Page 8 of If the Shoe Fits

"You could say that." A smirk lifted the side of his lips, making me wonder what it was all about. I felt a little like I was missing some kind of joke.

I let it drop. I had no interest in court gossip. There was no need for it in the life I lived.

We danced the rest of the steps in silence and I enjoyed the skill and grace with which he did so. It had been a long time since I'd been to a proper function and I'd forgotten the advantages of dancing with someone else who'd learned from an early age.

A lot of people thought this kind of event and education was a thing of the past, but in the private school rooms and parties, it was the norm.

The music ended and the two of us stepped apart. We bowed to one another.

"Thank you for the dance, Lady Parker. I look forward to seeing more of you at Court."

"And you," I replied politely, though I doubted I'd be returning after this.

I rose from my bow, only just noticing then that my stepmother was just across from me. I panicked slightly, not wanting to move too quickly and draw attention to myself, but also not wanting to stay where she could spot me so easily. I wasn't one to play with fire unless I had to.

"You appear to be missing a dance partner," a smooth male voice came from behind me.

I turned as gracefully as I could and took in the man looking at me with a slight edge of hunger in his eyes.

It was him.

The man I was here for.

Without thinking about it, I dipped another bow and held out my arms for him to take. Within seconds, he took up my offer and drew me into the steps of another dance.

He moved with such amazing grace that I had to assume he was as high born as I was. Unless he was a dancer anyway. But given his attire, I doubted that. His suit matched Vincent's perfectly with one exception. His sash was purple rather than red.

He didn't say a word as we danced, and neither did I. We didn't need to, there was something magical about this that transcended words and became something else. It felt to me like that final moment in a fairy tale. It was certainly magical in a way that had nothing to do with weddings and everything to do with the man whose arms I danced in.

The song ended, and he instantly tugged me into the next one, not letting go and not asking me if he could. I leaned into him, letting our bodies brush against each other. He didn't pull back at all, implying he really was okay with what I was doing. Maybe he found me just as intriguing as I found him. But I doubted it. I was nothing special, while he was...special. Or more than special. It was hard to be able to put words to it, but there was something pulling me towards him and making me not want to ignore him.

I should really ask him for his name.