“Did I dance with him?”
“You did,” the duke said.
“And you won’t tell me who he was?” she asked.
Her father smiled. “No. I do not wish to cloud your opinions. I want you to think about your future and what you see for yourself, before we share who he was at the next ball.”
Ella sighed. “If you say so.” She let out a little grin. “I suppose I can’t change your mind.”
“No,” her father said with a smile. “But I appreciate the perseverance.”
Ella smiled as her father leaned over to give her a kiss on the forehead before standing. “Thank you for tonight,” he said. “It was wonderful to share a dance with you.”
“Yes, it was,” she said, as he turned and walked to the door.
“I love you,” he said.
Ella choked up, the words threatening to stick in her throat.
“I love you too, Father,” she said quietly. She could hardly believe she was getting to say it to her father after all those years.
“Good night,” he said, before turning to leave the room.
“Good night,” Ella said, taking a deep breath and staring up at her ceiling.
She would have to make a decision about her future without knowing who the other man was.
As much as she wanted to follow the path her father had laid out for her, she didn’t want to ignore her heart. But it didn’t matter if she wanted a future with Dietrich if he wanted nothing to do with her—and she had no way of knowing if he would accept her or not.
But after this evening…she was inclined to think he wouldn’t.
She’d been so excited to ask him to dance, but instead of looking happy to dance with her, Dietrich had looked trapped by her question. Instead of feeling that he wanted to dance with her, she’d been praying he wouldn’t say no in front of everyone in the ballroom.
It had been magical once he’d taken her in his arms. Their dance had brought back all the feelings from before, and she’d been tempted to try to kiss him again.
But then he’d run away.
Every other dance that night had left her looking around the room for Dietrich. He was the only person she wanted to dance with—and if he didn’t want her, what was she going to do?
Chapter twenty-three
Dietrich
The morning of the second ball dawned bright and early.
Dietrich was already tired. He’d been working more than usual to prepare the stables and pastures for double the number of horses they would usually house.
Fortunately, the nights were mild, and their outdoor shelters were sufficient to house the horses. But the logistics of feeding and managing that many horses was a lot, and he was ready for it to be over—and it hadn’t even started yet.
“I was wondering if you’d be out here,” a familiar voice said, and he turned to see Beatrice smiling up at him from the other side of the fence. She was resting her arms against it and seemed far too chipper for someone who had come to visit him.
“What do you want, Beatrice?” he asked.
“I need a favor,” she said.
Dietrich didn’t look at her. It had to be somehow related to the ball, and he wanted nothing to do with it.
It was bad enough that he had to deal with all the horses; he was not playing whatever game Beatrice decided she wanted.
