“My dear Evan,” she mimicked shyly.
He chuckled. “How fares your various discomforts today?”
“Much better,” she told him. “My wrist was soothed this morning by a… rare and miraculous medicine. Alas, I have had no further dose.” For though she had desperately wished to see him that afternoon, there had been no opportunity to meet with him. He had been occupied with Daniel and the gentlemen while she had stayed with her friends, avoiding her father at all costs so that he could not dampen her joy again.
Evan bent his head, but instead of kissing her hand, he kissed her sore wrist, letting his lips rest there for a second or two longer than he should have. “How about now?”
“Even better,” she replied, her cheeks flooding with warmth.
Behind her, she thought she heard at least two of her friends groan, while a fanciful sigh definitely came from Anna.
“Are you well enough to dance?” Evan stood back up to his full height.
Olivia nodded. “As long as it is not too vigorous, and you are fully prepared to protect your toes from an accidental crushing.”
“I am,” he said, his eyes shining with contentment. “Then, my darling, might you do me the greatest honor of dancing the next set or two with me? Unless, of course, your card is already full, and I must duel some miscreants for the hope of a dance?”
Olivia tilted her head to one side. “Oh, my dear Evan, have you not heard? I am engaged to be married. As such, my card has but one name upon it.” Her stomach fluttered at the unexpected thrill of having someone to call her own. “He is the only one I shall dance with.”
“Very well. Let us dance.” He took her hand and led her into the ballroom, decorated with garlands and flowers and candles that flickered romantically in the evening light.
The other guests stopped their conversations to observe the pair, adding a woodwind section of whispers to the orchestra. Olivia felt the burn of eyes against her skin, and her ears were hot with the knowledge of being talked about, but she did not care as long as Evan was at her side, holding onto her hand. There was a freedom in it that she had not anticipated. Freedom from society’s judgment.
“As slow a country dance as you can muster!” Evan called to the orchestra as more couples flooded toward the dance floor. Evidently, Olivia and Evan were to welcome in the first dance of the night together.
The orchestra struck a new tune, and the dancing began without delay. It was one that Olivia knew well, her feet moving through the steps without much thought, allowing her to concentrate more on her partner.
“I missed you today,” Evan said as they joined hands side-by-side, stepping back and forth in opposite directions.
Olivia flushed with glee. “As I missed you.”
“Really? I thought you were avoiding me.”
“Not you,” she told him, moving around him in a partial square until she found herself on his other side.
“Your friends? Are they thoroughly furious with you?” His gaze lifted to the corner of the ballroom where her friends were standing, observing. “They do not look as if they wish to kill me, though one of them does look like they might faint. Is she quite well? She is swaying.”
Olivia glanced back over her shoulder and laughed as she saw Anna. “She is the one who is the most overjoyed. You see, in accepting you, I have given her hope that her own clumsy savior might come along.”
“Clumsy?” He feigned outrage. “I am, perhaps, awkward but rarely clumsy. You, on the other hand…”
“I have yet to step on your toes this evening,” she replied, grinning. “Let us not change that, for though I am not as vengeful as some, I do have a petty moment here and there.”
He chuckled. “Has anyone ever told you that you have the most wonderful laugh?”
“Never,” she confessed. “Although, I can count on both hands the number of times my laugh has been compared to that of a donkey. A goat or a magpie, too. Why, I have even been told off for laughing, as, apparently, my laughter can be frightening for children.”
“You jest.”
She shook her head, holding his hand up as she hopped from foot to foot and twirled in a small circle. “I assure you, I do not. So, if you fear my laugh is something you will not be able to bear, you ought to run now.”
“I shall not, for any reason,” he promised, joining both hands with hers as they began a promenade up a tunnel of couples, their arms arched over. “I do not much like running.”
“Ah, something we have in common,” she teased, her heart so full she could hardly believe it.
Evan brought her to a standstill at the head of the tunnel, where they separated and skipped back down to the end of the lines of ladies and gentlemen. When they joined hands again, forming their part of the arch, he said, “We have much in common, my darling. We like to ride, we like to wear trousers, we donotlike half of the guests here, we appreciate the beauty of extensive gardens, particularly rose gardens, and we both have a less than favorable relationship with our fathers.”
“Mine is a more ordinary scoundrel than yours,” Olivia insisted.
