She glanced over his shoulder and caught sight of Dietrich, who was staring at her with a gaze so intense that she might have thought he was mad at her—if she didn’t know better. If she didn’t know he was doing his best to hide the fact that he hated to see her dancing with another man.
“It’s a pleasure to meet you, Percival.” She vaguely remembered the name. Had there been another Percival at the commoners’ ball?
There had been too many names.
“I’m very glad to get to know you,” he said as he twirled her around the room.
Ella caught sight of her father and stepmother, beaming proudly as they watched.
It felt almost as if they were waiting for her to choose him and didn’t know whether or not they ought to start celebrating now or wait.
But as she twirled with the man she was supposed to marry, Ella felt nothing but regret. She felt nothing but regret that she was dancing with someone other than the man who had stolen her heart.
She could not marry this man now.
She had to tell her father. Hopefully Percival would be agreeable to breaking their betrothal, because if he wasn’t, she didn’t know what she would do.
And then, she had to find Dietrich.
Chapter twenty-five
Dietrich
Dietrich watched as Ella was claimed to dance by many young gentlemen, all of whom seemed to have more to offer her than he did. It seemed unfair that Beatrice had invited him to the ball, knowing he would be alone in his inability to provide for Ella as a duchess deserved, while also being the only one who loved her.
Not that her father didn’t love her.
But he alone knew Ella, the way she truly was. No one else in this room knew the way she snorted when she laughed, or how her nose crinkled when she thought of something she didn’t like. None of them knew how to make her laugh the way he did, and none of these simpering young lords knew how to make Ella happy for the rest of her life.
None of them knew what it felt like to kiss her.
So the fact that Beatrice had practically forced him to come by calling in a favor felt very unfair indeed.
Beatrice began speaking to one of her acquaintances, and Dietrich excused himself to fetch them both some punch. He didn’t need to stand there looking like an uneducated fool while her husband was away—if her husband was truly gone.
He still wasn’t sure whether she was messing with him or not. Not that it mattered. She had called in a favor, and he would never say no to Beatrice, and she knew it too.
This ball was so much worse than the first one. At least at the first ball, he had been surrounded by people he knew—his mother, his coworkers, and the townspeople. At this ball, he was surrounded by lords and ladies who all thought they were better than him, even if they didn’t know that they thought that.
Beatrice had done a good job, he supposed, of dressing him up to fit the part. But the mask was itchy, and his coat was stiff, and all he wanted was to tear them off, steal Ella away, and never come back.
As he approached the punch table, maneuvering around large skirts and giggling women, he couldn’t help overhearing one of the young lords exclaim loudly, “No one else here has a chance. I’ve been betrothed to her since we were children. If there’s anyone here she’s going to marry, it should be me.”
Dietrich’s blood froze in his veins. Surely, he was not talking about Ella.
If she was already betrothed, why hold a ball?
One of the young lord’s companions asked the same question.
“Something about letting her meet me before making her final decision,” the lord responded. “I don’t know why she would say no to me. I’m handsome and can offer her a good life, and we all heard the rumors that she wasn’t brought up to be nobility. I’m sure she realizes marrying me is the smart choice.”
Dietrich stalked away without getting any punch, making his way to the closest servant’s door and barging through, ripping off his mask, and sinking to the floor against the wall.
No matter how hard he tried, he couldn’t get enough air to fill his lungs.
She was betrothed, and no one had told him.
Why hadn’t they told him? Did Beatrice know? She couldn’t have, because she would have told him. She wouldn’t have brought him to this ball if she knew Ella was engaged.
