Her face warmed at her obvious misstep, though at least no one would see it on her. Mr. Echelon-Arnost had been out of the country, she thought, for the last season or two, so she had clearly – forgotten. A cane would make dancing rather complicated.
Should she apologise, or was it better to skate over her foolish remark as fast as possible? Internally, she wondered whether he missed dancing, if he had liked dancing before – but she couldn’t remember the cause of his accident, nor if he had ever had much chance to dance before. (She couldn’t ask such things, of course. Obviously.)
“Oh – yes, some, though I am much in need of catching my breath,” she explained, because she was in no hurry to return to the dancefloor. (She had quietly tried to collect all the less-desirables onto her dance card tonight, in case she could spare the younger Miss Adebayo by it; let Genia have the first and best choices of the night, as she well deserved at her debut.) “And I find it’s pleasant, sometimes, to listen to the music from here.” When one was dancing, it all too easily became the background.
Should she apologise, or was it better to skate over her foolish remark as fast as possible? Internally, she wondered whether he missed dancing, if he had liked dancing before – but she couldn’t remember the cause of his accident, nor if he had ever had much chance to dance before. (She couldn’t ask such things, of course. Obviously.)
“Oh – yes, some, though I am much in need of catching my breath,” she explained, because she was in no hurry to return to the dancefloor. (She had quietly tried to collect all the less-desirables onto her dance card tonight, in case she could spare the younger Miss Adebayo by it; let Genia have the first and best choices of the night, as she well deserved at her debut.) “And I find it’s pleasant, sometimes, to listen to the music from here.” When one was dancing, it all too easily became the background.
