"But what if Alban tries to bother her?" Sam's face is slightly paler than normal and he coughs into his covers after each time he talks.
"I'll keep an eye on her." Barn says, placing his hand on my shoulder. Sam nods, and sinks back into his pillows.
"Eat if you can," I said, indicating the bowl of soup that Marge had brought up. "And try to get some sleep." I kiss his warm forehead before slipping out the door after Barn.
"He'll be fine, Rose." I nod while still looking over my shoulder at the door. Barn sighs, and grabs my arm, placing it in the crook of his own, and pulls me forward. "You two are impossible. He's not dying, he just has a cold. No biggie." I can tell he convincing himself as much as me, he had lost his mother to the same illness that took mine. He really wasn't that bad, and we both knew that he would come to the dance if I had not insisted he stay and sleep it off, just in case it got worse and he missed practice the next day. I pat his arm in answer, and we continue to the ballroom on the first floor.
The applause was polite, but without enthusam. All of the songs that the band had been playing for the past hour had been slow and out of tune. This was probably due to the age of the musicians, and the fact that they were constantly taking requests from Aunt, who refused to leave Sr. Ronald's side, but was a dreadful dancer, only being able to follow along to the slower paced songs. At last, she and her partner left to rest and the band struck up a real crowd pleaser, probably as an apology.
"Shall we?" Barn offered his arm, and we took a place off to the side.
I was never much of a dancer (Though definitely better than Aunt), but I'd never had so much fun. I missed Sam, but Barn was fun to dance with. He was surprisingly talented despite his big feet, and he kept me laughing all night. Finally, I had to stop and we headed over to the refreshment table.
"Thank you barn, I've had a lot of fun tonight." I give him a peck on the cheek and sighed as I sink into the chair he's offering. He sits next to me and we watch the bright skirts spin around the room, causing a sense of vertigo if one stared too long. I took a sip of my wine, which had an unfamiliar tang to it. I made a face and set it down.
"It's from the East, strange, isn't it?" This was accompanied by a sort of laugh/cough as he set down his own sour glass.
"So, who's the girl in blue?" His elbow slides off the table and he jumps up, eyes tearing themselves from the dance floor, trying to wipe the wine off his pants. I can't help the giggle that escapes as I hand him my own napkin. After we've gotten as much off as we can, he sits and looks at me with an angry blush.
"I don't know what your talking about." He sniffs, folding his arms.
" Oh please." I wave my fan at him, rolling my eyes at his attempt at subtlety. "Go ask her to dance, I won't mind." He looks at me, eyes big and round like a puppy's. "Just go." I laugh, pushing on his shoulder to urge him on. He stands and walks around the circle of dancers, stopping a few spectators away from the brunette in the blue gown with a lace trim. He looks back and I give him a thumbs up. He squares his shoulders and walks up to her, tapping her shoulder and bowing, hand offered. She takes it and they move out onto the floor, merging with the crowd.
I watch for four dances as they talk and stare at each other, all the while spinning across the marble. There's no doubt that they don't already know each other, but where would they have met that I wouldn't have seen her?
They dance until the song ends, then wander out to the balcony. I can't help but smile, I always feel a pang of guilt when Sam and I are together, leaving Barn to third wheel. I continue to watch the dancers for a time, humming along to the song.
"Don't move." The voice is accompanied by breath that reeks of strong liquor, nothing that was being served at the dance. "Get up and walk toward the side door that leads to the gardens, try anything, and you'll regret it." This last statement was followed by the cool steel of a blade pressed up against my back.