Mystic Mountains

with you on his arm?"
    "Don 't," she whispered, dropping her head. "I'm plain. I have a limp. I'm common and ordinary." She pulled back when he suddenly slid his hands to her wrists and jerked them towards his body. He pressed them against his chest and she could feel the steady thump of his heart. Something deep inside her began to quiver.
    "You 're a fool if you believe that, Bella. There's a certain charm about your looks that make men give you more than a second glance. You're courageous and plucky, and very unordinary.
    "Now." His eyes grew serious. "We can carry on fighting over this, or we can do it my way. But teach you to dance I will."
    Isabella sighed and let her shoulders droop. She knew when she was beaten. Why not have the pleasure of a few stolen moments in his arms? He'd soon enough get tired of this game he was playing and when he found she was a useless dancer he'd be thankful she had the sense to refuse to go to the ball with him.
    He put her left hand on his shoulder, then took her right hand and held it lightly. He placed his hand in the middle of her back. The heat of his skin through the thin fabric of her gown made her gasp and look down.
    "But I'm wearing my nightgown," she whispered, shaken by the strength of the sensations raking through her.
    "So you are," he murmured, his voice sending a tremor up her spine. He loosened his grip and grinned wickedly down at her. "We 'll pretend it's a fine gown such as you'll be wearing on the night of the ball. Now concentrate, let yourself relax and follow the movements of my body, right?" He waited for her to give him a minuscule nod before going on, "When I move my legs you move with me. Remember I will not let you go, so if you wish to run to your bed tonight you must at least learn the rudiments of the steps. Right? Right?" he repeated when she remained silent.
    "Seems I have no say in it, do I?" she muttered, lips compressed.
    "You're learning, little one," he drawled, his lips quirking as he began to turn, taking her with him in a small twist to one side.
    Isabella stumbled over one of his feet, almost sobbing in frustration. Not only did she have the humiliation of not being able to follow his movements but her body was reacting in the strangest way to the closeness of his. A heat was pooling low in her stomach and her breasts felt heavy. With a groan of self-disgust she tried to break free.
    "We haven't even started," he said, his mouth level with her ear. "You aren't relaxing, are you?" His breath was warm as it drifted over her earlobe and neck. She shivered and he chuckled.
    She would have punched him if she thought he wouldn 't take his own kind of retribution.
    "I can 't," she insisted, lifting her head to glare up at him.
    "No such word in my vocabulary."
    "Maybe not, but you haven't got a crippled foot, have you?"
    " 'Tis all in the mind, Bella. Don't do this to yourself, woman. You've got such courage. For once in your life own up that I'm right. You want to go to the ball so much it's an ache deep inside you. I bet you can almost taste it, eh? I know what it's like to be an outsider, don't forget. Perhaps that's what I see in you that makes me determined to have my way about this. You want to reach the moon and grab the stars. Go along with me and together we'll make dreams come true."
    Isabella could find no words to answer. Perhaps he was drunk. But his breath smelt sweet, with barely a hint of rum on it. "Why do you say these things to me?" she whispered, her eyes shadowed. "I don 't understand you."
    "Perhaps I don 't understand myself, Bella. Let's dance. You'll not get to bed this night until you've mastered a simple waltz."
    "Arrogant Englishman, " she breathed into his shirtfront.
    "Aye." He laughed again, then began to move. Isabella allowed him to lead where he wanted, and to her great surprise she began to follow his movements.
    A while later, when Isabella had been moving to inner music, he said, "See, didn't I tell you it was simple? You've done this before, you have a natural rhythm."
    "Aye, when I was a little one my Mother and Papa used to dance sometimes, then he would show me how to do the steps. He promised me that when I grew up a fine gentleman would one day take me to a ball where everyone would stop to watch me dance."
    "There you are, then, his promise is going to come true. Only difference is I'm not a grand gentleman." Tiger lifted her chin with a finger and saw the tears glistening in her eyes. With a thumb he