Society's Expectations & Too Many Complications {Finalist}

Chapter 21

Warm hands held me and a pair of brown eyes entrapped my own. This dance was energetic, though I was so lost inside my mind, I could not tell you what it was, just that my body had been so schooled in the matter that they moved along dutifully so that my mind could be bewitched by Sebastian Darrows.

"I thought a dance would improve your disposition," Sebastian laughed.

"Whose to say my disposition was not improved before?" I asked him, my hands now against his as we turned sedately in a circle, before we started the main part.

"You were greatly saddened," he remarked. "At the loss of another suitor, I believe."

"Well, as the last one is Pig," I grumbled.

"Not so," Sebastian disagreed. The music drew us apart and we changed places, clapping hands. "I think that William will reappear again."

"Do you now?" I asked him cynically. "Why may that be?"

"Because," he replied. "Who could lose the chance of wedding a maiden such as you?"

I blushed and turned my eyes away for the moment. His next words swiftly brought them back, the dance also prompting me to make sure I did not bash into others.

"Besides, your future husband will get to see if you really eat small children for breakfast," my friend teased. "I know I would love to see."

Did he mean he would love to see my eating habits, I thought jumpily. Or that he wishes to be my husband?

"William, in fact, talked to me tonight," I said edgily. "He said that he would claim me."

"Did you tell him you were impatient?" Sebastian laughed.

"Not quite," I responded. "Though... I would tell him one thing."

"What may that be?" Sebastian breathed.

"That I will be waiting at Canterbury Park," I said. "When I see him again, I will pass this news onto him. But it is most important he should be there."

"Is that so? If I see the masked man hanging around, I will be sure to pass the message along."

I laughed at that idea.

We walked around each other, each step slow and languid, until we were at our original position. "Tell me more about this gentleman," Sebastian asked of me.

"Fencing talent," I replied. "Reads novels, particularly Romeo and Juliet. Brown hair, though I never quite see the colour of his eyes."

"Does it sound familiar at all?" Sebastian asked thoughtfully. "There are not many men like that, I would think."

"No, I agree," I mused.

The music began to wind down, until we were facing each other once again. I felt a little sad at the prospect of an end, though I was sure it was simply because it was nice to have a dance once in a while.

"May I have a dance, Miss Taylor?" A smooth voice interrupted my thoughts.

I turned and stiffened as I saw who was interested. Zachariah Hartley stood before me, clad in his elegant pressed clothes.

"I am tired," I refused him, not even bothering with politeness.

"You seemed very energetic moments before," he observed, his blue eyes boring into mine. "Strange that you would succumb to fatigue so quickly."

"I believe that Miss Taylor refused your offer," Sebastian cut in. "That is a hint for you to leave us."

"Leave us?" Zachariah Hartley laughed. "Interesting. I did not know you had another suitor."