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He turned, and seemed surprised to find it was me.
‘Yes, Miss Linton?’
‘Captain Carter, may I introduce you to my aunt, Mrs Brank, and my sister, Miss Maria Linton,’ I said, pointing them out in turn as they curtsied. ‘Aunt, Maria, may I present Captain William Carter of the British Army.’
‘Very pleased to meet you, I’m sure,’ said my aunt with another curtsy.
‘So am I.’ Did Maria’s voice actually sound breathy?
‘No, it is I who am delighted to make your acquaintance,’ the Captain said, bowing with the same snappy precision he had shown before. ‘What can I do for you?’
‘I was just telling them how we had danced together for three dances in a row,’ I said, hoping he would understand.
He blinked, once.
‘Indeed, and what marvellous dances they were,’ he said. Thank God, he was quick on the uptake. ‘I can hardly find the words to express my admiration of your charming niece’s skill on the dance floor.’
I threw him a thankful smile. My aunt smiled, too. Maria didn’t.
‘That’s wonderful to hear,’ my aunt trilled. Again, she let her eyes roam over the Captain. ‘That is an interesting waistcoat you’re wearing, Captain. Don’t most officers prefer to wear uniforms?’
‘Most do,’ he said, nodding gravely. ‘But I had this specially made. I commissioned a French dressmaker to embroider it with one tiger for every one I killed while on safari.’
‘Is that so?’ My aunt’s eyes widened in awe, and so did Maria's. ‘You actually killed so many of these fearful beasts? Captain, you must be a man of tremendous courage!’
I ducked behind the nearest potted plant. If anybody noticed the snort of laughter that issued from behind it soon afterwards, they didn’t connect it with me.
It wasn’t long before I emerged again, my face perfectly straight. Captain Carter was regaling the wide-eyed Maria with tales of his tiger hunts. My aunt was still present, too, but she wasn’t really listening. I recognized the look in her eyes immediately - a look somewhere between that of a shark and of an accountant of the Bank of England. She was sizing him up as a potential suitor, a task that consumed all her attention for the moment.
‘…and then,’ he was saying, ‘the tiger sprang at me, and I grabbed for my rifle.’
‘And did you shoot it?’ Maria demanded, breathless.
‘No. The rifle was jammed.’
‘No!’
‘Yes. Just in time, I managed to turn it around and let it come down with the blunt end on the tiger’s head. I hit it with such force that the beast was knocked clean unconscious.’
Maria clapped her hand in front of her mouth.
Behind her back, I imitated her gesture, and Captain Carter’s lip twitched.
He was by no means the first gentleman I had heard telling fake tales of bravery and adventure. But he was the first one who had let me in on the game. And somehow, because of that, I didn’t mind. I exchanged a smile with him.
‘Ah,’ he said, smiling back and nodding. ‘There you are, Miss Linton.’
‘Were you so desperate for my company?’ I asked, arching an eyebrow.
‘Indeed I was. Did I not tell you before how much I enjoyed our dancing? I fear those three dances you have shared with me so far have only left me starving and craving for more. In fact, I can hardly remember them anymore. May I beg you to favour me with another?’
He extended his arm to me, his eyes sparkling with evil mirth.
The smile drained from my face.
‘If you try very hard,’ I said, ‘I’m sure you’ll remember the three dances we danced together perfectly.’
‘Indeed, no,’ he said, sighing regretfully. ‘It already seems to me, somehow, as if they never happened. Which would be such a pity, wouldn’t it?’
He extended his arm a little further.
‘Well, Miss Linton?’
I took his arm, forcing a smile on my face. On our way to the dance floor, as the first notes floated through the air, I leant towards him and said: ‘I’m going to murder you, Captain.’
He smiled.
‘Will you wait till after the dance?’
It wasn’t terrible.
I didn’t step on his feet, he didn’t step on mine. He was a considerate dancer, and didn’t try to steer me across the ballroom like most other gentleman. Neither was he like Mr Ambrose, with every movement perfect and sleek. Instead, he was flamboyant, every note of the music expressing itself in the way he moved, he smiled, he held me.
Maybe he held me a little bit closer than other gentleman usually did.
When he let me go, a crowd of his military friends came and started talking about this place called Sinai again.
He bowed to me, an apologetic look on his face.
‘I’m afraid I will have to leave you, Miss Linton. I hope that I will be able to have the pleasure of dancing again with you soon. Four times it has been now, and yet it seems only one.’
I couldn’t suppress a tiny smile. It hadn’t really been that bad…
‘Well, maybe,’ I murmured, ‘If you promise to behave yourself, I’ll dance with you again someday.’
I was rewarded with a cheeky smile. ‘I shall look forward to it.’
‘I said maybe!’ I called after him as he strode off with his friends. But he didn’t turn around again. He just walked away, a spring in his step.
Shaking my head, I turned away. How likely was it that we would ever meet or dance again? After all, now that his friend had dropped Ella like an Irish peasant would a hot potato, Sir Philip would likely cut off all acquaintance with us. It would simply be too awkward to spend time in his company. Surely, most of his friends would follow his example and shun us. I wasn’t likely to see Captain Carter again. Well, good riddance. The less men there were in my life, the better.
Even if they do happen to be quite nice, in a crazy way.
I turned once more to watch Ella. It was clear that she didn’t feel the same as I. She lay in Edmund’s arms as though there was no place on earth she would rather be. The smile on her face could only be described as radiant. It was shining brighter than any of the chandeliers that hung from the ceiling and illuminated the ballroom.
Sighing contentedly, I retreated to a quiet corner of the ballroom, from where I could watch them quietly. It was joy to see Ella’s joy, a balm for my soul that had been tortured for her sake over the last few weeks. How wonderful and simple the world suddenly seemed. All right, my working life still left a lot to be desired, an unlocked office door for instance, but as regards affairs at home, things were looking up, and I was feeling pretty chuffed as a result.