In this case, the fall might be a very literal one, and was sure to take place publicly.
Mrs. Williams opened the manual to display the instructions she wanted. The lines on the page looked like an elegant pile of scribbles drawn by a five-year-old trying to fit every geometric shape they’d ever learned onto one page. As Silas took the booklet from her outstretched hands and flipped through the next pages, he saw that the First Set consisted of six distinct dances, each with its own steps.
Hell and damnation.
Mrs. Williams called out instructions as they began their practice, which helped a little, although her comments about the placementof the other dancers were rather distracting. “The head couples will dance for the first thirty-two bars. You’ll likely be one of the side couples, so you can repeat everything they do afterward.”
Miss Williams, standing opposite him patiently, seemed almost as lost as Silas. “This would be easier with music.”
Her mother’s emphatic “one-two-three-four” was more of a distraction than a help.
“We’ll ask Jane to play for us next time,” Mrs. Williams conceded. “She was engaged today.Righthand to the opposite lady here, Mr. Corbyn, then left hand back to your own partner.”
“Thereisno opposite lady,” he muttered as he passed an invisible phantom and extended his hand back to Miss Williams. She took it so tentatively that he could only conclude she’d lost all trust in him. She’d been behaving differently ever since that kiss. Where she used to let her hands linger on his body when she took his arm, now she pulled away quickly. As if she was afraid that Silas might pounce on her the instant she let her guard down.
The worst part was she might be right. When Hannah had taken his wrists into her hands to help position him earlier, Silas felt a jolt of…something. He’d grown uncomfortably aware of each touch, no matter how innocent.
It made it damnably difficult to focus on the steps.
When he accidentally turned left instead of right on the two-hand turn, Mrs. Williams decided she’d had enough. “No, Mr. Corbyn! It’s alwaysclockwise, remember?”
“No one in their right mind could remember all of this,” he ground out.
“Why don’t we finish with a waltz?” Miss Williams suggested. “It will be easier for him.”
Silas bristled at the suggestion that he needed somethingeasier, even if he was in no position to argue. Mrs. Williams seemed to recognize the urgency of their situation too.
“Very well.” She was assessing him with something like despair. “You will only need the traveling step and the pivot for this. You stride forward for the first three beats, leading with your left. After that, Hannah will stride forward while you pivot—put your right foot back and then two small steps—until you’ve made a circle and you start again.”
Miss Williams placed her hand upon Silas’s shoulder, then clasped his left hand lightly in hers. He hesitated a moment, then set his right hand on the small of her back. They weren’t exactly pressed together, but the distance between them was narrow enough that it felt decidedly more intimate.
He could see her pulse at the hollow of her throat. Imagine how soft her skin would be. Silas tried to focus on the steps instead of staring. Was that scent of roses from her soap, or did she put little flowers in her wardrobes? It was soothing. He fought the urge to pull her closer and inhale deeply.
Get ahold of yourself.
“One-two-three,one-two-three.” Mrs. Williams clapped her hands on the first beat for emphasis, watching their footwork critically as Silas turned Miss Williams around the room in controlled circles.
This one was easier than the quadrille, for there was nothing much to remember. Once he got used to the rhythm, he managed it without stepping on her toes.
Iwillbe able to dance with her.
The triumph was a small one, by any reasonable standard. He’d learned one dance, and the simplest one, at that. It was hardly exceptional. But Silas couldn’t deny that it meant something to him.
He felt…happy.
The understanding nearly made him miss his step, but he caught himself in time. When was the last time he’d been happy? Monthsago, certainly. Before he’d ruined his naval career. Before his father had cast him out like a criminal.
Somehow, being near Miss Williams made him forget all that for a while.
He studied her face as they continued to spin together. Her cheeks were flushed from exertion and her dark eyes sparkled. He wished he could kiss her again, if only they’d been alone. Last time hadn’t been long enough.
Miss Williams looked at him with a touching blend of longing and trepidation. It felt good to have someone look at him that way.
Whatever their differences, she felt something for him. A physical attraction that came through in every touch. Silas might not be her equal in class, education, or good breeding, but he held that one advantage. As they fell into an easy rhythm, there was a sense ofrightnessto it he couldn’t explain.
Silas let his eyes roam over her, imagining what it would be like if they were lovers instead of accomplices. Miss Williams might not have the confidence he was used to, but she had a rebellious spark. Enough fire to her that things might get interesting, once she learned what she was doing. And surrounding it all, there was a gentleness to her. A soothing quality that called to him.
But if he seduced this woman, there would be no going back. Silas would have to make their engagement a real one. They both knew that was impossible. Miss Williams didn’t want a husband; she wanted an accomplice in deceit and perhaps as an occasional distraction. And her mother would never allow the match if she knew that Silas was secretly planning to use his three hundred pounds to fund a brewery instead of buying a commission.
