There was something dreamlike about her and about this dance that didn’t often hit him, not in the usual ballrooms. Maybe it wasn’t anything he’d imbibed at all, but purely her – the toss of her head made him almost believe in the tale she was telling. She did not feel like any other young lady – the young ladies of society did not often have this effect on him.
But an unearthly being, some tragic, wild water nymph? He could imagine that. He smiled, a little coyly, at her talk of stealing hearts and hats; but laughed and said, still light and merry and teasing, “I’m not the only thief here then, after all!” Undine might be all the identity he needed for the moment, but at the same time Endymion was perfectly aware she might slip away out of his grasp tonight and never be seen again. It would befit the character, of course – but if his hand held hers a little more closely for the moment it was simply because he wasn’t ready to let go just yet.
“But I could have guessed you were no ordinary mortal,” he added, a little less teasing and a little more meaningfully than before, as his gaze drifted up from the blues of her sleeves to her face again. She was far too vivid and ethereal and beautiful to be quite real.
But an unearthly being, some tragic, wild water nymph? He could imagine that. He smiled, a little coyly, at her talk of stealing hearts and hats; but laughed and said, still light and merry and teasing, “I’m not the only thief here then, after all!” Undine might be all the identity he needed for the moment, but at the same time Endymion was perfectly aware she might slip away out of his grasp tonight and never be seen again. It would befit the character, of course – but if his hand held hers a little more closely for the moment it was simply because he wasn’t ready to let go just yet.
“But I could have guessed you were no ordinary mortal,” he added, a little less teasing and a little more meaningfully than before, as his gaze drifted up from the blues of her sleeves to her face again. She was far too vivid and ethereal and beautiful to be quite real.
