[h2]Esme[/h2]
Esme watched Duke’s eyes as he took in her words and the kiss on his cheek. Maybe the kiss on his cheek wasn’t the best idea since it seemed to have gone to his head. She wasn’t expecting Duke to pull her closer to himself when she smirked, causing the jewelry in her dress to dig into her chest again. As Duke answered Esme, her smirk turned into a smile, and she laughed as he chuckled at his words. Her laugh softened as he surprised her yet again by boldly leaning in close to her face and brushing his nose with hers, drawing more attention to them, and spoke again. It was then that he confirmed that he felt the jewelry down the front of her dress and was accusing her of having sticky fingers and calling her a bandit like himself. Before she could respond, Duke stepped forward and dramatically dipped her in the center of the dance floor, whipped her up just as dramatically, then continued to dance with her after pulling her tightly to him again. With how tightly he held her to his chest, it made her feel like he was worried another man was going to swoop in and take her from him. 

Which she was sure he wouldn’t let happen. Esme was aware of the hovering women but didn’t mind them. She was about to speak when Duke politely pulled his hand from her back, turned down the hoving women, and again talked to her. Esme couldn’t help but laugh along with him, still surprised by his confidence. It was a side of him she hadn’t seen without the help of alcohol, which she knew he hadn’t had. However, she had to agree with him about things hitting differently when they dressed as they were, pretending to be someone they weren’t. While dancing with Duke, Esme couldn’t only feel the jealous tension in the room. She could also see it in the eyes of many of the guests on the dance floor as they partnered up. Esme could also feel and see the glares she was getting from many of the women in the room, but she didn’t care. She wasn’t there to impress them or get their approval on anything. The three of them were there for a job and a little fun in the process. Ignoring the guests around them, Esme looked up at Duke, a smile still resting on her lips.

“I can’t believe you called me a bandit. That’s not very gentlemanly of you.” she teased. As she looked up at him, her eyes became more serious. “But I can admit that I have sticky fingers occasionally. However, everything I have acquired tonight has nothing to do with me having sticky fingers.” Esme looked away from Duke and to her left. Her eyes fell on both men from earlier, and both their cheeks were still red from her slapping them and staring at her hungrily. When they grinned at her, she looked back to Duke with a soft sigh. “What you feel poking my chest was put there as a bribe by the two I mentioned so they could get handsy.” she told him. “And the two items I have in my wristlet I got from the owner's son with a bit of sweet talking, flattering, and fluttering my eyelashes. Tonight, I’ve behaved myself. I haven’t stolen a single thing stuck up snobs except for maybe a few of the men’s hearts.” Esme grinned brightly at Duke with her tongue slightly between her teeth. Standing on her toes, she leaned close to Duke, her cheek softly brushing his as she whispered in his ear. 

“But once Dean is finished getting that necklace, I can show you how much of a bandit I can be.” she told him with a twinkle in her eye. The way she whispered in Duke’s ear earned her quite a few new looks, but Esme ignored them as she continued to play the persona she came up with for herself. To Duke, she was Esme. To everyone else in the room, she was Marabella. “I also need to find time to get all this jewelry out of my dress.” she added before lowering herself off her toes. As she danced with Duke, she caught the two men from earlier out of the corner of her eye, noticing they had gotten closer and were still working their way to her. Esme didn’t stop dancing until they were too close to ignore. Pulling her hand from Duke’s and taking her hand off his shoulder, she turned to face the men with a slight glare. One opened his mouth to speak, but Esme spoke first, which caused him to close it. “I’ve made it clear that I don’t wish to dance with either of you.” she told them sternly as she firmly took hold of Duke’s arm just above his watch. 

“Now leave me alone before I cause a scene and have you removed.” Esme intensified her glare and projected a mild nervousness onto the men to get her point across when they stepped toward her as if testing her. “You would both be smart not to test me.” she added harshly. The two took several steps back from her, and two women stepped up to them to dance. Esme turned back to Duke, wrapped her arm up with his, and pulled him further into the room to put some distance between them and the men with a sigh. When she felt comfortable, she stopped, unwrapped her arm from his, and faced him, all while hiding how light-headed she was from using her empathy tonight. She had also secretly taken his watch from his wrist and slipped it into her wristlet. Esme then placed her hand in Duke’s, then put his other on her back before placing her hand on his shoulder. “Before you ask. Yes, I’m alright.” she said after they started dancing again. “I’m just tired of dealing with these jackasses.” A moment passed, and Esme’s hand slid from Duke’s shoulder to his chest as she rested her forehead against his shoulder, inhaling deeply through her nose and slowly letting it out her mouth to calm and collect herself.

Esme needed to calm herself. She couldn’t let her anger get the better of her. She had to get a handle on her emotions, and the best way for her to do that in such a crowded room was to focus on someone neutral or happy or leave the room entirely, but she didn’t want to do that until Dean had made it back from getting the necklace they were after. So, her best option was to focus on Duke’s cheerful positivity, which he seemed to have an endless supply of. Once Dean returned, she could see them going out on the terrace with a drink and some of those chocolate-covered strawberries she had seen earlier. Esme wouldn’t be surprised if Duke chalked her actions up to low blood sugar since she hadn’t eaten much that day. It almost felt like low blood sugar when she overused her empathy or became overwhelmed by it. “Sorry…. I soured the mood a bit.” Esme said, lifting her head from his shoulder with a sigh. “We should be having fun, not letting these rich pompous assholes get to us.”