Valerie, who had clearly realized she was being discussed, spluttered indignantly. Several nearby guests turned to look before she quickly composed herself again, her cheeks flushing pink.
John folded his arms and adopted the expression of a physician preparing for a consultation. The transformation was so convincing that Amelia nearly laughed.
“What symptoms?” he asked.
“Extreme nervousness about having to dance her first dance this evening,” Amelia said with a smile.
“Ah, that is dangerous indeed,” he said. John nodded thoughtfully, as though considering a particularly complicated diagnosis. His gaze drifted back toward Valerie, who was now watching them with increasing suspicion.
Around them, couples drifted across the ballroom while the orchestra prepared for the next dance. Candlelight shimmered against crystal and polished silver, but Amelia kept her attention fixed firmly on John.
John nodded solemnly, as though considering a particularly difficult diagnosis. “I believe I possess a remedy.”
Amelia leaned closer, lowering her voice conspiratorially. “Do you?”
“I do indeed.”
She winked discreetly. “Excellent.”
John’s eyes twinkled, and Amelia knew at once that he understood precisely what she was asking.
Turning toward Valerie, he offered an elegant bow.
“Lady Valerie,” he said, extending his hand, “would you honor me with the first dance?”
Valerie stared. For a moment, she seemed genuinely speechless, her eyes widening as she looked from John’s outstretched hand to his face as though searching for some sign that he was teasing her.
“Truly?” she asked at last, her voice softer than before.
“Absolutely,” John replied without hesitation, keeping his hand extended.
Valerie bit her lip. “But I might make mistakes,” she admitted, glancing nervously toward the crowded dance floor where couples were already beginning to assemble.
John shrugged as though the possibility did not concern him in the slightest. “Then we shall make them together.”
The simple answer seemed to catch her completely off guard. A surprised smile appeared. Then another. Brighter this time.
The tension that had been clinging to her shoulders began to ease, and some of the uncertainty faded from her expression.
“I would love that immensely,” Valerie said, placing her hand in his.
John’s grin widened as he gently closed his fingers around hers. “Excellent. I was afraid I might need stronger medicine.”
Valerie laughed. A genuine laugh. Not the polite, carefully measured laugh she offered strangers but a warm, spontaneous one that lit her entire face.
Amelia’s heart squeezed at the sound.
For weeks, she had watched Valerie struggle against her fears, hiding uncertainty behind sharp remarks and stubborn pride. Seeing her smile so freely felt like witnessing the first rays of sunlight after a long storm.
John offered Valerie his arm, and she accepted it without hesitation. Together, they made their way toward the dance floor. As they joined the other couples, Valerie glanced back once and caught Amelia watching. Amelia smiled encouragingly.Valerie returned the smile before turning back to John. The orchestra swelled around them, and for the first time that evening, Valerie looked less frightened than excited. Amelia felt a wave of relief wash through her.
Perhaps this night would become a memory Valerie treasured rather than endured.
Amelia’s attention drifted back toward Gabriel despite her best efforts to remain focused on Valerie’s improving confidence on the dance floor. The thought of his earlier words lingered stubbornly in her mind, circling like a restless bird she could not shoo away.
What important matter had he wanted to discuss with me?More pressingly, why had he looked at her like that, half seriousness, half something she could not name?
Her pulse tightened with every passing moment she allowed herself to dwell on it.
