbing her arm and Antoinette looked at her hand the way an empress might look at a peasant who dared touch her.

"Lady Lashby," she said, sharply knocking her fan against Lashby's knuckles.

Lashby released her instantly before gesturing toward Zaydan.

"Your guest!" she gasped, staring at her.

Antoinette raised an eyebrow, glancing at Marie-Fey and Zaydan, taking in their hands before giving Lashby an annoyed stare at having stopped.

"Lord Zaydan," she said curtly, "My brother-in-law. Is there a problem? Surely you would have my sister introduce you if you were in such need of an introduction."

"Brother-i..."

Lashby's voice failed her as she stared and Antoinette's face slowly darkened as a cold, nasty smile spread across her striking face as she snapped her fan open, holding it to her lips as she leant forwards, icy-cold eyes locked on Lashby.

"Whatever is the matter, Lady Lashby?" she asked, "You seem quite speechless. Scared that you find yourself without a wound to poke now?"

Lashby's eyes widened as Antoinette leant forwards.

"You'll be mindful of what rumours you spread next time," she said, her voice like a breath, "Less you be the one who cannot set foot in polite society."

Lashby's breath audibly hitched and Antoinette flashed her a lovely smile that was reminiscent of Beldon and Constantine.

"Wouldn't that be tragic?" she said, and snapped her fan closed, smiling at Marie-Fey and Zaydan before turning back to her own company, the women laughing softly behind her fans as they looked Lashby and her ladies up and down as they passed.

Lashby rounded on Marie-Fey.

"There's something suspicious happening here," she growled, shoving her folded fan in Marie-Fey's face and Marie-Fey slapped the fan down with her own.

"Don't be so rude, hard as that might be," Marie-Fey shot back.

"After what happened the other day and suddenly he appears?"

"He did not suddenly appear," Maanah said, folding her arms, "Lord Rias arrived with us on the ship."

"You know what I mean," Lashby spat.

"I fear I don't."

"Well study our language better."

Marie-Fey's smile vanished in an instant, eyes flashing as she made to move forwards but Zaydan's hold tightened, holding her back.

"Whatever is all this fuss about, my dear?" he asked, looking so believably confused.

"Oh, silly things," Marie-Fey said, before proceeding to summarise the whole issue ending with Zaafira's statement at the last ball.

Zaydan looked respectably shocked, before staring at Zaafira.

"My Lady Zaafira," he said, appalled.

Zaafira gave him a neat shrug. "Just a little tiff between ladies, My Lord. I had no idea these... people would take my words so seriously."

"Aren't we fortunate you were attending this evening to clear things up?" Gharam said softly.

"I had no idea my work would cause you such strife, my dear, you should have told me. I would have attended your homeland with you much sooner," Zaydan said.

"Oh, trivial stuff, nothing to concern you when you're always so busy," Marie-Fey said, smiling at him.

"Nothing trivial when it comes to you, my dear," Zaydan said with a blazing grin before kissing her back of her hand and turning to Lashby. "Now, I haven't actually been introduced to your ladies yet."

"Oh, I wouldn't have them as my ladies," Marie-Fey said with a mocking laugh, making Lashby flush with anger. "But since they insisted on introductions, let us hurry as I believe the first dance starts soon."

So Marie-Fey made quick introductions, finishing just as the bell rang to signal the first dance and she steered Zaydan away.

"Well that worked rather well," he muttered.

"Apart from the fact that Lashby instantly called out the ploy as fake," Marie-Fey hissed back.

"Oh relax, my dear wife," Zaydan said with a grin, dropping his cheek down on the top of her head – squashing her hair ornaments and making her hiss at him. "It will simply mean that it is up to you and I to further convince them."

Marie-Fey sighed. "Oh, you're going to enjoy this far too much, aren't you?"

"Every second of it, wife of mine," he said, smirking like an idiot as they joined the other dancing couples.

"We've never danced together, I hope you're at least half-decent."

"Are you any good?"

"Of course I'm good," she said, narrowing her eyes at him.

He just smiled. "Then we'll be fine," he said, spinning her into his arms, one sliding around her waist and pulling her against him, the other taking her hand as they stood ready.

And they were fine.

Because Zaydan was a good dancer. He was light and graceful and led the dance with practised ease and they complimented each other as they span around the dancefloor, one dance after another.

And because they stayed together for so long, Marie-Fey didn't have to deal with other guests who wanted to confirm the rumours they were hearing.

But her siblings and her father handled that, lying with the natural polish of businessmen and society gems.

And it wasn't only them. Marie-Fey spotted more than once people approaching the hosts, pointing them out to the couple and Sir Harris and his wife just smiled and nodded, looking pleasantly puzzled, as if everyone should have known. Or the young men Zaydan had talked with at the beginning of the assembly, laughing as if they'd known all along.

How far in advance had Zaydan warned his friends?

That first day he'd gone out?

Had he been so sure she'd eventually agree to the ploy or had he decided better safe than sorry?

Marie-Fey glanced up at Zaydan and blinked at the expression she was met with. Soft and private and so very, very fond of her.

She had to wrestle the shock of her face and Zaydan shot her a grin.

"You're smiling," he said.

"What?"

"You're smiling. Isn't that a lovely sight?"

Marie-Fey glared at him.

"Ah, you can't glare at your husband, we're supposed to be happy."

"I think you'll find I can, dear," she said, raising an eyebrow at him. "I suspect you'll annoy me just as much now as before we were married."

Zaydan's grin widened still. "Am I really annoying you so much this evening?"

Marie-Fey pursed her lips at him.

"I'll be tempted to kiss that pout off you if you don't stop that."

Marie-Fey gasped at him. "We're in public!"

"Behind closed doors then."

"Lord Rias," she hissed and he laughed. Marie-Fey narrowed her eyed at him instead. "And it was not a pout. I do not pout."

"No, you attempt to assassinate me through telepathic means alone."

"You've been receiving my messages then?"

Zaydan snorted and pulled her tighter against him, pressing his lips to the top of her head."

"Stop trying to mess up my hair," she snapped and he laughed.

And Marie-Fey fought the urge to laugh with him, until she remembered she shouldn't.

Because the whole point was to make people believe she was happily married.

So she laughed, and Zaydan didn't even look surprised.

He just kept smiling and talking and dancing, and she didn't notice when the laughter stopped being an act and simply became natural as she was forced to drop several barriers. And with them went the tension she always felt she was carrying whenever she was trapped in a room with these people who judged her for being somehow less than her sisters.

Maybe she was, maybe she wasn't. But if it took the presence of a man to make them and their little minds to back off, so be it – for now.

Eventually they parted for drinks and to talk with friends, natural and unconcerned, like it wasn't a big deal for them to be together. Zaydan eventually found her for another dance and they waltzed and talked about everything and nothing, laughing and whispering gossip was they spied crows like Lashby and her minions looking incredibly put out by the whole affair.

By the end of the night, Sophia caught her arm as they made their way down the steps towards carriages, laughing as people streamed out of the people.

"That was fantastic," she gasped, fan to her mouth to hide her giant grin.

"It was rather, wasn't it," Marie-Fey said, laughing.

"It's fabulous. I cannot wait to see you two at the wedding. Imagine it, you gained a husband just in time to attend a wedding."

They both snorted with laughter at the notion before parting and heading for their carriages, Zaydan waiting at hers to help her step up before following her inside, taking a seat beside her and wrapping her arm through his.

"Well that was fun," he said, beaming.

"It was certainly something," Marie-Fey replied, flicking her fan open.

"Oh, don't even pretend. You enjoyed yourself," he said with a smirk.

"Maybe. Maybe I just liked rubbing it in Lashby's piggy face."

"See? You enjoyed yourself."

"Yes but now that we've started, we have to keep pretending until we leave," Marie-Fey said, snapping her fan shut in his face. "We'll be expected to attend as man and wife as Sophia's wedding."

"I don't see the problem."

"Are you really alright with this?"

"I would never have suggested it if I weren't," he assured her, smiling before frowning. "I need to prepare a suit for the wedding. That wasn't in my packing."

Marie-Fey raised an eyebrow at him as he frowned out of the window, then smiled slightly, sitting back.

They just needed to make it through the trip, then it would never matter again. One even at a time.

And it worked.

One event at a time.

For the next several days they attended events as a married couple.

They would be seen about town together, relaxed in each other's company. Sophia took great delight in the deception and talked about how it was lovely being such close friends with a married woman when her wedding looming.

How nice it was to take tea with such a happy couple.

And weren't they such a handsome couple?

Really quite striking.

So typical of a Leigh sibling, really?

Quite astonishing.

Marie-Fey almost had to tell her to dial it down a tad, but pre-wedding nerves soon hit Sophia and she became distracted.

Between managing the last-minute preparations and trying to coax even a little discussion out of Ivy about whether she really thought her engagement was the right thing to do – she always said it wasn't until she saw Constantine – she had quite enough on her plate.

She was in downright jitters by the morning of her wedding.

But the day was perfect.

Perfect weather, perfect ceremony, perfect celebration, perfect couple.

It was a truly wonderful day and Marie-Fey was surprised, later that night, that she hadn't even thought about her own disaster of a wedding once. She had sat with Zaydan and just lost herself in the beauty of the day.

And then they had eaten and danced, and it had been wonderful.

And then it was the next day and they were back to day-to-day events. Balls, galas, assemblies, ballets, operas and, finally – with growing excitement through their company – the first show of The Midnight Troop was held.