Love Is Never Ugly

Chapter 39

Charlotte ascended down the stairway with perfect grace and when Alastor saw her he almost became too bashful to go through with this. Her astonishing beauty made him feel very insecure about his own appearance again but his confidence returned when she gave him a pleased smile. When she reached the end of the stairs he gently took hold of her gloved hand and placed a kiss upon the back of it. She blushed.

"You are very beautiful this evening." He said when his lips came up from her hand.

"Thank you." She took note of his apparel and couldn't help but think that he looked very charming tonight. His suit, his hair, the manner in which he stood before her, in her eyes he appeared to be the most grand looking gentleman she had ever seen. "And you are very handsome this evening."

Alastor blushed. Handsome? Did she really just say that he was handsome? Her, the loveliest woman in all the world thought that he a hideous monster looked handsome?

"You...You really mean that?" He asked.

"Yes." She answered truthfully.

"Tha-Thank you." He was getting a little flustered.

"I love how that suit looks on you." She said. "It makes you look like a...A...A..."

Her blush increased.

"Like what?" He asked.

"If I tell you you'll think of me as a naive little girl."

"I would never. Tell me, please."

She looked away from him in attempt to hide her blushing cheeks.

"You look like a prince."

He too looked away to hide how red his face was becoming when he heard her confession. How flustered and bashful they felt in each other's presence this evening. It was completely new to the both of them.

"Your gown...Looks magnificent on you." Alastor said trying to cool down the red in his face. "But I do believe it's missing something."

"What?"

He stuck his hand into his jacket presented her with the medium sized box. She accepted the box and opened it to find strings of lovely white pearls inside.

"Oh my." She awed.

"Do you like them?" He asked.

"They're beautiful. I love them. Will you put them on me?"

"As you wish."

He picked up the pearls from the box and she turned her back to him. The poor fellow's hands trembled the whole time he slowly moved the pearls around her neck and hooked the clasp.

"They fit you perfectly." He commented.

"I have a gift for you too."

He finally noticed the small box in Charlotte's other gloved hand which she moved to give to him. Alastor was taken aback by her actions. She actually had a present for him? No one had ever given him a present before.

"It's not very expensive or extravagant as the gifts you give me but I tried my best to make it just as nice." She said.

He lifted the lid off the box and the gift was revealed to be a white neckerchief embroidered with gold thread.

"Anthony spun the fabric and did the measuring but I picked out the pattern, did the cutting, the sewing, and the embroidery. What do you think? I'll understand if you don't like it."

Alastor wasn't sure what he found more unbelievable. The fact that she had made him a gift or the fact that she actually cared if he liked it or not. In all the twenty-three years he had been alive no one had made him gift and appeared so eager to please him with it.