Thank you so much for all of the reviews!!!! I've got 102. You guys should thank Kiren-Dar for getting to 100 and making me work on this chapter to get it out to you guys. This would've come out yesterday, but I was over baby-sitting the neighbors' kid. After she went to sleep it was two and a half hours of pure boredom… But anyway, this chapter's a little shorter than the last two or three (sorry about that), but at least it's longer than the length I used to write! Enjoy reading!

Bella

The duke smiled at me and helped me stand. I was sure that I would make a fool of myself by dancing with him, but tried not to let my fear show. It must've worked well enough, for the duke didn't comment.

As Edward led me out to the middle of the dance floor, the orchestra started to change songs again. They started playing the music after a minute or two, and a calm but fun melody came from the instruments.

Edward bowed before holding out his hand for me to take again and I giggled while sliding my hand back into his. As soon as he was standing up straight again, the duke pulled me towards him with the arm that he had put around my waist, and I focused mainly on controlling my breathing.

The song started to quicken, and before I knew it, the duke was twirling me around in circles before pulling me close to him once again, only to drop me into a dip or spin me around again after a few seconds. The dance made me more energetic and I found that I was having more fun dancing than I had expected. I had only stepped on Edward's toes three times.

As the song ended, the duke twirled me one last time before pulling me almost right next to him and just looking right at me. Both of us were breathing heavily, but neither of us minded. We just stood there and stared at each other for an immeasurable moment of time. I stared into his sparkling green eyes, greedily drinking in the sight that this proximity gave me, and one that I would never get again.

Finally, the duke slid away from me to bow and then kiss my hand. Once again, his lips lingered for a second longer than necessary before her pulled away, walking towards Tanya, who was beckoning for him with her hand.

I slowly walked back to the chairs and sat in one next to Angela, who was sitting nervously, her face flushed. I was in a daze from the last moment of our dance, and I almost fell out of the chair when I tried to sit in it. Angela giggled at me and I just flushed red.

"How was dancing with the duke?" she queried.

"I'm sure you saw," I answered, giving her a small, questioning smile.

"Yes, I did. I'm quite sure that he likes you now." I glared at that statement.

"Don't give me false hope," I muttered to myself, sure that Angela couldn't hear me. Yet apparently, my voice wasn't low enough.

"What was that?" she asked. The way she smirked at me made me sure that she had heard me, but she had still asked.

"Not a thing," I groaned, dropping my now red face into my hands. I decided to change the subject. "How was your dance?"

Angela's face turned five shades paler and she looked a little queasy. "Not…not too bad. He just…oh, I must speak the truth! It was disastrous. He kept pulling me closer, and he wasn't treating me the way a woman should be treated. And I…he scared me. The horrible look in his eyes…"

Tears gathered in her eyes and I gave her a pat on the shoulder. I tried to comfort her as best as I could whilst trying not to draw attention to the crying girl. But I couldn't comfort her for too long, for another man came up to me and asked me to dance. He was a little shorter than most of the men here and he was almost bald, but I took his hand just the same. I might as well enjoy the dancing while it lasts.

I danced with many other men as well. Some of them were around my age and they seemed to be trying to impress me, but I saw them all the same – strangers that I was dancing with at a ball. Some were older men, and they had just wanted to dance with me for fun. None of them were too great at dancing, but it was fun. It reminded me of my father.

And then, as the sun started to set, I said good-bye to one of the many men I had danced with and slipped back to the chairs. I watched as Angela danced with one of the men our age. He was much shorter than her and it was giving her a hard time to spin, but she looked like she was enjoying it nonetheless. I wished for her sake that one day she would find him again.

As I looked around, I saw the man that Angela had danced with walking towards us. Angela had been right. His eyes seemed to burn into your own and he walked with a prowl, his movements seeming as if he was stalking prey.

As he approached us, he completely ignored Angela and stuck his hand out toward me.

"Would you like to dance?" As he said this, my eyes flickered slightly to Angela, who hadn't noticed the man's presence, or perhaps she was ignoring him. The man's eyes locked with mine and my spine tingled. I raised my shaking hand up to meet his, and once our hands were joined, he pulled me up a little too harshly, so that I tripped and fell into him. An arm wrapped around my waist, securing me in an upright position. And yet the stranger didn't let go.

"I think of that as a positive answer," he whispered in my ear before leading me towards the dance floor. The distance between us didn't lengthen as he led me to the dance floor. Once we got to our destination, the man spun me around so that I was facing him, my face only inches from his. His arm tightened around my waist as he pulled me into him.

"Now," he whispered in my ear, "we dance."

Such a complicated series of twists and dips and strides I have never performed in my life. And every time I twirled, the man would just pull me back against him once more. By the end, I was breathing heavily and his finger was right under my chin. His cruel eyes bore into mine, and he didn't break his gaze. "Shall we dance again?"

He didn't let me answer, but instead pulled me into another sequence of dance moves that left me tripping over his feet.

"By the way," he breathed in my ear, sending shivers down my spine, "my name is James."

Then he dipped me so low that I was sure I was going to hit the ground. And yet, my head still remained in good condition and I was pulled up right back into James. The song ended there, the last note floating in midair, but James didn't let go. My chest was pressed up right against his as he leaned down to touch his lips to mine, not thinking about behaving like a gentleman at all. His smelly breath fanned over my face right as his lips were only an inch away from mine.

And then James was pulled back as a hand came in contact with his shoulder.

"May I please have the privilege of dancing with this beautiful lady?" The voice was none other than the duke's. His words thrilled me, but I forced myself from smiling too wide – I had a mask on, and he would not know that it was me behind it.

I nodded mutely as James glowered and picked up my hand to kiss it. His lips grazed over the thin glove I was wearing and then he turned around and left without saying a word.

"Thank you," I whispered to the duke.

"You're quite welcome." As he said this, he grabbed my right hand in his left and placed his own right hand on my waist. The spot that his hand rested on was burning with a wonderful sensation and the feeling of his hand in mine made me smile.

The orchestra started playing a soft, slower melody, and our movements slowed down as well. The duke had long strides and I had to slide back a few times to move out of his path. At one point, he twirled me around so that it looked as if we were in slow motion, and the bottom of my dress fanned out a tiny bit. As I came back to face Edward, he pulled me closer to him and, unlike when I was with James, it made me feel splendid. As I took each step, my eyes never strayed from his own, and he didn't break the connection either.

As we danced, the duke started to make small talk. "What connection with Tanya have you that made her invite you?"

I smiled a small smile at the question. It held a piece of important information: Edward didn't know it was me, so my appearance was keeping up. That, and I wouldn't have to worry about making a fool of myself.

"I am a friend," I answered cautiously. "We have become closer and she now confides in me for most things. It was out of courtesy and friendship that she invited me tonight." It was close enough to the truth. I had to bend it a little to keep up the act, but I was sure she wouldn't mind. After all, it was either that I told this story or her guests would know she had invited a servant. I was sure she would choose the last.

"Hmm," he speculated, seeming to take in my story. His brilliant eyes seemed to be a portal to a far-off world – the world that he was using to think right now. As he thought, he effortlessly led me across the dance floor, his hand upon my waist sending a magnificent thrill through me. I was grateful that I hadn't stepped on his toes. "And what title or occupation have you been given?"

His question struck fear in me. I was a terrible liar, and I would not be able to convincingly tell him that I was a countess or a duchess or even say that I was a higher status of what I was and sound truthful. I would have to make due with what used to be the truth.

"I am of a lower status than Tanya here. I wasn't born into the rankings of a duchess or countess or even too fair of a Lady. My mother was a seamstress that used to make most extravagant gowns, much likes the ones ladies here are wearing. I was taught of the art before she passed, as was my brother with my father's occupation. But my father passed as well. He passed with my mother."

I smiled thinking of my mother. She had used to take me out to balls like this, starting when I was thirteen. Of course, there was almost never anyone my age to dance with, and if there was, they were most likely conceited snobs. Sometimes I danced with Jasper, and sometimes, when Jasper was off dancing with another girl, I would sit and watch the adults dance. And every now and then a man would come and ask for a dance, just to be polite. They were usually quite nice.

"And do you live with your brother then?" The duke inquired. I was glad that he had spoken, or else I would've been leaking many tears. As it was, my eyelids were brimming with liquid.

Edward twirled me around and then pulled me close enough that I could see the almost invisible golden specks in his eyes. I stared into the emeralds as I spoke. "No, my brother is gone as well. I believe he is happily married, though I cannot be sure for I haven't seen him in quite some time."

Drops of liquid fell from my eyes as I remembered my brother. The duke pulled his hand away from my waist to wipe them off of my cheeks. I smiled a sad smile up at him as he put his hand back on my waist.

When the song came to a slower section, the duke started to dip me. But to stay in time with the music, every second that I dropped made me pass through no more than three centimeters of air. As I got closer to the floor, my left foot started to lift up into the air. By the time I had completed my descent, my foot was close to the duke's shin. I looked up from my position to find Edward looking down at me, his green eyes shining as he stared into mine.

And then he pulled me back up, his eyes never disconnecting with mine, in the same pace that he dipped me. But this time, the speed was agonizing; I wanted to come closer to those eyes, that face, him. But I was coming up so slowly, and it was creating time for that inner desire to stir.

I finally came back up to a standing position where I could better gaze into his eyes. We just stood there, letting the other dancers twirl and step to the music, for what seemed like eternity, neither of us breaking the gaze.

And then, out of nowhere, the duke lifted our connected hands and lightly pushed my waist; he was trying to twirl me. I obliged, my left foot spinning a wide circle around my right. As I turned back towards him, the corner of his mouth lifted up into a smile as he started to step forwards again.

"You really are a great dancer, Miss," Edward complimented me. I was shocked for a moment – I had never really been able to dance – but I tried to reply all the same.

"Thank you. You really are a good dancer yourself D-Sir." I was a little scared that I would slip up on the identity thing and call him Duke. That wouldn't have made Tanya happy at all – in more ways than one.

Edward nodded his head in thanks as he danced. Then, as the song drifted into the Coda, he took his right hand, which had been on my waist, and used it to take my left hand off his shoulder. Instead of just brushing it away, however, he held onto my left hand. Then he started to twirl me into a half-circle, crossing my arms over my chest so that they stayed clasped in his. The duke pulled me closer to his chest, and my breathing quickened because of our proximity. I was trapped against the duke's form, his hands being my chains.

His head bowed down so that his lips were next to my ear. My breathing turned shallow. "I know it's you, Bella." My breath hitched, and a small gasp escaped my lips. "I could never mistake such beauty."

He lifted his head away, leaving me to try and collect myself. Edward chuckled a small chuckle, and when the last note of the melody ended, he slipped his hands from mine and glided away, leaving his last line in my head.

I could never mistake such beauty.

Tanya

I spent a good portion of the night dancing with mysterious strangers – of course, they weren't really strangers, but behind their masks, I wasn't quite sure who was who. Some of the time, I could figure out who they were, but a good portion of the men I was not able to place, which really was a shame; I wanted to know who they were.

I watched Bella and Angela from a distance sometimes. Angela seemed to be a little timid, afraid of the nobles. It wasn't helping much with the charade, but nobody seemed to notice. She had danced with James first. He was a fine man, very handsome and well built, but she had seen through that right away. I was glad for that – I didn't need anyone going through what I went through. But it was clear, if you watched close enough, that Angela didn't belong in this type of society. At least no one noticed.

Bella was a different story. She actually seemed to be doing well at this kind of thing. I had known that before she had come to my doorstep to find a place to work and live that she was of a higher status than a servant. But I hadn't known exactly what ranking she was. Yet it was clear now that she had been of a high enough ranking to attend a ball or two, perhaps more – the way she fit easily into this crowd made it seem as if she was well experienced. She had danced with almost as many men as I had tonight, and I heard most of them complimenting her. Some I had even caught whispering that if they knew who she was, they would try to court her. I knew that I was becoming a little jealous.

Bella seemed to be perfectly fine with this arrangement, and I was glad. She deserved having a grand night like this after sending many messages and paying attention to me while I talked endlessly. And yet, I knew that jealousy and a little bit of anger were brewing in the pit of my stomach.

For the duke was dancing with her. He had this look in his eyes, one I knew too well. It was a look of recognition – a happy recognition, like he was overjoyed that he was seeing her here. It was the look I had always been longing to be looked upon with. And I knew that he was fully alert as to what he was doing, but that didn't mean it was necessarily good. Not for me, anyway.

This meant that Bella was an object of interest to him, and therefore a competitor to me. She was a good friend and a loyal servant as well. But she might be viewed as a threat – a threat keeping me from getting what I wanted. She was stealing Edward's attention that should be mine. It wasn't good.

I watched as she danced with Edward, both of their steps perfectly synchronized, each twist and twirl seeming to come without effort. There was an air of passion around them, and they looked right together. It looked right, but it was terribly wrong.

As he pulled her up from a dip, they stared into each other's eyes. He was looking into her deep brown eyes. She was gazing into his sparkling green ones. My sparkling green ones. They should be, at least.

I knew that Bella was bringing out the worst in me, and I wouldn't be able to stand it if I hurt her. I knew that I must send her out tomorrow to thank the duke for coming – it would make me look desperate, but I would not be able to keep calm around her.

And then he spun her in the opposite direction, pulling her against his chest. And in that moment my decision was made. Somehow, Bella needed to get out of my way.

So, seriously, at the end of Tanya's portion, it turned to crap. Serious crap. Because I had been writing this, and then I left my computer for a little while, and then I started to read. And by then I wasn't able to use an older version of English and some of my ideas as to what to say had escaped me. Sorry about that.

And some of you have said that it's hard for you to hate Tanya. Well, here you go. I don't really think she's a total bitch at all – sure, she has a thing for Edward, but she's not bad about it. She doesn't hate Bella for it (Darn! Someone needs to actually hate Bella, not Rosalie's weird hate-but-now-it's-turned-to-friendship thing going on.) So here's your chance to almost hate her!

And because it went well last time, can we get to 125 reviews? Please? They make my day!