The Chocolatier's Wife (75 page)

Her
hair
lay
unbound
to
her
waist,
and
her
mask made
her
look
even more
othe
r
worldly,
as
it
had
the
first
time
he
saw
her
in
it.
She
looked right
at
him,
and
smiled.
He
placed
his
hand,
clutching,
over
his
heart
and bowed
until
the
tails
on the
ridiculous
cap
he
wore
touched
the
ground. When
he
looked
up,
she
was
gone,
to
be
found,
not
too
many
moments later,
speaking
with
a
pirate.
She
walked
around
the
man,
and
while
he was
looking away,
speaking
to
someone
else,
she
made
eye
co
n
tact
with William,
and
nodded, once.

Lavoussier has
a
sense
of
humor after
all.
How droll.

It
would
not
be
an
easy
night
at
all,
he
quickly realized,
as
the
second person
asked
him
for
a
trick.
Another
deep
bow,
a
wiggle
of
the
fingers,
and he pulled tin stars from
behind her ears,
dropping them into her hands.

He
looked
for
Tasmin
again.
She
was
trying
to
disentangle
herself
from his
mother,
who
was
making
some
ill-tempered
remark.
He
sighed,
but
he could not afford to d
e
fend her,
not right now.

The
dancing
had
started,
and
Lavoussier
took
Bonny’s
hand
and
led
her out
onto
the
floor.
Tasmin
curtsied
low,
her
gestures
showing
that
she
was asking
Andrew
to
dance,
and
William smiled
beneath
his
mask.
A
woman in
a
Captain’s
dress
uniform
smiled
at
him
nervously, and
he
bowed
and offered his hand.

He
was
not
overly
fond
of
dancing, partly
because
he
was
not
at
ease enough
that
he
could
avoid
thinking about
it
and
let
his
mind
wander
as much
as
he
would
like.
Lavoussier, however,
made
it
obvious
that
he
was an
excellent
dancer,
but
William
did
not
care
for
how
he
ran
his
hands along
Bonny’s waist.
There
was
something
both
familiar and
indecent about
how
he
went
about
it,
as
if
he
were
marking
his
terr
i
tory.
William
was grateful
that
Tasmin kept
Andrew
suitably
occupied.
His
younger
brother was
an
even
worse
dancer
that
his
own
self,
so
Tasmin
was
doing
much
of the leading while Andrew kept glancing at his feet.

“How
I
love
evenings
like
this,”
his
partner
said,
“I
believe
this
must
be
one of the finest
palaces we’ve ever seen.”

“Indeed, it is beautiful.” The ball had started at sunset, so that the colors
of
the
sky
would
turn the
castle
of
ice,
with
its
delicate
arches
and lattice,
into
a
display
of
bea
u
tiful
colors
before
the
stars
and
moons rose, painting
everything
blue
and
silver, the
cold
lights
creating
a
gentle
gleam throughout the grounds and
ballroom.

“I
look forward
to
it
all
year,”
the
woman
said,
trying
to
make
pleasant convers
a
tion.

“As do I,”
he said kindly,
watching the colors of the sun sink
into dusk. He
excused
himself
to
the
lady,
feigning
the
need
for
punch.
At
the edge
of
the
dance
floor,
he
saw
the
shimmery
black
of
Bonny’s
costume
and followed
it.
He
grabbed
her
arm
and
pulled
her
aside
.
“Come,
my
dear,
you
look
thirsty.”

“William,”
she said,
sounding relieved. “You scared me.”

“Your
actions
do
you
and
your
husband
a
disservice,
madam.
You
are
a married
woman
of
honor.
Do
not
besmirch
it
by
betraying
your
husband’s love.”

She
yanked
herself
away.
“You
think
you
understand
everything
but
you don’t.
You’re
not
even
married, so
how
could
you
possibly
know
anything about what I’m
going through?”

“You
may
be
right,
but
making yourself
into
a
harlot
and
my
brother into
a
fool
is
not
something
anyone
could
understand.”
Her
hand raised and
he tensed for
a
slap.

“Always so certain,”
she hissed back
at him.
“How I
wish I
were you.” He
had
caught
Lavoussier’s
eye.
He
bowed
to
the
other
man,
who
turned
and took Tasmin out onto the floor
without asking her. He let his sister go, and
bowed.
“I
would
not
wish
that
on
my
worst
enemy.
Until
later, sister. Perhaps
you
will
spare
a
space
for
me
on
your
dance
card, but
now, I
see your husband goes wanting for
a
partner.”

She
looked
away, and
he
took
care
to
disappear
before
she
could
turn back,
mel
t
ing
into
the
crowd.
It
was
not
hard.
That
was
the
point
of
waiting for
the
time
of
evening
when
the
shadows
grew
and
the
twilight
made
vision uncertain.

Along
the
edges
of
the
trees,
Ayers
awaited.
He
wore
dark clothes,
as William
did
under
the
motley,
and when
William
dressed
him in
the
cloak and
hat
and
mask
he
was
pleased,
for
they
looked
much
the
same.
“I
believe that
Lavoussier
will
soon
know
that
you
are
not
me,
so
try
to
avoid
him
and my family.
Have
fun.
You recall,
I’m
sure,
when we will meet again.”