The Duke cleared his throat. “Thank you again, Emery,” he said. “I know that things haven’t always been easy between us, but I want you to know that I respect how much you care about my family.”
She smiled, and the sadness melted away as she gazed up into his soft, kind eyes. “Our family,” she corrected. “Leah is part ofourfamily now. And I’d do anything for her--for all your sisters.”
The Duke opened his mouth to speak, but before he could, the door to the ballroom opened, and Leah, Eve, and the dancing instructor spilled in. All three of them came to a halt when they saw Emery standing with a bouquet of flowers clutched to her chest, the Duke standing in front of her.
“Oh, hello,” Leah said, smiling slightly. “I keep walking in on you two, don’t I?”
“No,” the Duke said, flushing slightly. It was a ridiculous thing to say, considering the fact Leahhadwalked in on them twice this week, but Emery understood the instinct. She, too, felt embarrassed to be caught alone with her husband in such intimate moments, even though there was nothing untowardabout it. “That is to say… We are supposed to be here. You’re late!”
“Did you get Emery flowers?” Eve asked as Leah held a hand to her mouth to hide her giggle. “That was very kind of you!”
“Well, she has been invaluable in preparing Leah for her upcoming Season,” the Duke said stiffly. “I wanted to thank her for that.”
“And that was very kind of you,” Emery said quickly, curtsying to her husband. “Thank you for your generosity, Your Grace.”
He bowed back. “Well, I have things to do,” he said, clearing his throat again. “I shall leave you ladies to the dancing lesson.”
“You’re not staying?” Emery asked, a bit surprised. She’d been under the impression that he was in charge of all her etiquette lessons.
“I really do have a lot to prepare before we leave tomorrow,’ he said. “But I hope you enjoy the lesson.”
She watched him go with a mixture of regret and relief. As much as she was enjoying being in his presence recently, there was no way she wanted him to see her make a fool of herself dancing.
The dancing instructor wasted no time getting them set up into the correct positions.
“We will be starting with the waltz,” he told them. “It’s a rather newer addition to our repertoire, but I believe all of you are familiar with it.”
“Yes,” Emery said, nodding enthusiastically. Her parents had not allowed her to learn the waltz, thinking it was far too risqué and modern for a young lady to learn, so she had taught it to herself with the help of Georgina and Henry. It was the most romantic dance of all those she’d learned, requiring the partners to hold each other close, and she had always imagined dancing it someday with the man who loved her.
Trying to push away the gloomy thought that she now would never get to live out this fantasy, she took her place on the floor with Leah as her partner while Eve sat down at the piano to play a waltz for them.
The music began, and Emery and Leah began to dance, Emery taking the role of the man. Within a few seconds, however, the dancing master was yelling at them to stop.
“Is that what you call a waltz?” he asked, staring with astonishment at Emery. “I wouldn’t even call that dancing!”
“Er…” Emery felt her face flush, and she released Leah’s hands. “I’m sorry, I’ve never formally danced this, only ever with my friends in my parents’ house.”
“Yes, I can tell,” he said, sniffing again. “You are to move as if your partner is an extension of your own arms. Not as if they are a statue that you are trying to rip from the ground.”
Emery’s stomach churned with shame, and she dropped her eyes. “I’m s-sorry,” she murmured.
“Again!” the dancing instructor shouted, and Emery forced herself to take Leah’s arms again.
“Don’t worry about him,” Leah murmured, giving her a reassuring smile. “He’s hard on everyone.”
“I hope so,” Emery whispered back. “I’m not exactly confident in my da--”
“No talking!” the dancing instructor screeched, and Emery fell silent. Usually, in situations such as these, she wouldn’t hesitate to yell back at a man criticizing her and put him in his place. But she felt thrown from the flowers the Duke had given to her, and the moment of vulnerability and intimacy that had passed between them after. It made her feel tender and emotional, and she didn’t have it in her to fight back against the dancing instructor. Not to mention that she felt bad that she wasn’t better at dancing. It brought up many old insecurities about how she’d been denied a normal life of going to balls and parties.
“Your form and footing are all wrong!” The dancing instructor interrupted again after a few moments. “Let me show you.”
He took over for Leah, but now that Emery was in the women’s position, no longer leading, she got confused again, and even though she knew this part better, she tripped over her feet.
The instructor didn’t hesitate to tell her what she was doing wrong, and by the time he released her and let her dance again with Leah, he was shaking his head. “I might as well tell the Duke that you’re a hopeless case.”
Emery felt tears come to her eyes, and she had to look away from Leah so that she didn’t see them. This caused her to make another mistake, and the dancing instructor to start yelling at her again.
By the end of an hour of dancing, Emery was exhausted, frustrated with herself, humiliated, and ready to quit.
