It made him think of Aurora, and how she had been so sure that nobody would ask her to dance. He wished thathewas the one dancing with her, instead of Lord Foley.
That was a selfish thought, though; she had agreed to go, and so she mustn't have minded.
Coming back to himself, he sent Lady Erica and her friends a smile. "I've put us in for the next set. It's a shame that we missed the first one."
Lady Erica smiled and laughed, her cheeks lighting up a brilliant pink. She was easily impressed, it seemed, and so were her excited friends.
"Thank you, Lord Winters. I cannot wait!"
He milled about the ballroom for a while longer, fetching another glass of punch along the way. He still couldn't see Aurora or Lord Foley, but had to remind himself that it didn't mean anything. The ballroom was enormous and filled with so many people — many of whom were ladies in huge, puffy dresses that blocked his view of everything else.
They were probably dancing towards the back. It didn't mean that anything was wrong. His bad dream hadn't been anything more than anxiety, it didn't have to mean anything. He hadn't been brought up in a superstitious family, so why start thinking these things now?
Yet he still kept an eye out for them anyway, just in case. The thought of leaving Aurora on her own made his stomach twist, because he knew that she had been nervous about today. If nothing else, she deserved his support.
Soon enough, however, it was time to dance with Lady Erica. He found her looking for him by the other dancers, a good head taller than the other women. She broke into a grin upon spotting him, and he felt a jolt of guilt. He had been so worried about Aurora, that he had nearly forgotten her.
"Lord Winters," she said happily, "I thought that you had changed your mind. It's what my friends were saying; but you're here!"
"I'm here," he echoed, forcing a smile. No matter how hard he tried, his mind wouldn't leave Aurora. "How do you like the quadrille? I'm a scotch reel man myself, but I saw that those spots in your dance card were filled."
Her dance card had still been sadly empty, but it was good to know that a few men were interested in dancing with Lady Erica. She didn't strike him as a woman with too much confidence, and she deserved the boost.
He still wished that he were dancing with Aurora, but perhaps he could improve this lady's evening instead.
Elmore took her hand in his, as they began to dance. It was a simple move set, not too fast nor complicated, involving sweeping past another dance couple and walking around them, to meet in their original spot. Easy, if unimaginative; but Elmore found that a lot of upper class dancing was dull.
At least Lady Erica appeared to be enjoying herself, as her skirts swished about her feet, and she grinned quietly to herself. It was awfully sweet, really, to see her so obviously happy.
"Perhaps if other gentlemen see how excellent a dancer you are, they'll desire to dance with you too. Your card will be filled in no time."
Lady Erica laughed appreciatively; but she reallywasexcellent, and didn't fumble her steps once. She danced and twirled with the effortless grace of somebody who had put their entire heart into learning the moves, barely even having to think about what came next.
"Thank you," she murmured, "I admit, I didn't have much hope for today. I'm nearly twenty-three now, and people say I'm too old."
He scoffed. What an absurd thought! Men often liked to marry younger women, but Lady Erica was far fromtoo old.
"Can I tell you a secret?" Elmore asked as he spun her. When she nodded, he continued, "there's a lady that I'm quite fond of. She's older than you, but she's the most beautiful woman I've ever seen. When you find the right gentleman, you'll know; and he won't care how old you are."
She glanced up at him as they spun, her eyes wide and grateful. "Thank you," she murmured, "that's kind of you to say. Not everybody has so much faith in me."
His heart warmed, as Lady Erica fell back into step beside him. She was too sweet, and he wished that he could help more. Yet he couldn't even keep track of Aurora, so how was he supposed to help a stranger?
Speaking of Aurora, he saw her across the ballroom dancing with Lord Foley. The bright pink of her dress stood out against the more muted colors of other dresses, drawing his eye when the sea of other guests parted.
They must have been on their second set, which was also their last. From here, it was impossible to make out Aurora's expression, but she didn't appear too pleased.
He sensed something brewing. Something bad; he just wished he knew what that was. Yet all he could do was continue dancing, and hope that Aurora knew what she was doing.
Chapter 25
Aurora Washam
They danced an entire set together before Lord Foley said a word about the project. Instead, he made awkward small talk while Aurora was forced to listen, his sweaty hands holding hers too tightly. She wished that Elmore was here, that she could dance with him instead of Lord Foley.
It wasn't until the second dance began that she tried to carefully interject. She didn't wish to offend him, but didn't he want to discuss the project? After all, it was the entire reason she and the others were invited.
"I don't wish to be rude," she said gently, "but now would be a fantastic time to discuss the backing of my project. You did invite us to the ball to talk about it, yes?"