She obeyed and hated that it helped.
“What are we learning?”
“Not a quadrille,” he said. “You manage figures well enough with sufficient terror. We will take something you mustfeelto do properly.”
He made a square with his hand in the air.
“A simple turn about the room.. Think of it as practice for any dance that asks you to trust a man’s lead. I shall count; you shall step where I tell you.”
“That sounds like the worst of all possible worlds.”
“You asked me to be useful,” he reminded her. “Trust is part of usefulness.” He stepped in, placed his right hand low at her back, took her left hand up in his, and lifted his chin the barest degree.
“Breathe.”
“Iambreathing,” she said, breathless.
“Poorly,” he murmured, “One, two, three… one, two, three…”
They moved. At first, it felt like an awkward rhythm, but they soon grew used to it. She felt herself easing a bit.
Once again, taking his advice had only helped her.
“Better,” he said.
“Stop saying that.”
“When it ceases to be true.”
She wanted to blame the heat in her cheeks on the effort. It wasn’t entirely untrue.
“This would be easier if you were less… you.”
“Tragically,” he said, deadpan, “I have been me for some time. Do not look at my mouth.”
“Do you read minds?”
“You stare where your thoughts live,” he said. “But your steps are improving. Continue.”
They turned the length of the gallery.
“You do not seem… angry,” she said on the pause between two threes. “With me. About the room.”
“My room?” His mouth tilted. “I am vain, not precious. Continue.”
She persisted.
“Most men would be furious at the idea of being forced into marriage.”
“Most men misunderstand themselves,” he said. “And most men do not have cousins like Peter, who would have tripped over hisown honor rather than let you fall. I am fortunate in the family I did not deserve.”
“You would have married me if…”
“I will marry you if I fail,” he said simply, not allowing the set to falter. “And I do not intend to fail.”
Right. They kept having this conversation over and over again. But somehow, it felt like she had to keep having it for her to truly believe it.
She dragged her gaze up, scowling, and did not trip.