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dancing, but Alan offered Huiann his hand.
She slipped one hand into his and rested the other
on his shoulder. Her waist was warm beneath his palm
and he felt her ribs expand as she breathed. Her face
turned up to his, eyes bright and shining. In her deep
red dress she glowed like a ruby, making his heart
swell.
Alan guided her around the floor in a waltz. She
followed his lead as if she d been made to move in
unison with him, and as she dipped and swayed, her
skirts swirled around her. Her graceful beauty would
eclipse any one of those society misses at the ball
tonight.
 I dance good, yes?
 You do, he replied with a smile, gripping her
slender waist just a little harder.  Beautifully, thanks to
Dora.
Their heels clicked softly on the wooden floor, and
Dora s voice warbled to the sad conclusion in which
Barbara Allen and her lover are laid in separate graves,
a rose and briar growing from each to entwine above
them.
Bonnie Dee 215
Alan ended the song by lifting Huiann s hand and
turning her in a circle. She laughed with pleasure as he
bowed and kissed her hand.
 Dora dance now, she said, stepping aside so her
friend could take a turn.
Dora hummed a fast tune Alan didn t recognize and
he swung her in a galloping polka around the table.
The song deteriorated into breathless laughter by the
time he d spun her around several times, and they
finally collapsed into the kitchen chairs.
Dora fanned her flushed face and blew a deep
breath.  We d better stop. We ll ruin these dresses
sweating in  em like this, and you don t want to be all
rumpled when you get to the shindig.
 One more dance. Alan couldn t resist taking
Huiann in his arms once more. He swayed her back
and forth, hardly moving his feet, and hummed some
tune from his childhood. Maybe it was a lullaby. He
couldn t remember.
And then suddenly he recognized where he knew
the song from. It was a tune one of the other prisoners
at Andersonville had hummed endlessly. The man had
been half out of his mind from starvation and
dysentery, as most of them were by the end. He d
stand and rock back and forth and drone his song for
hours. One day Alan had had the nagging feeling
something was different and finally realized the man s
singing had stopped. Later he saw his body on the pile
of the dead before they were removed from the
compound.
Alan stopped humming the tune but didn t let go of
Huiann. Heedless of Dora watching, he gathered her
216 Captive Bride
lush body close and breathed in the scent of her hair as
she rested her head against his chest.
At last she pulled away, smoothing his vest and the
lapels of his jacket.  You go now.
 Lock up behind me and don t go out to the pump.
There s plenty of water indoors. I ll be back soon.
He gave Huiann a last kiss as a promise for later
and then set off for the ball.
A curious cross-section of the upper echelon from Nob
Hill and those who aspired to be a part of their circle
attended the opera house fundraiser. Alan was out of
place in his dated suit among gentlemen in tuxedos or
more stylish suit coats. But, as a successful
businessman and potential councilman, at least some
of the women appeared to consider him an eligible
bachelor. He danced with a few hopeful daughters
around the flower-bedecked hall, past mirrored walls
which reflected the lights and the colorful couples
whirling past. The strains of a string quartet playing a
Strauss waltz filled the air, and the cascading fountain
of flowers really did make a lovely centerpiece. Dora
would have been enchanted.
Between dances, Alan held cups of punch that he
barely drank and talked about inconsequential things
with women who didn t remotely interest him. At last
Mr. Dodge drew Alan away from the perfumed flock,
giving him a much appreciated break.
 You re a good man, Sommers. I d be pleased if
you wanted to come and call on my Cynthia.
 Oh. For a moment, Alan couldn t think of
anything to say.  You flatter me, sir, but I m currently
seeing another young lady.
Bonnie Dee 217
 Really? Dodge s thick eyebrows shot up.  My
wife, who s always up on the latest gossip, is going to [ Pobierz całość w formacie PDF ]