Love in Three-Quarter Time by Dina Sleiman Page B

leader time and again.
    One last chance, then Patience would take over and set this family on a better course. And perhaps the first step on that path would be an alliance with Mr. Franklin. Tonight at dinner she would begin her pursuit.
    She licked her lips at the prospect.
    * * *
    Robbie twirled her in his arms upon a white puffy cloud surrounded by clear blue sky. Sweeping her into a dip, he dropped a kiss upon her lips, warm and sweet as maple syrup. He rocked her through the steps of the waltz. Down, up, up. Down, up, up. The clouds faded, and they continued dancing through a grove of trees on Montgomery Manor. Green leaves swayed to the rhythm as falling cherry blossoms fluttered through the air.
    He released her to spin away, and when she came back, she hit hard against a wall of glass. Robbie stood caught on the other side. He hollered to her but she couldn’t hear. She struck her fist against her prison, but it would not relent. The glass turned into the window of Montgomery Manor. She remained trapped inside the building, Robbie without.
    Jimbo sauntered by, hands in his pockets, humming the haunting strains of “Meet Me by Moonlight.” He peered at her through the window. “You ain’t got no one to blame but yourself, Miss Gingersnap. No one else to blame.” Robbie shook his head and walked away. Jimbo vanished into the air.
    She remained alone, locked behind the window. Always alone, tears streaming down her face. She pounded upon the glass again and again, but could not break free. “Robbie, Robbie, come back to me!” she shouted.
    Constance awoke, pounding the pillow on her bed in White Willow Hall. The haze of dream cleared. As reality surfaced to the forefront of her consciousness, she could only hope she hadn’t called Robbie’s name aloud.
    For years, Robbie had haunted her thoughts. When finally she’d mustered the resolve to banish him from her daydreams, he’d taken up residence in her sleeping ones instead. She should have grown accustomed to them by now.
    Her heartbeat sounded in her ears, and she struggled to right her breathing. This dream had been unlike any other, though. Never before had she been trapped. What could it mean?
    She pondered the new information she’d uncovered earlier that morning, before she’d taken a nap to rest for the dance. Perhaps her mind wished to convey that she’d caused this division between them. That she’d driven Robbie away. That her Gingersnap temper had caused even more trouble than she’d ever imagined.
    But she’d repented of those old ways. Might this mean she and Robbie could still have a chance? No, ridiculous. Perhaps she could offer him some forgiveness in light of these revelations, but neither of them was in any position to engage in a relationship.
    Family, reputation, employment.
    And Robbie had his own troubles with his struggling farm. If he had fancied the old, wild Gingersnap, then indeed he would not suit the new, reserved Constance.
    At least they could be friends. That would be the perfect tenor for their relationship. And perhaps, just perhaps in light of this new information, the world might not be the horrible place she’d fancied it. Perhaps she could allow a crack or two in the stone-hard defense she had crafted about her shattered heart.
    A knock sounded at the door.
    â€œCome in.”
    The door opened and a familiar brown face peeked around. Martha, the woman she’d met upon her arrival. The daughter of Mary and Samson, Martha generally helped in the kitchen, but she picked up odd duties throughout the house as well. “Mrs. Beaumont done sent me to see if you’d like some help gettin’ dressed for the party.”
    Constance stood and moved to the mirror. “That would be lovely. It’s not that I need to be served, but I’ve never been good at arranging my own hair.” The mirror showed her tight, plain chignon, now frizzled about her