You weren’t quite sure why you had come to this thing but it didn’t seem to bad. Well, it didn’t seem so bad other than Eunice who was constantly bragging about a baronet who’d become whipped by her. Truly, she made out the man was utterly and completely smitten! But you’d studied how Thomas reacted to the woman and he didn’t seem to be as obsessed as she made out he was.

Anyway, now he was trying to teach the ballroom of people the waltz after Mrs McMichael had insisted he did so. “The waltz, not a complicated dance really. The lady takes her place slightly to the left of the leading gentleman,” he began to explain.

He took a singular candle in his hand from a passing man carrying a candelabra and looked around the crowd. He then continued, “Six basic steps and thats all. However, it is said that the true test of the perfect waltz is for it to be so swift, so delicate and so smooth that the candle flame will not be extinguished in the hand of the lead dancer.” His gaze wandered to the small, dancing flame on top of the wax handle in his hand.

He then looked back at the crowd and a smile lifted his lips. “Now! That requires the perfect partner," His gaze then focused back on you, as he held out his hand in your direction, offering it for you to take as he stepped towards you. “Would you be mine?" He whispered, just loud enough for people around you to hear.