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The weight of several pairs of judgmental eyes bore down on Lucy as she entered the gilded ballroom. In the short amount of time she’s been in London, she’s learned that gossip is what the upper echelon of society seems to excel at, and they look for any small morsel that they can find. She supposed she was a good target for that sort of thing. Young woman runs away from her home up north after a terrible disaster occurs on a case, goes to the door of every known ghost hunting agency in London to find new employment in a field where girls are rarely allowed, and then ends up at a new agency run by two young men. If she was attending this ball to become a participant in London society’s rules and expectations, she was surely already a lost cause due to her current living situation. Fortunately, she was in attendance to this ball for a very different and quite honestly more important reason. Still, it was unnerving to have people watching for any small mistake she might make.
She felt a light, reassuring squeeze on her hand, which drew her out of her thoughts. Lucy lifted her eyes to meet the slightly concerned brown ones of Anthony Lockwood, her employer, friend, as well as escort for the evening.
“Is everything alright, Luce?” he asked. She became conscious of the fiddling her other hand was nervously doing with the little diamond on necklace he had given her just before they departed for the event and abruptly stopped. How Lockwood always seemed to notice exactly when she was feeling a bit off was beyond her comprehension.
“Fine. I’m simply not used to all of this opulence or the amount of posh people in one room.” Lucy had never been in a room quite as elaborately decorated as this one, and this was only the ballroom of the Fittes manor, owned by the family of the most prestigious agency in London. She could not fathom what the ballrooms and homes of the nobility were like, with their extravagant wealth.
“Want to do a circuit? Meet some people?” he suggested. Lockwood seemed quite at ease amongst the affluence of it all, even excited. She supposed he was far more used to it, and he certainly had the charm to help him deal with all the dreadful conversations of the wealthy.
“I’d rather chew my own face off.” Lucy truly just wanted for them to make their appearance and then sneak off to the library to get the book they had come for. Unlike Lockwood, making the acquaintance of posh people was not her forte.
There was a brief pause. “Well then, Miss Carlyle, we should probably do something to make it look like we are here to actually enjoy this party.” He extended his hand toward her and smiled brightly. “Would you be amenable to a dance, perhaps?”
Her heart skipped a beat, as she gazed into Lockwood’s eyes that were now filled with the excitement of the suggestion. Lucy had never learned to dance, at least not the way that the wealthy did. A few days prior, she attempted to learn the steps of a waltz on her own, after finding a book on dancing in the library. She felt she had picked up on the steps quickly enough, thanks to the requirement of being nimble on her feet with a rapier when fighting ghosts. However, the thought of dancing in front of all while only knowing the basics of a waltz made her quite nervous. Though, it was hard to think of saying no to Lockwood when he had such a dazzling smile on his face, a very different smile than the one he normally used with clients.
“But I’ve never danced like this before with anyone.”
“It’s okay. We’ll go slowly. I’m sure you’ll be excellent as always,” he stated with such confidence.
Lucy nodded and extended her gloved hand to take his. Lockwood guided her to the dance floor just as a new waltz began to play. They started simply, with one of her hands interlocked with his, while the other rested on his shoulder and his placed quite delicately on her waist. His touch there was so light and gentle, yet she could feel the heat rising to her face because of it. He began to guide her through a simple pattern following the music.
Attempting to count the steps in her head, Lucy stumbled over her own feet a bit, but nevertheless continued. She glanced around the ballroom, seeing the other dancers in a much more intricate waltz. She figured she looked like a fool to onlookers, an outsider that has been miraculously granted access to a society she was not meant for. Most of the other young ladies there had been training their whole lives for a ball such as this. They were certainly more elegantly dressed than she was, with her simple, blue ball gown. Lockwood could have chosen to dance with any one of them, and they would’ve likely accepted eagerly. He was handsome, charming, and had actually been raised to come to events like this. He should have just left her to the sidelines when she scoffed at the idea interacting with any of this part of society and found someone who could give him a proper dance.
Lucy stumbled again, her thoughts distracting her from counting her steps and attempting to follow the rhythm of the music. Then, she felt a hand gently raise her chin, so that her eyes were staring directly into the deep brown ones that belonged to her dance partner. It was like Lockwood could sense her thoughts again.
“Just look at me, Luce,” he spoke softly, “Do not worry about them. Nothing else matters right now. Just look at me.”
So, she did. As he continued to guide her through the dance, she could feel herself stumbling less and the dance becoming more complex as he spun her around. Lucy could feel the thoughts she had before melt away as she tried to determine the emotion that she saw in Lockwood’s eyes. The way they bore into her like she was the only thing in the world at that moment made her realize that her cheeks were radiating with heat, yet she couldn’t look away from him.
Lockwood spun her so that when he pulled her back in, she was facing away from him, but they were much closer than before. Lucy turned her head so that she could look at him again and found his face mere inches away from hers. She felt his warm breath wash over her face and her heart rate began to beat faster. Her eyes dropped to his lips. It would take very little movement for her lips to meet his.
Before she could act on that thought, Lockwood spun her out again and returned them to their original position. Lucy became acutely aware that he drew her in much closer than how they started their dance. She noticed his eyes drop to her lips this time and, though she may have imagined it, he began to lean in towards her as they returned to a simple step pattern. She was so lost in the moment that she barely noticed that the music had stopped, until she felt Lockwood practically jump away from her, as if in surprise. She suddenly missed his proximity.
He gave her a slight bow to signify the end of the dance, his cheeks bright red.
“Thank you for humoring me with a dance, Miss Carlyle. You are a natural,” Lockwood stated with the same bright smile that he gave her when he asked her to dance. Her heart felt like it would leap from her chest if it beat any faster. Lucy gave him a nod, unsure of what words she could possibly say that wouldn’t give away all of what she was feeling. She wasn’t even sure of all her feelings herself.
“Now then, shall we go complete our real task for the evening?” he asked excitedly, this time holding out his arm to her. She smiled and accepted happily. One dance was enough for Lucy for a long time, though she supposed she wouldn’t mind another if it was with Lockwood again.
As he tugged her away from the dance floor and out of the ballroom to find the library, Lucy found herself touching the small diamond of the necklace she wore again, though this time with a bright smile on her face. She did not know how to describe all her feelings about Lockwood, but she knew that with him, she felt safe and that’s all that mattered to her.