She gave her father a hopeful look, and he chuckled. “I think we can make that happen,” he said. “Although my wife may wish to claim the second dance.”
“She can have the first if she wants,” Ella said, “but I want you to be my first dance partner. If I’m going to be thrown to the wolves, I should like to appear with you first.”
“We should start dance lessons,” Regina said as she hurried back into the room and made her way to the duke’s side. “Have you discussed it without me?”
“No, darling,” he said with a smile, kissing her on the forehead. “I knew you would want to be part of that discussion.”
“You’re quite right,” she said. “Now, Ella dear, do you have any dancing experience?”
Ella thought back to the afternoon at Eldenwilde when Beatrice had forced Dietrich to practice with her.
“A little,” she admitted, “but not enough to have any substantial knowledge.”
“We will start there,” her stepmother said with a nod. “I don’t suppose there are any teachers in the area?”
“Beatrice tried to teach me with Dietrich’s help,” Ella said.
“That is a good idea,” Regina declared. She opened the door and stuck her head out. “Would you fetch Dietrich from the stables for me?” she asked someone who must have been walking past.
“Oh no,” Ella began, hoping to head her off, but she had already closed the door. “I don’t need Dietrich to learn.”
“He will be a good partner for you while Alaric and I demonstrate,” the duchess said, smiling at her husband.
Ella chewed on her lower lip. How could she explain that Dietrich wanted nothing to do with her now and perhaps wouldn’t want anything to do with her for the foreseeable future?
“I do hope that he knows how to waltz,” Regina was saying to her father.
Ella sank down into her chair. She would love to dance with Dietrich again.
The question was, would he tell her father no—or would he give in and join her?
Chapter nineteen
Dietrich
As Dietrich approached the duke’s study, something in the back of his mind said this was not an ordinary meeting.
He pushed the feeling down. Whether it was or wasn’t, there was nothing he could do about it until he got there, even if he was feeling a little twitchy.
He didn’t like feeling twitchy.
But he couldn’t ignore a summons from the duchess, so it didn’t matter how he was feeling. He had to go.
As he approached, he could hear the gentle laughter of the duchess, and he smiled. Perhaps this was nothing serious—the duchess didn’t seem to be unreasonable.
He knocked, ignoring the portrait next to the door with blue eyes waiting to ensnare him.
The door opened and the duchess waited on the other side, a bright smile on her face. “Oh, Dietrich, I’m so glad you’re here. We need your help.”
“Of course, my lady,” Dietrich said with a smile. “Anything for the duchess.”
But then he turned the corner and saw Ella sitting there, and the feeling from earlier suddenly made sense.
It was a trap.
“Hello,” she said quietly.
“We need dancing lessons,” the duchess explained, gesturing to Ella. “She said that you and Beatrice were helping her earlier. So I thought, since you already know how to teach her, you wouldn’t mind helping, as the duke and I help demonstrate a few more dances.”
