She finished her dance with the mayor’s son. As promised, she walked over toward me and lowered herself into a curtsy. “William, I do believe you are next on my list.”
“How convenient and wonderful for me.” I offered her my hand to help her up. She took it, her smile never wavering. We entered into the traditional waltzing pose. I made sure to keep my hands where they belonged. Lust might have been bubbling up inside of me at the sight of her in that gorgeous navy gown, but I am a gentleman. I know when and when not to make a scandal. All I truly wanted was for a night to pretend there wasn’t a storm of drama coming my way.
We danced. We gazed lovingly into each other’s eyes. We were the embodiment of all things young adult romance. If that moment were a movie, it’d have ended up being one of the best nights of my life! Romantic, a small forbidden kiss on the dance floor that would have shocked the town, and then we’d part ways.
That didn’t end up being the case, though. Parts of that night make the list of best things to ever happen to me, and parts of it left me more frustrated than ever.
As the party started to wind down and guests began to leave, I started to pick out just who Lucretia had gotten involved with. The mayor and his family left on the earlier side, long enough to make an appearance and flaunt that he knew the “cool new kids” but not long enough to get deep into the club. People who were deep in the club? The Butcher family, who were, you guessed it, butchers. The head librarian and three of her coworkers stayed for a long time as well. Finally, the Smiths, who also happened to be the most prominent family in town now that the Purchases were gone. The Smiths also had a son a year older than me who was eligible for marrying Lucretia…and she danced with him more than once too. Figures, yeah? But that was Walter Smith in a nutshell. The guy who got everything he wanted.
I tried not to read too much into that. When the whole Smith clan stayed late, however, I did feel a slight pang of jealousy. Slight. If Lucretia had been from my world and my time, I’d definitely have felt played. My pedigree didn’t match a Smith one.
Once the only guests at the party were the aforementioned people and me, the music died down and clean up began. A man Lucretia previously identified as Damion, raised a hand for our attention.
“I would like to invite you into the study where we can continue our gathering in a more intimate setting.”
I swallowed. He was the one I had to impress most—the man posing as Lucretia’s father. A good role for him. They looked enough alike that I’d have been fooled if I hadn’t known the truth already. He was old enough where it felt fitting, yet young enough that I wouldn’t call him an elder member of society. A slight pepper graced his otherwise dark hair. The only way he didn’t fit into Lucretia’s genetics were his vibrant green eyes. They didn’t look natural.
The crowd shuffled out of the room. My gaze caught hold of Lucretia as she went to the woman posing as her mother—Belinda. Belinda had the same kind of dark eyes Lucretia did, but her hair was a lighter shade of brown, and her skin wasn’t quite as tanned. She didn’t seem old enough to be the mother of an eighteen-year-old, not until I saw the wear-and-tear around her eyes that suggested she was far older than the rest of her advertised.
I needed her guardians to love me.
No one spoke as we walked through the mansion to the study a few doors down. Inside, I took in wall to wall bookshelves, filled to the brim. Seriously. Even the library didn’t have that many books packed in. I could barely wrap my mind around it, nor did I understand why anyone would own so many in the first place. Sad to say, I never was much of a reader in my living days.
I know, I really missed out.
Damion shut the doors behind us once we were all inside. “Please, feel free to get comfortable however you wish. I know chairs are limited, so don’t be afraid to make use of a table or counter.”
The ladies made use of the chairs. Walt stood next to me, and when he leaned back onto the table behind us, I joined in. We could be rebels together and test whether Damion meant what he said. If it seems like I’m overthinking this simple decision, that’s what happens when you grow up in an era where there are an unbelievable number of rules that affect the honor of your family. Since I was on my own, I had to make an extra good impression. After dancing for hours on end and being on my feet for so long, I didn’t want to stand around anymore.
Damion took a moment to let everyone shuffle about as needed before beginning. “Those of you who are here have been deemed trustworthy of the truths we hold. In fact, a few of you already know about our secrets.” He looked pointedly at me and then a few others in the room. I couldn’t quite pick out who those
