#7. The Ball and Two Men (5)

Even after the black-haired man,

and the blonde woman who had quietly followed one step behind him had disappeared from view,

Eleonore remained alone on the dark bench for a long while, caught in the lingering emotions they had left behind.

Her face was still flushed, burning as if she had stepped close to a blazing hearth.

Her heart pounded so hard that even the ribs surrounding it began to ache.

Indescribable.

A nameless whirlpool of emotions now enveloped Eleonore’s slender body beneath her fluttering dress.

Beneath her long, gently curled pale-yellow lashes, Eleonore squeezed her large eyes shut.

She placed a white silk-gloved hand over the low-cut bodice of her dress and drew a deep breath.

Though she would never admit it...