There was that.
Still.
“I am going to claim a dance,” Matthew announced.But he also did not move.
Sebastian eyed him curiously.“Are you?”
“Yes.”Still, he did not move.
“Matthew.”
“Yes?”
“Where is your coin?”
Matthew took in a deep breath and sighed it out.Gripping the edge of the banister with both hands, he rocked forward slightly on the balls of his feet and lowered back down to his heels as he rolled his head around his neck before answering.
“I lost it.”Just saying the words aloud struck him like a lightning bolt to the chest.
He could not look at Sebastian.Did not want to see the mockery in his friend’s face or the judgment.Whatever might be there.He rocked back and forth between his toes and his heels, his jaw clenched so hard, he could hear his teeth grinding.
After a long moment of silence, Sebastian’s hand landed on Matthew’s shoulder, strangely and unexpectedly comforting.
“Where did you lose it?”
Out of all of Matthew’s friends, Sebastian was not the one he would have expected sympathy from over the loss of his coin, yet he could hear it in Sebastian’s voice.
“Under my blasted armoire.Just before coming here.”Matthew shook his head as his throat clogged again.Grief?Panic?Some combination of the two?“I… I do not know what to do without it.”
“And yet you got here without it.You came in the door without it.You acquitted yourself admirably and are currently giving your wife the space Society demands, even though I can see it irks you.”Sebastian’s voice was gentle.Almost big brotherly.Then again, he had a younger sister.Matthew wondered if this was how he was with Tiffany.“You came up to the balcony without it.And now you know you want to dance with your wife.So go dance with her.”
“What if it is the wrong decision?”
“Then you will deal with that when it happens.Just like the rest of us mere mortals.Now you will know what it feels like for everyone else.”A bit of gentle teasing had slid into Sebastian’s voice, but Matthew did not mind.“Though, even without your coin, you are still the Lord of Luck.”
That was… true enough.
Rolling his shoulders back, Matthew straightened and released the banister so he could tug his jacket into place.Hewasthe Lord of Luck.
And he had not considered that everyone else did not have the benefit of his luck, nor his coin, to make their own decisions.If they made the wrong one, they had to do exactly what Sebastian said… deal with it when it happened.And only with the consequences because his father was dead and could not dole out anything additional.
“I am going to go dance with my wife.”He sounded far surer of himself than he felt, but that would have to do.
“Enjoy your dance.”Sebastian smiled at him, then turned back to look out over the assembled guests, his lips turning back to a frown.Probably because he was thinking about his own wifely prospects.
Matthew did not envy him.Nor could he think of any way to assist him at the moment.He clapped Sebastian on the shoulder, in a bolstering manner, then turned away.
He was going to dance with his wife.
Johanna
Extremely grateful for Lady Astrid’s stalwart friendship and Rose’s steady companionship, Johanna did her best not to show the strain as the gentlemen thronged about them flattered and flirted.None of them seemed particularly serious, thankfully, yet she had to be on her toes to give them a good impression, regardless.
Matthew had gone to join the gentlemen almost as soon as they’d entered.Then Lady Stark had joined her own circle ofgrande dames, after giving Johanna over to Lady Astrid’s care.Johanna felt rather adrift, but Lady Astrid’ssotto voceremarks helped.
Apparently, gentlemen could not dance too much attendance on their wives.Even newlyweds.Lady Stark was signaling that she trusted Johanna to acquit herself well without her.But she’d also ensured that Johanna was left with an ally, for which she was grateful.
“I’ll show you the ropes,” Lady Astrid had murmured, just before the curious gentlemen descended.“Remember, you are a duchess now.There is very little you do that we cannot explain away, one way or another.”
