4th Time Lucky

I Was Never Yours

Duke Edgar Finneas Gordon Albrecht did not announce his arrival. He strode into the room with Katherine's hand tucked into his elbow. With impeccable posture and a measured pace, he walked directly to the dance floor and held up one hand in a small signal to the band, who abruptly changed the song to a waltz.

Katherine wasn't really great at dancing, even though she had been taught. She rarely had the opportunity to practice. She tried to remember what it was like to dance with him at Lady Dufresne's ball, but the multiple shocks of that night washed the simple dancing away.

Here, it was not simple. Not that the dance itself was complicated - it was the staring that made it hard.

When they entered the room, their matching colors and close proximity announced their intent to be seen as a couple, and people stared. As they walked through the room, heads turned and snapped to attention. Some tried to greet Edgar, but he barely acknowledged the attention. As they got further into the room, people stared rather than welcomed him. At the edge of the dance floor the waiting guests and clusters of young women parted. He gathered her close and put his hand intimately low on her waist. Anyone who wasn't watching then, well, they stared as well.

Without a single word, Edgar had announced she was his.

Katherine focused on placing her feet correctly even though the watchful eyes made the back of her neck prickle and her stomach sour. She did not look like she was enjoying herself.

Edgar expertly led them in the dance. He did so on auto-pilot, scanning the room for key players as they spun to the measured 3/4 beat. The other dancers on the floor gave them a little more space, likely so they could better peek at the couple.

As a result, Edgar had a full view as his mother turned a particular shade of purple, and Emily collapsed into a nearby chair. He saw his investors hastily whisper to each other, trying to figure out how to profit off a potential engagement. His butler Francis was the only one with a satisfied smile. Others were in shock.

Was his engagement to Emily such a given?

Since his mother organized the ball, likely most of these people were her friends.

After each turn, he saw his mother get closer and closer, rage rippling off her. He was late, and his first dance was with the wrong woman.

The dance ended, and he placed Katherine's hand securely back on his arm, holding it in place with his free hand. He moved to the nearest edge of the dance floor, where the crowd warmed slightly and offered simple greetings. He didn't see any of his friends.

It was hard to miss his mother, storming through the tables.

Katherine was unreadably stoic, and ever so slightly shaking. Her hand squeezed his bicep. He tried to smile at her, to give her confidence, but her eyes had the look of a deer staring in the direction of a hunter.

Duchess Marianne Albrecht swept around the last table with posture so perfect it could make marble cry. Her chin was in the air, and her rage had settled into an appropriate amount of color on her cheeks.

"Edgar, this is an embarrassment. You should be ashamed."

"It's a ball, and we danced. That's hardly an embarrassment, mother," Edgar replied calmly.

"Do you need me to explain it to you? This is our family's ball, and you were late. Emily worked so hard to help prepare today, and you didn't acknowledge her first, of the ladies. You haven't greeted me to apologize for your tardiness. And then, without speaking to anyone, you've immediately given the first dance to... to..." Marianne's eyes glanced at Katherine and her face shriveled as if in the presence of human waste. "To this," she finished. "I know attending balls isn't your favourite thing, but you know how important these things are."