electric, and she held back the desire to pull his face towards her.
They stood side by side, Merritt standing tall in his costume.
‘Do you dance?’ he asked, looking at the floor of spinning petticoats.
‘A little, although not like that,’ said Willow.
The music stopped and the sound of a waltz rang through the ballroom. Merritt bowed towards Willow again. ‘Will you do me the honour of giving me this dance?’ he asked, and Willow looked at him, surprised.
‘I don’t think Harold wants us to dance,’ she said.
‘We shall start, and if he wants us to stop then we will,’ he said, and taking her arm he led her to the edge of the dance floor, and artfully pulled her into his arms as they turned about the floor.
The other dancers looked at them surprised, but continued dancing around them. Willow had never felt more real and alive, even in the midst of the bizarre setting.
‘Imagine living in these times,’ said Willow, ‘so caught up in rules and reputation.’
‘Yes, I couldn’t do it at all,’ said Merritt.
‘You could have fooled me, with all your bowing and manners,’ laughed Willow.
‘Manners are one thing, but the truth is I am having very modern thoughts about you, Miss Carruthers, and none of them would have passed in Victorian times,’ he whispered into her ear. Willow burst out laughing and tried to stop it.
‘I should be shocked at you, Mr Middlemist,’ she said, tapping him on the shoulder lightly with her fan.
‘I hope you are; I want to shock you,’ he growled, and Willow felt desire in every part of her body.
‘Jesus Christ,’ she whispered. ‘You have to stop or I don’t know what I’ll do.’
Merritt held a respectable distance between them as he turned her about the floor, but he looked into her eyes and smiled a little. ‘What would you do, if you could?’ he asked.
‘Everything,’ she whispered.
‘Tell me,’ he demanded, tightening his grip on her back.
Willow felt herself lean against his arms. She felt lightheaded and strange.
‘I think I might faint,’ she said, and Merritt spun her out onto the terrace into the cool air.
There was no one else out there yet. Willow clasped the edge of the stone balustrade.
‘Are you OK? Should you sit down?’ asked Merritt, concerned.
Willow tried to draw breath and Merritt stood helplessly. ‘I think I should get someone to help you,’ he said, his voice anxious.
‘I don’t need help,’ she said as she turned to him, her eyes flashing.
‘What I need is for you to kiss me,’ she burst out. ‘I’ve been alone for so long, I forgot what it’s like to be wanted, to be desired again. I want you so much I ache. I know you don’t want some sad, washed-up, broke actress with three kids; I wouldn’t want me. And I know you’re not the marrying kind and you travel the world and are generally fabulous, and you think it’s fun to flirt with me; but you have to understand – I am gone. Lost. The minute you look at me I fall apart. I haven’t felt like this in a long, long time.’
Merritt tried to interrupt her but she held her fan out as though it was a sword.
‘Shut up. I don’t expect anything from you, but I can’t play games. I don’t have the time or the energy. If you want to kiss me again, which I am pretty sure you do, then take me – because I’m dying here.’
Merritt started to laugh.
‘What? Do you think I’m tragic?’ she almost yelled at him.
Merritt pulled her to him. ‘No, I told you, I think you’re beautiful,’ he said. He kissed her hard and she fell into his arms, kissing him back.
‘We have to go,’ she said, pulling away from him.
‘Where?’ he asked, breathing heavily.
‘Anywhere.’
‘What about the film? Harold?’ he asked.
‘NOW,’ she demanded, and she pulled Merritt to her again, kissing his mouth so hard he thought she might bite him.
Merritt pulled her towards the stairs.
‘Wait,’ she said, pulling at her dress, which was caught on the stone balustrade. Finally it pulled free, and Merritt took her hand and dragged her across the grass into the darkness.
As they ran they stopped every few steps to kiss and Willow thought she might die from desire, but Merritt kept pulling her along by the hand till they came around to the outside of the house. Merritt stood in front of the wall and then felt inside a gap in the stone. He pulled on a handle and