Frayed

by Ana Cristina

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Usually I was able to ignore the heated gossip of these women, but tonight I was distracted and letting it get to me. The sound of my name suddenly caught my attention. This was new; they didn’t normally talk about me.

”’Tis a pity the cousin, what’s-her-name…”

“Samantha Delacourt?”

“Yes, that’s it. As I was saying, ‘tis a pity she doesn’t share her cousin’s looks. I mean, she is handsome, albeit in a rather feline way, with those strange slanted eyes of hers.”

I was holding my fan so tightly that the sticks snapped in my hand. I hid it under a fold of my skirt and tried to compose my frayed nerves. Suddenly I felt someone standing over me. Looking up, I found myself staring into a pair of pitch-black eyes.

“Would you care to dance, miss?”

I blinked and resisted the temptation to look around and make sure he was really asking me, and not somebody else.

“Oh no – no thank you. I don’t dance.”

To my surprise, he heaved a sigh of relief and pulled up a chair. “Oh, thank goodness. I don’t either.”

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Comments

Average Reader Rating: 5.0 stars out of 5

  1. Frayed

    thebetweenspace's Buddy Icon thebetweenspace

    Posted 5 months ago

    5.0 out of 5 stars

    Those gossipmongers and their lack of delicacy. I love the relief in the last line. And I love her awkwardness concerning the unexpected request.

  2. Frayed

    THX 0477's Buddy Icon THX 0477

    Posted 5 months ago

    5.0 out of 5 stars

    Really nice job evoking the setting and time period with the dialog itself and little bits of description.
    LoA

  3. Frayed

    NightMaiden's Buddy Icon NightMaiden

    Posted 4 months ago

    5.0 out of 5 stars

    Wow…very reminiscent of the Pride and Prejudice scene in the first part, where Mrs. Bennet and the rest of the women are sitting and gossiping in the ballroom.

    That aside, I really smiled when I read the young man’s reaction to Samantha’s answer. Keep up the good work. : )

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