Chapter ８

I look down at myself. "Yeah, Paula sent it up to me. Why? Is it ugly? I can't always tell with expensive clothes."

"No, it's beautiful, it's just…" He bites his lip and stops himself. "I'll see you at dinner." He closes the door behind him.

Suddenly I feel that I'm not meant to be wearing this dress, that wearing it might send someone a message of some kind. I don't understand the high class variety of court intrigue. I was never meant for this kind of world because little things like this go over my head.

The clock in the bedroom chimes. It's five, time for dinner. I can't change, I'm already late. I pray to whoever is listening that my wearing this dress won't have any consequences at dinner, and I make my way to the dining room.

The banquet hall is gold and white and sparkling, and the guests are elegant in their suits and dresses, and servants carry silver trays of finger food and tea and wine and champagne. The guests talk softly to one another as they eat and drink.

Someone cries out in surprise, and all eyes and heads look up at the spiral staircase, and their faces are in awe.

I walk down the stairs as gracefully as a queen in my flowing burgundy gown and shining jewelry.

Percy is in his tuxedo and bow tie, Vincent is wearing his black suit, and Sterling wears a white suit. All their eyes are on me.

The last step catches my foot and I stumble a bit, almost tripping and falling, but Vincent catches me and makes it look like he was merely taking my arm in a friendly manner. I'm about to thank him when Sterling comes up to me and offers me his hand.

I take his hand and he pulls me to his arm. We look at each other tentatively. I had never noticed before that he has blue eyes. Deep blue, like the ocean. I wonder if he minds my eyes that are the color of mud. He doesn't look away, and for a moment I can feel his gaze penetrate my soul, down to my innermost core, and I can feel him there, prodding around, looking for something to grasp onto, as if he doesn't want to leave and he needs something in my mind to hold. His gaze is mesmerizing, and I don't want it to end, but there are other people here and I'm already feeling embarrassed from almost tripping in front of everyone.

Music begins to play and Sterling leads me into the open banquet hall, where the tables and chairs have been moved from the middle to allow for dancing. We begin to move, spinning and sweeping over the floor, and that's when I feel truly free to be myself. Soon the others join in, but I don't notice them. I don't think Sterling does either.

My foot accidentally lands on his and he laughs as I blush.

"I thought you majored in dance," he says.

"I did." I make a face at him. "Isn't it possible that you made a mistake?"

He smiles. "That dress suits you very well. It's beautiful."

"I was nervous about it. Vincent told me…"

"What?"

"Nothing really, he just mentioned something about the dress that made me wonder if I should be wearing it at all."

The music swells and the others dancing around us go into a spin, but Sterling doesn't spin me. He looks like he's frowning, but I'm starting to realize that this is just the face he makes when he's thinking about something, or remembering.

"Who's dress is this?" I ask him.

He sighs. "It's Laura's."

I feel my neck burn as I blush again, and suddenly I can feel everyone staring at me, or the dress, or both of us. The dress is now it's own person. The absence of Laura, who everyone here knows except me.

"Why would Paula want me to wear this dress?" I ask him.

"I doubt she did. That's not something she would do."

I wait a moment before asking, "I still don't know how you all know each other. Who is Vincent?"

"Paula's brother."

"And who is Paula?"

He smiles. I hate that smile right now. It's the one he uses when he knows something that I don't. "A friend of the family."

My eyes narrow at him as I piece things together. "You and she…"

He shakes his head. "When we were young, we had a fling. But I promise it isn't like that anymore."

"Did you love her?"

His I-know-more-than-you-do smile fades, and is replaced by his remembering smile. "I've only loved one woman."

"Laura."

He nods. I don't mind. I don't love him. This is all professional. I'm glad he was so honest about it, though. Finally something that wasn't a riddle or a lie. Suddenly I feel very close to him, emotionally.

We continue dancing but stop talking. We just enjoy the music, and I feel Sterling's hand in my hand and the other on my waist, and I wonder if my hand on his shoulder is beginning to sweat, but then something in my mind tells me to stop worrying and just enjoy the evening. And I do. I really enjoy this. I didn't think I would. All this high society has never been the right fit for me. It's probably a good thing that it didn't work out between Percy and me. When you're that rich and powerful, marriage is more medieval—it's a contract between families, and usually the two marrying parties have no say in who they marry, it's all up to the families that are agreeing to merge, like ancient houses agreeing on a pact to share their resources.

But Sterling is different. Dancing with him, I feel at peace, and I hate that I feel that way. I don't want to enjoy this. I want to get through whatever plan Sterling has for which I'm the key, and I want to get paid and be on my way. Maybe open up a small dance studio in the city, leave this high society life behind. But would it be so bad to spend my life with Sterling? I'm not sure yet.