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

wood, dark as tea. It smelled of beeswax and something older, like the smell of old paper. The air held the last ghost of orange peel, wine, and the sweet powder the ladies had used on their necks.

A tall window at the end of the room stood open to the summer night. She could hear an owl calling from the woods beyond the garden, and somewhere far off,continue reading …