Seduced by a Dandy ~ The first novelette from "Different Desire", a Gay Victorian Romance and Erotic novelette collection

for a while with my cold drink. Thirty or so couples had gathered on the floor and divided into four groups . The dance was about to begin and t he d ance partners lined up opposite each other in two rows. The ladies curtseyed and the gentle men bowed and the dance began to the tune from the chamber orchestra. I pretended to watch the dancing couples ; however I my eyes never left one man: Mr Luciano Cosanni.
    It was obviously that h e had not told the truth when he told Cousin Anne t hat he was unfamiliar with any Engli sh dances, because he danced better than most of the other s . I watched every step and every turn he did. Luciano moved elegantly with an inborn grace which did not quite match his strong body. My eyes eagerly followed every move he did, until the temptation was too much and I decided to join the dancing . I went to find my older spinster sister , who was hiding together with a tray of appetizing - looking canapés in a window alcove .
    “Do y ou want to dance? But you never dance! ” she said amused and astonished and abandoned her tray of nibbles . “Wait...Has someone finally caught you r attention? I did see you study the dancers.”
    “You could say that,” I answered truthfully and felt sli ghtly guilty over that I had failed to ask her to dance earlier. My sister was a wonderful person with a large heart to give away to anyone who could see behind her unflattering features. She had unfortunate ly large eyes, which made her look constantly surprised ; and a rather prominent nose which was less becoming. The fact that she is quite shy and pref ers books instead of people did not help either. I knew she only attend ed the ball to m ake our parents happy, as had I. She was my only sister and did not stand in the way for any younger sisters , and was therefore still included in various social events, even though she was almost on the shelf .
    We joined the dance when another couple excused themselves. The dance paused and all dancers on one of the rows took one step to the left and changed partners. I stood in front of a less pleased Cousin Anne and we started to move around each other .
    “This is a very large and beautiful room,” I commented . And indeed, Lord and Lady Powlett-Saville’s estate was magnificent , and the large ballroom was no exception with its many crystal ceiling pendants and rich gobelin tapestry.
    “It is,” she agreed, but she did not make another remark , so we danced in silence to the music. I knew this dance, and after another set of turns, the dancers swi rled in a complicated pattern and changed partner s again. After each turn you l ifted your left hand and danced in circle s with the person in front of you before shifting hand and doing a new circle in the opposite direction . After a certain numbers of twirls you then took a new step to the left and changed partner . By this design, every second time you danced with a lady, and every second time you danced with a gentleman.
    I am not ashamed to admit that this was the true reason that had led me to join the dance in the first time.
     
    *
     
    The orchestra change d to a differen t dance , on e which I was unfamiliar with, however I had always had a talent for improvising and the dance steps were not as complicated as they first seemed. I tried to catch Nathaniel ’s attention . I had seen him watch me with hungry eyes from the audience, however now he seemed to have disappeared . I craned my neck and surveyed the crowd; however he was nowhere to be seen . I hope d feverously that he had not left. I had to attend the ball a little longer and be seen tog ether with at least one pretty woman before I could leave discreetly. I looked around again and my unease increased when I could not find him.
    I automatically took a step to the left and changed dancing partner , and suddenly he was there , right in front of me, smiling at my surprise d look. T ime seemed to slow down as we both at the same time raised our left hand s , in accordance to the dance. The hands were meant to touch only air, but I was never one for rules and discreetly I let my palm touch his as we slowly spun in a circle. His slender fingers were a little bit cold in compari son to mine. I wanted nothing else than to lace my fingers together with his and pull him closer, but of course that was entirely impossible.
    I noticed that he moved skilfully with the music ; clearly he must have had a good dancing master once. A forbidden thought