Under the Roses

Chapter 8

A/N: External Link is the coronation ceremony outfit (if you're on the app just message and I'll send it to you) Xx  

"Keep your back straight. Relax your fingers. Drop your arm. Stop looking down." That's essentially how my dance lesson went with Louis, the whole hour-and-a-half. The flow of corrections had somewhat slowed, and though he was definitely a perfectionist, I knew that all the trouble was going to be worth it. Better to deal with the embarrassment in front of one duke instead of a whole room of nobles, after all. So I simply hid the pain, picked up my skirt again, and kept smiling.

"You still look at your feet," Louis said after we had stopped. His expression was unreadable. "The ball is tomorrow, and you're expected to dance effortlessly." Biting my lip, I nodded, feeling the stress ball up in me again.

"Do you think we can try that minuet again? I want to make sure that I'm counting each step the same." To my surprise, his eyebrows rose slightly at my request, then he gave a tiny smile.

"Of course." He offered out his hand to me, and I took it. One two three, one two three: as the music went on, I transitioned to just saying it in my head instead of mouthing it. Keeping his last comment in mind, I forced myself to keep my face level the entire time, leaving me to stare at the bottom half of Louis' face. Which, as it turned out, I got a very good look at when my heels met the hem of my dress and I pitched forward into him. His hand quickly came up to catch me before I almost knocked him over.

"Sorry! I'm sorry!" I just couldn't find a safe place to put my feet, and his narrowed eyes and critical look as he released my arm weren't helping my already-rocketing stress level. His silence was even worse; it was as if he knew that's what made me want to just combust into flames. Well, my cheeks were already halfway there. All of a sudden, I found myself having to blink away tears of frustration. No, I can't lose it here, not when everyone is counting on me! Taking a shaky-but-deep breath to compose myself, I risked looking at Louis as I managed a calmer apology. His face didn't change as he said, "It's fine."

But he didn't make a move to resume the dance, and I waited a few seconds to see if he would. "Um, shall we . . . continue?"

His cold tone was like a slap to the face. "I see no need to." Blinking, I struggled to draw the meaning from his words, but he turned and left the ballroom, leaving me standing there in the middle. Though I was certain that that was a silent dismissal, I couldn't bring it in me to leave the room and face Giles, who would surely sense the disruption from my schedule. Collapsing into the nearby chair, I faced another onslaught of tears. I just had to let my guard drop the day before the ceremony, and in front of Louis, of all people!

A few had slipped through and I'd just swiped them away when I heard footsteps entering the room. They stopped right in front of me, and I sighed, hoping my eyes hadn't turned red yet.

"Listen Giles, it was my fault and I didn't mean to trip—"

"Here." The voice was definitely not Giles. I looked up to see a silver tray, my unfortunately-pink nose reflected on the surface, holding a teacup filled with light brown liquid. My eyes trailed upwards, going from the arm that held the tray, to the blue coat and the impassive face, to the bright blue eyes that defined his alabaster skin.

"What is it?" I asked, hesitantly reaching out for the cup. He answered as I tipped it into my mouth a bit.

"Earl Grey tea with lavender." The tenseness in me was instantly replaced with a sort of warmth that settled in me, wrapping around my muscles and clearing my head.