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“You look absolutely dashing, Father!” I said, flinging my arms around him as soon as the trail of guests stepped aside.
“Always the flatterer!” He chuckled, tapping my shoulders warmly then looked me over. “But what’s all this? This dress is most becoming, but I can’t remember giving you my permission to grow up.”
I leaned in to kiss his cheek. “I only grew because you gave me so much sun, Father.”
He gave a hearty laugh at my teasing, and I took his arm and drank in the sound. There was nothing better than the sound of my father’s happiness after so many years of heartache. Seeing him weep at Mother’s funeral still haunted me. I’d do anything to never see tears in my father’s eyes like that ever again.
“Come let me introduce you to someone,” he said, taking my arm.
We walked to the side of the room, and my heart pounded harder every time we took a step forward. I didn’t want to jump ahead of myself, but we were walking closer to the dark-eyed stranger I had seen from the balcony. Everything in me wanted to know more about him, even if his bottomless black eyes warned me to keep my distance.
Could he be the one Father chose? I would not be upset at all, if that were the case.
My heart was frazzled with excitement when we fully crossed the room, stopping in front of him. He was even more beautiful up close. His skin was delicate like silk, but his jaw and eyes were strong as iron. He was taller than I anticipated, with a firm posture that emitted great power. And now even closer, I could see that there was definitely something haunted behind those rich, chocolate eyes. I couldn’t help myself from wondering about his ghosts.
“I’d like you to meet my former naval captain, Theodore de Villiers, and his son, Jacques.”
I had been so enthralled by the dark stranger that I didn’t even see the older gentleman standing next to him. I sheepishly curtsied and held my hand out for them to kiss. The older man gave a polite peck. Jacques, however, only raised it next to his lips. He didn’t kiss it.
“Your father has praised you a considerable amount, Mademoiselle Esmeralda,” the older man said. “I was afraid he was exaggerating, but I’m pleased to find that he’s quite accurate in his praises.”
I smiled, tickled by the compliment. “My father should save some of those praises for himself. All of my accomplishments are from his spoils.”
The older gentlemen nodded in amusement, while Jacques only narrowed his eyes.
“Yes, your father was the best of us at sea,” Monsieur de Villiers replied. “Saved quite a few of us—”
“And was rescued plenty of times in return,” my father finished. “We’re even in terms of life-saving, I assure you.”
“You’re a hero among us, anyway.”
“Stop your flattery, will you? You’ve already earned my respect and friendship, no need to keep earning it.”
“Then I might earn your agitation just for sport.”
The men laughed together, while I caught Jacques’s eyes. He had his head cocked to the side, sipping his wine and watching me like an owl about to capture a mouse. His gaze was becoming less exciting and more unnerving. There was something in his eyes…bitterness, perhaps? Anger? But whatever for? I had never met the man.
“Have you danced, my dear?” Father asked me.
I turned back to him and shook my head with a smile. “Looking for a suitable partner, Father. All in good time.”
“Perhaps someone nearby would be suitable?”
By the glimmer in his eye, I knew he was teasing to something, but I decided to tease back.
“Are you volunteering, Father?”
“Me? Heavens no. You know I haven’t the slightest ounce of rhythm.”
Monsieur de Villiers cleared his throat. “As much as I would enjoy the honor of the first dance, I’m afraid I’ve forgotten all the steps after this blasted knee injury. Jacques, my boy, would you do the honor?”
Jacques—looking bored at the thought—nodded and left his drink on the table. He held out a hand as if he was asking me to pay him a debt instead of for a dance. I took it with a smile, regardless.
He walked us to the middle of the dance floor, his steps long and somehow disinterested.
“I warn you,” Jacques said in a dark, gravelly voice that unironically suited him as we came to the middle of the dance floor. “Once we dance, you’ll lose interest in taking my hand again.”
I giggled behind an open hand, assuming he had a dry sense of humor. “Is your dancing so bad?”
