Seth felt as if he had been knocked over by the whole interaction. He was not entirely sure what his eventual reunion with Oliver might entail, but it was certainly not this. The effortless camaraderie, it was as if the years had folded into nothingness.
Seth shook his hand and then let him go, staring after Oliver in wonder.
“Are you all right?” Charity asked, her hand tightening on his arm. The tender way in which she proposed the question showed that she knew something was wrong from just in the way his body had stiffened.
“Always so perceptive, my dear.”
“What is wrong? That was your old friend, Oliver, was it not? He seemed very pleased to see you.”
“I know.” Seth smiled to himself, still feeling slightly strange and awkward. “It has just been so long since we had last seen one another. Our lives took different paths, and I feared what it might be like if we were ever re-acquainted. I guess I’m simply… startled. Struggling to recover myself. He regarded me as if we had never been away from one another.” He sighed deeply, controlling his breathing as he watched the retreating figure of Oliver.
He understood, for the first time, just how much he had missed Oliver’s company this past decade. Seth had been so entwined in his plot for vengeance, that he had forgotten how the simple things in life felt.
“The mark of a true friend, is it not?” Charity tapped his arm, waiting patiently for his answer.
“Yes, yes I suppose it is.” Seth shook his head, angered at himself all of a sudden. “I should not have allowed our friendship to fade as much as I have done.”
“Do not dwell on what’s behind us, look to the future and all it might bring now,” Charity chimed with eagerness. “Perhaps, now that you have been re-acquainted, you could renew the friendship.”
“Perhaps. But for now, there is… something else occupying my mind.” Seth moved his hand intimately to her waist. The orchestra had begun a waltz and an idea had sparked in his mind. If Charity had never attended a ball before, then shecertainly had never danced at one. “PerhapsI could make you smile again first.”
In eager anticipation to see her reaction, he guided her towards the dance floor.
CHAPTER 16
Charity was quite light headed by the night’s end. She had indulged in a drink of champagne, though that was not the reason for her dazedness now.
She was just wholly and truly… happy.
All three of her dances were shared with Seth, and due to the intimate nature of their hold, it meant it hardly mattered if she could not see where she put her feet, for her trust was completely placed in his.
More than once did he describe to her what the décor was like, and what others had busied themselves with in the ballroom. They entertained themselves with silent whispers of all they wished to experience together after tonight, all while basking in the anonymity they managed to uphold in each other’s arms.
“Ah, true to his word, here he comes.” Seth broke off one of his descriptions as someone approached.
“Who?”
“It is Oliver again,” he said hurriedly in her ear as he passed her another glass. “I believe he intends to introduce his wife.”
“You do not know?” Charity asked in surprise.
“Well, it is a qualified assumption based on the lady who was waving at him earlier.”
“Seth… are you telling me you did not attend this man’s wedding?” Charity’s voice had grown nervous, almost tight.
He did not answer her at first, and that silence spoke volumes. Her fingers squeezed around his arm.
“Seth?” she repeated.
“I know.” His voice had grown nearer, closer to her. She felt intimate with him, quite alone despite the bustle of the room. “I should have been there, but I was not. At the time, there was so much going on.”
“You’re hurting,” Charity guessed once more at what he was feeling, but Seth fell silent. For a minute, they stood there together, the only sound for Charity, his breathing. Then he broke that silence.
“They’re here.”
Charity held her tongue. She already had a myriad of questions she kept longing to ask Seth, such as those pertaining to all the stories Miss Braithwaite had spoken of, and now there were more. Even if Seth had retreated from society these last several years, was that any reason not to attend an old friend’s wedding?
Sometime soon, she would have to find the opportunity to ask Seth these questions.
