After our dance, which I felt lasted forever, came to an end, I embarrassedly reminded:
— Rachel, can you let me go now…
Despite the fact that some time had passed, the girl continued to hold me by the waist, which turned out to be extremely unusual. But when she heard my request, she sighed with displeasure and took her hand away.
As soon as the music accompanying the dance subsided, a buzz of whispers and gossip instantly grew around us.
— It can't be! Did you see what just happened?
«Does the Archduke's daughter have any ties to the Cassius family?»
«Is Lady Ashford sick with the curse now, too?!»
There were more and more such speeches every second. Since everything had already happened, I saw no point in worrying about my future reputation in secular society. After all, what could I fix now that everyone had already seen everything…?
