Page 91 of Forsaking All Others

All throughout the ball I’d been dying to spend more time with Jaguar to ask about what he meant when he said no immortality.

I’d had no opportunity, though. The women tonight were ferocious in guarding their time with him and grabbing him for themselves. It was almost as if they were all working together to ensure I didn’t get to spend another second alone with him after our farcical first dance.

‘Surely he can’t mean that. The wife of the royal always has immortality. Why wouldn’t he give that? How can he withhold it? How do you get it? Did he just mean he wouldn’t give it to me if I won? Or is it something he can’t do? Is there any point marrying a fucking vampire if I’m not going to be immortal? Madonna Santa, I need to know what this means!’

66

“I need more,” The director sighs. “I know you said you wanted time before speaking on camera about the shark attack last night. But the least you can do is talk about your date with the Greek.”

“Now? Can’t it wait?”

“No, Viscount. You’ve just come off the back of an overnight date with Vasiliki, yet you only danced once with her. The audience is going to want to know why. Of course, we can’t let them know what actually happened. You really screwed the pooch by breaking the rules like that. I can’t emphasise enough how important it is to adhere to the rules,” he scowls at me.

I almost guffaw at his terminology, but manage to keep a straight face.

“Get on with it then.”

“So, the date first, then the ball. Later we’ll discuss the French contestant.”

“I understand the assignment, Mr Dott.”

“And...Action!”

“Vasiliki is a beautiful woman, and we enjoyed our time together. Any man would feel privileged to spend time with her and I’m very glad we were able to get to know each other a little better. However, there are eleven beautiful women in the ballroom tonight and each and every one of them is deserving of my attention.”

I stop and shrug; I really have nothing more to say on the matter.

“Cut!”

“Viscount, please, work with me here. At least expound upon the ball.”

I sigh heavily and try to think of something, anything, that won’t sound like complete and utter bullshit about the masked ball that we’re about to conclude.

“Very well. I never thought I’d say this but… give me some prompts.”

He grins and brings out a wad of flashcards.

“I’ll hold them up one at a time and you just answer the questions as honestly as you can, Viscount. No pressure.”

“Sure,” I groan, looking back towards the ballroom where eleven women are pretending not to be staring out the window at me. “No pressure.”

“And...Action!”

The first card asks me to mention the music.

‘Of course, start me out slowly and build up to the tricky questions, you little bastard.’

“The music perfectly suited this evening’s mood,” I drawl. “Soft, classical music allows for slow dancing, which enables me to get to know each and every one of the ladies in a more relaxed way. These kinds of balls were always a favourite with me. In some ways it’s sad we lost the grace and grandeur of the 1700s-1800s and instead shortened dresses, cut hair, and moved away from partnered dancing. I’ve enjoyed tonight. With ballroom dancing I need no excuse to keep my arms around these women and hold them close.”

The director grins and gives a thumbs up before holding up the next card which asks which woman I enjoyed dancing with the most.

“Every one of the ladies was a joy to partner with tonight, ‘well perhaps excepting the Italian who couldn’t dance if her life depended upon it,’ and I’d be hard-pressed to say I have a favourite, although Cherry did seem most comfortable on the dance floor.”

I scowl at the next card, which asks why I’d asked the Italian for the first dance. Obviously I’m not going to tell the truth, that I felt disgusted with myself for going through with the kissing contest when she clearly didn’t want it.

‘Of course then I’d shamed myself and humiliated her even further by getting a hard-on on the dance floor.’

“Being surrounded by eleven gorgeous women all seeking my attention is a little daunting. I only wish I could have danced with every one of them at once. However, that’s not possible; there had to be a first. I asked Catriona for the starting dance because she missed out on the group date due to her injuries from Seville and couldn’t participate in much at all when we were in Australia.”