Not so much a teaser as a deleted scene
Because I was an idiot to think that these characters would need to be introduced.
Pre-scene snark at self: duh. Kareen's *sister* married Count Dono, so d'you think *maybe* Kareen and Byerly have already met? [/snark] I do still really like this scene, so I couldn't just outright delete it. Thus, anyone silly enough to click the cut tag gets to read it.
“Mark, I believe you two already know each other,” Ivan said, releasing By’s hand so Mark could shake it. “Kareen Koudelka, may I present Byerly Vorruyter. By, Kareen.” Byerly promptly offset this deliberate attempt at informality by kissing the back of Kareen’s hand.
“Mademoiselle Koudelka, it is a pleasure to meet you,” he said.
“Likewise, I’m sure, Lord Byerly,” Kareen replied, rolling her eyes at Mark and Ivan. “But just ‘Kareen’ will be fine.”
“Then it is just ‘Byerly,’ as well.”
“Right, then,” Ivan put in. “So we’re all just us, and no titles and nonsense for dinner.” He noticed Mark’s ears actually appeared to visibly perk up at the word, but he took his time and poured By a glass of wine so they could chat for a few minutes first.
And yes, this does mean this one's getting done before the other two that were in the works first. Annoying character won't shut up until it's done.
Pre-scene snark at self: duh. Kareen's *sister* married Count Dono, so d'you think *maybe* Kareen and Byerly have already met? [/snark] I do still really like this scene, so I couldn't just outright delete it. Thus, anyone silly enough to click the cut tag gets to read it.
“Mark, I believe you two already know each other,” Ivan said, releasing By’s hand so Mark could shake it. “Kareen Koudelka, may I present Byerly Vorruyter. By, Kareen.” Byerly promptly offset this deliberate attempt at informality by kissing the back of Kareen’s hand.
“Mademoiselle Koudelka, it is a pleasure to meet you,” he said.
“Likewise, I’m sure, Lord Byerly,” Kareen replied, rolling her eyes at Mark and Ivan. “But just ‘Kareen’ will be fine.”
“Then it is just ‘Byerly,’ as well.”
“Right, then,” Ivan put in. “So we’re all just us, and no titles and nonsense for dinner.” He noticed Mark’s ears actually appeared to visibly perk up at the word, but he took his time and poured By a glass of wine so they could chat for a few minutes first.
And yes, this does mean this one's getting done before the other two that were in the works first. Annoying character won't shut up until it's done.