Page 60 of Forget Me Not

Her heart bubbled a bit. “You told them about me?” she asked Lucas.

“Of course we did.”

She didn’t fight the smile that formed on her face. “Did you tell them how adept I am at the allemande?”

“I don’t know that I mentioned that.”

She clicked her tongue and shook her head. “A shame.”

“Show us now,” Mr. Layton said.

“The allemande?” Lucas chuckled. “There’s not room, and there’s no music.”

“Grumpy Uncle will hum a tune for you. We can move furniture enough for a sedate demonstration.”

Lucas took a single step, placing himself between her and his friends, turning his back to the gentlemen. “Simply say the word, sweeting, and I’ll toss them out of the room on their ears. No one will force you into dancing if you don’t care to.”

Did she wish to be freed? Dancing in front of even this small gathering made her nervous, but doing so meant she could remain in this room a moment longer, and with Lucas. She’d wished for both for days. “I don’t mind, if you don’t.”

He smiled so sweetly. “I have always enjoyed dancing with you, Julia. And it is not a bad idea to practice before next week’s ball.”

“What if they laugh at me?”

“I’ll punch them in the nose,” he said with perfect sincerity.

“And I’ll kick them in the shins.”

He grinned. “Do you remember the time you did that to Robert Finley, and he told his father he’d been attacked by a highwayman rather than admit he’d been brought low by you on account of his being a bounder?”

“His mother is absolutely lovely. I cannot for the life of me understand how Robert turned out to be such a horrible person.”

“As is the father, so is the son,” Lucas said.

“Is your father also a jester?”

Lucas laughed. Heavens, she loved the sound.

“If the two of you don’t begin your dancing demonstration soon,” Mr. Layton said, “I shall change my vote to ‘the minuet’ and there will be no regaining your victory. My taste, after all, is beyond reproach.”

Lucas tucked his arm across her back and pulled her close. “Let us prove to them that we are correct on this matter. What do you say?”

“I think I still remember how to execute this dance, but I intend to blame you if I bungle it.”

“An excellent plan.” He dropped his arm away. “Gents, help me move the furniture.”

They had the room cleared in a moment’s time. How odd it was that he had been so very adamant that she not disturb the layout or furnishings of this room but was undertaking a rearranging himself now. Perhaps he was more amenable to the idea of change than he had been.

Lucas rejoined her in the middle of the room. His friends leaned against the far wall.

“A tune, Kes, if you please.”

Mr. Barrington dah-dah-dah’d the opening measures of a familiar allemande. Julia set her hand in Lucas’s, as was required for this particular dance. Despite her warnings, she did remember the steps. They returned to her as naturally as if she’d been dancing the allemande every day in the years since Lucas had first taught her. The steps brought them side by side, each facing opposite directions. Lucas reached across her middle, she across his, joining hands around themselves.

She smiled up at him. “I used to grow so confused by this part.”

“I remember.” He held her hand with his arms bent, keeping them nearer one another than was entirely necessary. “You are managing it beautifully just now.”

His smile was warm every time the dance brought them together. And each time, her heart leaped about a little more. This was the sweet and kindhearted Lucas she had known as a girl: so attentive, so considerate, so kind. How she’d missed him!

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