Bonus Chapter 1: Dance Lessons

*A Few Weeks Earlier*

“Arabella told me that your gown came in today,” Isaac said. He stood with his arms crossed at the head of the ballroom, watching the assembled staff hang decorations. In the far corner, the band was rehearsing.

Beside him, Lavinia looked surprised. “She didn’t say anything to me.”

“Hmm. Perhaps she intends to keep it a surprise. Or wait until all the alterations have been made.”

“Alterations?”

“There were a few changes I insisted were… necessary. I felt that a dress without sleeves would be impractical for our relationship. Much more practical to have your wrists and collarbone covered.”

“I have no marks on me right now, Isaac.”

“Oh, but that could change between today and the ball. We have just over a week. I’m sure there will be at least one night I, shall we say, require your assistance.”

Lavinia blushed and turned away from Isaac.

“Though perhaps not tonight. I would encourage you to make sure you can dance with the train.”

“Oh, that won’t be necessary,” she said quickly. “I’m not much for dancing.”

“That surprises me, Lavinia. You seem quite agile.”

“It’s just never come up. Everywhere else I’ve worked has kept me corralled to kitchen and waitress duties.”

Isaac stopped himself from laughing.

“What?” Lavinia asked.

“You never learned to dance.”

“Don’t be ridiculous. I know how to dance.”

“All right then,” Isaac held out his hand, bowing slightly. “Dance with me.”

“I really don’t think that’s a good idea. There are so many people here. They might suspect-”

“They would not dare say anything to me. Now dance with me.”

Tentatively, Lavinia took his hand. He held it aloft, placing his hand on her waist.

“Put your hand on my arm,” he said. “No, higher. On my bicep.”

Lavinia adjusted her stance. For a moment, Isaac listened to the band. He bobbed his head, starting to count under his breath.

“Start on your right foot. Step back. One. Then your left foot to meet your right and back out again. Two. Then right moves back together. Three.”

Lavinia followed his instructions, fumbling slightly over the steps.

“Again. One, two, three. Good.”

Lavinia felt herself step on Issac’s foot but he did not react, he just kept guiding her through the movements. He pushed his hand against her hip and Lavinia found herself twirling out, spun to the end of Isaac’s grip. He smiled before pulling her in, putting her back against his chest.

He leaned down to her ear. “It would have been much easier to just ask me to teach you.”

“Can you picture me asking you for help?”

“Yes,” Isaac said. “Easily.”

Lavinia rolled her eyes, starting to pull back from . “Please. And I do actually know how to dance. It has just been awhile.”

“Yes, I can tell.”

“If you’re going to be rude about it we can just stop.”

“But then what will you do when some disgruntled older brother who had been dragged to my ball asks you to dance?”

“No one will ask me to dance. I’ll be with Arabella the whole time. We’ll be getting ready together and I’ll be posing as her maidservant.”

Isaac shook his head, and Lavinia could see the practiced play mockery in his expression.

“You do not understand. Arabella will leave you so quickly.”

“What?”

He turned Lavinia again, returning her to the original position. Her steps now matched his, in time with the music.

“The second Arabella gets amid the glitz and glamour of a ball she becomes consumed. The attention is too much for her to pass up. And I will be busy entertaining. I have quite a few girls to get through. You will be left on your own and need to know how to handle yourself.”

Arabella glared up at Isaac. “You’re not going to dance with me at all?”

“With my mother watching?”

“Is it not worth the risk?”

Isaac sighed sarcastically, pretending to consider. “To risk it I would need to really care about my dance partner. To chance my mother seeing me dance with someone other than the ladies she invited? Imagining the consequences…” He lowered his gaze to her. “We can find a way to manage.”

Over Isaac’s shoulder Lavinia could see the servants starting to whisper amongst themselves, very blatantly looking at her and Isaac. For a second she felt a flash of fear, but that sensation was quickly replaced with a flood of warmth. She felt satisfied, almost proud. There was a tinge in enjoyment knowing that her station had changed and that bloodthirsty Isaac chose to rest his hands so gently on her. A man that had spent the latter half of his life instilling fear in prey and running an empire of blood held her delicately, whispering the counts of the music into her ear.