With only a little more than a week’s worth of dance lessons under his belt, Crow wasn’t quite as fluid as the other noblemen in the room. While they guided their partners effortlessly through the steps of every song, he misstepped on occasion and sometimes paused when he forgot the next moves. He knew the experience wasn’t as enjoyable for the women he danced with as it could have been, but all it took were a few sheepish smiles and reticent apologies for the ladies to show mercy to their inexperienced partner. By taking on an appearance of shyness, he managed to both lower their expectations and excuse himself from executing moves that would have forced him to get closer to them than he was comfortable. It felt like a win-win, because they weren’t disappointed, and he managed to keep some distance from them during each dance.

He got through two songs with Tilla and Palatina first. Both of the noblewomen kept their conversations to a minimum, since they seemed to prefer the fun of the dance over getting to know a man whose only appeal was his title. Crow was fine with the lack of talking too. He was even less interested in speaking to either of them, so he didn’t start any discussions he didn’t intend to finish. However, Fye was different. From the start, she was visibly happy that he’d asked her to join him for the next song, and she chatted idly about lighthearted things while they waited for the music. Not used to splitting his focus from the steps to run his mouth, it didn’t take long before the viceroy lost track of where he was and stumbled.

“Sorry,” he flashed her the same bashful smile he’d given the other two. “I’m still new to this.”

“It’s alright,” the raven haired woman chuckled. He expected her to quiet herself and let him pay attention to the steps, but instead, he felt the pressure of her hands increase suddenly against his. “Here, I’ll lead,” she offered with a wink, guiding him into the next movement subtly enough that it still looked like he was the one in charge.

Crow blinked, taken aback by her confidence, but the surprise quickly vanished from his face as an amused smirk took over. “You’re good at this,” he noted, following the push and pull of her fingers as she walked him through the dance. Even though it was customary for the men to lead, he couldn’t help but notice how smoothly she sent every signal so he knew exactly what to do. She was clearly much better than he was. His directions were still hesitant at best, and he didn’t always apply enough pressure for his partner to understand what he wanted her to do. With the last two girls, he’d found himself confused multiple times when he tried to coax them to follow him one way and they spun out in another. It had been difficult to correct the mistakes fast enough to hide them too.

“I’ve been dancing since I was a little girl,” Fye explained proudly, teasing his palm with her slender fingers as she spun beneath his arm. To any onlookers, it appeared as if the viceroy had gotten exponentially better at leading in less than a minute. “It’s always been a passion of mine… Do you have anything you’re passionate about, my lord?”

Crow grimaced at the formal title. “Please, just call me Collin,” he said, folding his free arm behind his back as they paced in a tight circle. “And there have been a few things I’ve been passionate about. I don’t think you’d find any of them very honorable though.”

“Probably not,” Fye agreed. They danced another sequence of steps before she spoke up again, “I’m surprised though, that you’re still not married at your age. I’ve heard that peasants often wed young. If you truly are a man of passion, why hasn’t there been a woman to receive your affections?”

“Would you have wanted to marry a thief if you were a peasant?” Crow asked, attempting to dodge her question with another question.

The noblewoman gave him a once-over and smiled again, “If that thief looked like you and brought me gifts befitting of royalty, then I think I would.”

The viceroy laughed, “Flatterer.”

“When my competition is half the eligible noblewomen in the kingdom, I’ll do what I must,” she simpered back at him.

Throughout the rest of the song, Crow continued talking casually with Fye. She was surprisingly better company than he’d been expecting. Though playful, she kept her flirting to a minimum and maintained a courteous distance from him as they danced even though she could have led him into moves that would have brought them closer together. He hadn’t thought he would enjoy spending time with anyone other than Penelope and Naida, but the congenial woman turned out to be the exception to the rule.

When the dance was over, the viceroy parted ways with her in a much better mood than he had been in before. Having fulfilled his word to all three of the ladies, his next objective was to locate Penelope again. It didn’t take long for him to spot her bright dress in the crowd, and to his delight, she wasn’t entertaining any other noblemen at the moment. Wasting no time, he wove through the bodies around him to get to her side before anyone else could swipe her away. He didn’t want to lose his chance to spend time with her again.

Approaching the knight from behind, he leaned down to speak sotto voce in her ear: “I think it’s my turn.” When he had her attention, he grinned and offered her his arm. “Care to dance, love?”