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His expression was dark, almost envious. I saw him watch my face, the lack of space between my new partner. I tilted my chin up higher, and a smirk lengthened one side of my mouth.
Antonio scowled, and then ascended the stairs. My heart accelerated, and I truly did feel trapped in this dance, with Isaac’s arms around me. I needed to get out of here. I needed to tell Antonio that I knew, that I had made a mistake.
He would know how to fix all of this with Isaac.
A voice interrupted us from my left flank.
“Renata, how lovely to see you,” Martina de León said behind me.
Isaac and I stopped dancing instantly, and I turned around to see her standing in a corner of the room, in a beautiful white silk gown trimmed with lace and gold. Couples still swirled around us, some shocked at the inopportune introduction happening between them.
Martina did not care. Her hair was up in an elegant French twist, with a few strands of hair framing her face. She was more regal than I remembered, even more so in the way she carried herself.
I would need to talk to Antonio later.
“Señora de León,” I replied while curtsying before her. I tried to smile, but I was afraid it didn’t look very convincing. I knew that she had seen us chatting, and I knew she was well aware of the fact that I was told to stay away from her son.
“It’s such a shame you had to leave so abruptly the other day,” Martina said, her voice cloyingly sweet. “We were just getting to know each other.”
I was silent for a moment, unable to find a reply that wasn’t dripping in sarcasm. She was playing a game, the same one she had played at the dinner weeks ago.
“Well, I wasn’t feeling well after all the dancing. The cold air doesn’t agree with me,” I demurred, graciously keeping my sarcasm at bay. I was feeling the lack of my fan. It would have been an excellent tool for smacking people.
Her smile turned vicious. “I’m sorry to hear that.”
At last, the music stopped, and it was just me, Isaac, and Martina.
I glanced at Isaac, who had stepped away from me, but still held my hand. His expression was a cross between concern and stubbornness.
“How lovely that you two are dancing,” she said after a moment.
“Mother,” Isaac chided. I looked at him, surprised that he had spoken up.
Martina’s eyebrows raised. She felt similarly.
All I could think about was the appeal for our marriage. Did she still expect me to win the games with Isaac? What game was she playing?
The unknowable rules swarmed around me, and I felt sick. I needed air.
I needed to find Antonio. If I could see him, maybe this would make more sense.
“It’s been lovely to see you both, Martina, but I really need to go,” I said, my voice a touch too loud. Martina looked me directly in the eyes, and I stiffened. She was an austere woman, relentlessly fighting for whatever she wanted. “I will talk to you later, Isaac. I promise.”
His features hardened, and there was a twinge of anger painted around the hard lines bracketing his mouth, as if I had wounded him by saying goodbye. Then there were those hollow eyes.
“Feel free to go,” Isaac spat at me, his voice oddly throaty.
I blinked, shocked by his abruptness.
What was going on?
I had been too distracted to realize that Martina had taken a step closer, hungry eyes dropping from the new necklace around my throat, and she started inspecting my bodice.
“Renata, I just noticed that your dress has a small tear in it,” Martina said, and reached over to tug on a loose thread.
I startled and stepped away instinctively, but she grabbed my hand. Her steel grip was a clear warning. If this was about Isaac’s gift, I would give it back to her easily.
“Why don’t you come with me and we can get that fixed? Además, me encanta echar platica contigo,” she said brightly.
