Page 84 of Tendu: Dancing in the Castle

I carried Benjamin up to their second-floor room and managed to lay him down without waking him, which felt like quite an achievement.

Back on the main stairs, Aleks leant against the wall. “Can it be my turn now?” he asked, pulling me up against him.

“For cakes and a cartoon?” I enquired, blinking up into his face.

“One slow dance. Is darker lighting now, so no one will notice or think anything.”

Justin accosted us as soon as we entered the great hall. He had dancing plans too. Terrible ones. “It’ll be a glorious finish to the night,” he declared.

I disagreed. “It’ll be awful.”

“I remember that routine,” said Will. “I was well jealous.”

“Why?” I asked, incredulous.

“You used to hang out with me, and choreograph stuff with me, until Bevan came along. I would love to do that dance with you.”

I looked at the two beseeching faces. “Okay. Though my mother may burst into flames.”

I wasn’t too thrilled at the prospect of Aleks seeing the routine either. What had seemed an enterprising choreographic stunt in our first year of college could be mediocre now or, as Madame had said at the time: lewd, crude and offensive.

We joined the general dance-floor swaying for a minute or two before Justin raised his hands in the air. I blocked all thought, and just let myself go in the crazed manner of the ‘sexy dance.’ People stopped dead and stared. Will and I did the lifts in spite of my dress; I felt a seam go. Then, amazingly, others joined in.

“We’ve started something!” shouted Justin over the music. Ruaridh and Sun gyrated beside us. Luke was determined to prove how strong he was. The lifting and swinging and twirling soon became too much, and I ducked under arms to sneak away, only to find myself face to face with Colin Mcken.

“What an intriguing creature you are, Miss Treadwell,” said Colin, hands firmly on my back.

Looking round for help or an excuse to extricate myself, I spotted Aleks on the far side of the room talking with a glamorous-looking blonde lady.

Colin chattered on about networking and futures and possibilities. Nothing made any sense. “Where does a ripe beauty such as yourself bed down in this old pile of stones?” he asked as his hands squeezed my bum.

I pushed him back. He laughed, and then Aleks was there saying: “You’ll have to forgive me for cut in, but I have danced with all my students tonight, except Amalphia.”

Colin bowed in mock politeness and melted away into the crowd.

“Thank you,” I said.

“I liked the dance you were doing with Justin.”

“No, you didn’t. You weren’t watching.” I rested my head on his shoulder, and a blissful relief from the day descended as we moved slowly to the music.

“Don’t think I didn’t want you,” he said quietly in my ear. “Before, in the passage. All of today is a performance for me. I am trying to be absolutely controlled.”

“But you don’t have to be when it’s just us,” I said, standing on tiptoe to put my mouth to his ear. “You can lose control with me, Aleks.”

His face turned towards mine. I felt his breath on my cheek.

“I go up now,” he said. “Warm the bed for you. Follow soon?”

The hall was emptier, but the buffet was still well stocked. I planned to eat one small cake and then go. A small crowd had gathered to watch Justin and Edward perform a tango. Will lolled against the far wall while Sadie talked excitedly at him. He smiled at her and looked over at me. I gave him a small wave, glad that we were all happy.

It was good to remove my shoes in the foyer, the cold of the black and white tiles soothing to tired feet. The doors of the elevator stood open and waiting. I stepped inside and screamed at the “Boo!” and sudden movement that came from the side.

“What are you doing? You nearly gave me a heart attack.” I put my hands on Aleks’s chest and laughed at the shock of it.

“I discovered that I couldn’t leave you.”

“Well, you know what this means?” I said, cross, hands back on my own waist.

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