Kisses and Scandal (A Survivors Series Anthology ) - Shana Galen Page 0,94
black people in London, of course. Thomas had quite a few working for him, but she had not seen so many together since she had been in Jamaica. She had not believed there were so many in all of London. And these were not like the slaves her father had owned on the plantation. These men and women were well-dressed and sparkling with jewels. For the first time, Raeni felt like the name her mother had given her—she felt like a queen.
As she and Thomas moved forward and she heard the butler announce her name, she surveyed the crowd of people watching her. This was where she belonged. In Jamaica, her place had always been in question. She was not a slave, but she was not free. She’d lived in a space between two worlds, not fitting in anywhere. But here, among the free Negroes of London, she knew she belonged. She was finally free as they were, and she would carve a place for herself in this world.
“Shall we dance?” Thomas asked, leading her into the ballroom.
She gave him a terrified look. “Now?”
He smiled at her. “I had better claim your hand now before the other gentlemen descend.” Then he gave her a serious look. “I never asked. You do know how to dance?”
“I do.”
Her father had taught her some of the dances on long summer evenings. And she’d shared a dancing instructor with her lighter-skinned brothers, who had always been destined to travel to England to further their education. Dancing was deemed as essential to their education as Latin. “But I’ve never danced with anyone other than my brothers.”
He offered her his hand and led her to the dance floor where groups were forming for a quadrille. “I can only hope I dance as well as your brothers.”
The music began and for the first few moments, it was all Raeni could do to remember the steps and pray they were not different on this side of the ocean. But after a few moments, she relaxed and began to enjoy the dance. The other couples were graceful and polite, the men handsome in their dark coats and white cravats and the women lovely in dresses of all shades. She was pleased she was the only woman so far in this shade of blue.
She and Thomas came together for one of the forms, and he bowed to her. “Speaking of your brothers,” he said. “Where are they now? You came across the Atlantic with them and then they just abandoned you in London?” His voice held a note of anger, and she was quick to jump to her brothers’ defense.
“They really had little choice. They smuggled me on board the ship and hid me throughout the voyage, but they couldn’t stay with me in London. At least if they attended the school my father had enrolled them in, there was a chance he would decide I was not worth the trouble. But if they stayed in London with me, my father would certainly send men to do his will, perhaps even come himself.”
“And why did your brothers not bring you with them?”
“There was nowhere for me to live. They were being housed in a boys’ dormitory. Besides, I could easily get lost in London.”
“You could easily be robbed in London.”
She smiled ruefully. “That too.”
The dance continued, Raeni turning and skipping with the gentlemen in their set. And then she was across from Thomas again. He was so handsome that just looking at him made her heart beat faster. Or perhaps it was just all the dancing.
“And are you so certain your father has sent men to retrieve you?”
Raeni wanted to say no. She wanted to believe she was finally free of her father and the man he’d sold her to in Jamaica. And there was no reason to believe men were searching for her. But she still felt uneasy. She felt watched. She felt hunted. She couldn’t let down her guard.
Except for tonight. At the Dark Ball, she felt safe.
With Thomas beside her, she felt safe.
“Unfortunately, I am certain,” she finally answered. “He sold me to another planter, and now it will be a matter of pride more than money.”
“A man ruled by pride is the most dangerous of all.” He leaned close to her. “But I vow to you now, Raeni, he will never see you again.”
The song ended and Thomas led her off the dance floor and to a refreshment table. He handed her a glass of wine,