Chapter 6: The First Waltz

"Jessamyn," Carlisle said, once, in the corridor at Harbor Pines.

"Don't."

"I won't say it again. I only wanted to hear what it sounded like."

"And?"

"It suits you better than Rosamond."

I was too tired to be angry, so I pointed a finger at his chest.

"If you offer me money, I will walk out of this building and you'll never see Starling again."

"I wasn't going to."

"You were."

"I was going to say I know a man who knows a man at the bank," he said. "Then I saw your face."

"Good."

"Then I'll say nothing at all." He zipped his wet coat. "Except that I'm here."

That was the whole speech.

I stood in the corridor and found, to my horror, that it was the only one I'd ever wanted.

The text from the lawyer came on Saturday morning, while I was ironing a gown I couldn't afford.

The Sponsor has reviewed the Season.

Funds will be released Monday at 9 a.m. if Miss Cabell opens the Harvest Dinner tonight with the first waltz, partnered by Mr. Landis.

Please confirm.

I read it three times.

A person who pays your brother's bills can ask you for a great many things.

Nobody has ever asked for a waltz.

I typed my reply, because I had twenty-two thousand reasons:

Confirmed.

The Harvest Dinner was held in a hall with a chandelier the size of a car.

Two hundred guests, eight musicians, and a tradition so old that nobody could remember who had started it.

The host and his fiancée always opened the dance.

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