SHE DANCED ALONE IN THE EMPTY BALLROOM AFTER MIDNIGHT-UNAWARE THE DUKE WAS WATCHING

floor was polished wood, dark as tea, smelling of beeswax and of something older, like the smell of old paper. A tall window at the end stood open to the autumn night.

She could hear an owl calling from the woods beyond the garden, and her breath made no sound as she turned around to her husband. He was standing at the doorway, watching her the way continue reading …