Headmistress Blackiston re-arranged our order and led us to the Great Hall. Annalisa led the line as a member of the House of Hyton, but the rest of us followed behind her in order of last name. Brietta Elvar was right behind Annalisa, then Camille Meadowshyre, then Dinah Pebblebrooke, andfinally me.
All the girls’ differences in stature became glaringly obvious from my spot in the back of the line. Brietta was so tall and broad-shouldered that she completely obscured Annalisa. Camille was taller than Dinah, but only barely, and the top of Camille’s head did not even reachBrietta’s shoulder.
The order was not going to flatter me—the suitors would see classically beautiful Annalisa first, then gorgeous and tall Brietta, Dinah and Camille with respectable heights and pleasant faces would follow, and then they would have to see me, thetiny troll.
We reached the double-doors to the Great Hall. A school guard dressed in white held each door handle, ready to present the first bride. The suitors were already waiting for us like a pack ofhungry wolves.
Headmistress Blackiston gave us a soft smile. “It is time, ladies. You will do well.” She noticed Brietta’s pallor and added “Allof you willdo well.”
A loud male voice announced the first bride from the other side of the door. “Lady Annalisa Ilsa Hyton, youngest daughter of the Noble Houseof Hyton!”
The doors swung open into the Great Hall. Annalisa stepped forward and the doors shut behind her like a pairof jaws.
The announcer boomed Brietta’s full name and she disappeared through the doors. Then Camille.Then Dinah.
My heart pounded and I fought a hard lump in my throat as I tried to swallow. Seven years of secret letters and a fabricated romance all came down to the moment I enteredthe ball.
Derrick had tolove me.
“Miss Serafina Helia Ravenwood, last daughter of the Houseof Ravenwood!”
The doors opened and my footsteps clicked on the stone tile. Each year, the girls of Ashmore push away the dining tables and decorate the Great Hall for the Suitors’ Ball while the Seniors dress. Because many of the girls were putting together a gown for Brietta, the hall was barely decorated.
Even though the walls and arched windows were bare, bouquets of pink and purple flowers from the school garden filled the hall with a sweet aroma. Stars twinkled through the windows. Flames danced from the iron chandeliersand candelabras.
I found the line of four suitors amid the swirl of fire and starlight. Three suitors wore the Heaston formal uniform—all black with white trim. One strong, blonde suitor wore the blue military uniform and could be none other than Julietta’s brother, Grigory. Each suitor wore a cape of their House colors over their uniforms and only a single heartbeat passed before I found the man in the HytonBlue cape.
Derrick’s deep blue eyes met mine and my heart stopped. He had grown so much since I saw him last, making him taller than any of the other suitors. His freckles had faded and he was no longer lean and timid, but instead broad-shouldered with a strong stance. He was more handsome than I even imagined. I couldnot breathe.
I fought the temptation to stare at him and stood next to Dinah at the end of the line across from the suitors. I would raise suspicions if I regarded Derrick with any familiarity, so I kept an expression of polite awe on my face as theball began.
The first suitor usually took the first bride in line for a dance, but Derrick and Annalisa were siblings and would not waste valuable time dancing together. Instead, Derrick escorted the next suitor in line, a man of medium-build with red hair who wore a yellow cape, tohis twin.
Derrick bowed gracefully to Annalisa and she returned with a stiff curtsy. The red-haired man, who must have been Sir Myles Amberfield, bowed too low and almost lost his balance. Even seven years of gentleman training could not get rid of the awkward bumpkin nature of the Houseof Amberfield.
Derrick waved his arm to “give” Myles to his sister. Derrick shot Myles a sly glance as Annalisa took his hand and then he moved on to Brietta, the nextin line.
Brietta wrung her hands together as Derrick bowed in front of her. I gave her a reassuring look from the corner of my eye and silently gave her my permission to dancewith him.
A shorter, brown-haired man in a light blue cape—Sir Gerond Pebblebrooke—paired with Camille. Grigory, proudly wearing the stone grey cape of the House of Thornebow, walked with a slight limp to pairwith Dinah.
Everyone paired to dance except for me, the last in line. I stood quietly on the edge of the dance floor next to Headmistress Blackiston as a few Ashmore girls played a slow melody on lyres and violins. While everyone else watched the Duke’s heir effortlessly dance with a woman who was even taller than him, I scanned the room looking for thefifth suitor.
No fifth suitor, but I found Duke Hyton standing near the dance floor with a large goblet in his hand. The headmaster of Heaston attempted to chat with His Excellency, but the Duke was too busy keeping an eye on his heir tomake conversation.
On the Duke’s right-hand side stood the tallest man in the room. The towering figure had a square jaw, short white-blonde hair, and wore a military uniform adorned with brass medals—the Duke’s younger brother, General Hyton. General Hyton joined his older brother in intently watching Derrick and Brietta dance, but his Hyton Blue eyes did not follow the heir. Instead, he tracked the shining auburn waves and swirling white skirt of theheir’s partner.
General Hyton, despite being in his early forties, had never married and did not have any children as far as I knew. General Hyton could have attended the ball to represent his top cadet the same way the headmaster of Heaston sponsored his students, but the mystery of the missing fifth suitor hung in the air and the way he focused on Brietta raisedmy suspicions.
Brietta, though, took no notice of the leering General. She focused only on Derrick, who,somehow,made her laugh asthey danced.
A tense breath hissed through my nose as Brietta’s large bosom bounced with her laugh. I looked down at my chest—I did not have much to offerin comparison.
“You are lucky,” Headmistress Blackiston said calmly, as if she sensed my discomfort. “You get a good view of everyone else before you are thrust intothe fray.”
She was right. I tore my eyes away from Brietta and Derrick and focused on the other pairs. Myles’s eyes were wide with panic as he clumsily stepped on scowling Annalisa’s toes. Camille and Gerond gently swirled on the dance floor. Grigory and Dinah carried on a loud, but happy conversation asthey danced.
The music ended and the pairs bowed and curtsied to one another. Annalisa stormed out from the middle of the dance floor to take my place onthe side.
