Harp's Manor

INSTALLMENT XII

May 26, 1928

Mr. Forrest and I still have not spoken, except in the most cold and necessary manner. To be clear, I am really the one speaking coldly; Mr. Forrest seems almost hurt by this treatment. I really don't think I can keep this up much longer. I can't, however, trust him without reason given by himself, and as he has yet to present such information, I am stopped from doing such a thing.

Mr. Leigh and the Doppelgangers, as far as I know, are still safe. We actually had the pleasure of visiting them at the Savoy Ballroom on Saturday. What a place it is! Brudget Burgess fit in like a chameleon. Only she, Audrey, and I went, due to everyone else declining the opportunity. We had a splendid time together. When she is finally in a place as loud as her personality, Bridget is much easier to deal with.

This, however, didn't stop her from sending my evening in an unexpected direction. She was trying to teach me the foxtrot, but after a few failed attempts, realized that it might be difficult without a man to dance with. After a moment's thinking, she exclaimed, "I know! We'll just get Mr. Leigh over here to dance with you. Oh, Leigh! Yeah! C'mon over!"

"That really won't be necessary," I tried to say, but she had already caught the man's attention. I've never been a fan of dancing. Finding myself in the middle of a crowded dance floor, dancing with someone I'd known for a little over two months, sounded like something out of a nightmare.

I blushed as Mr. Leigh made his way over. "You wanted me, Miss Burgess?"

"Rosie needs a dance partner," Bridget said, squeezing my arm. "She's never danced before!"

"Never danced before!"

"I know! Now get her out on the floor and teach her, Leigh. Really, it's about time you learned, Rosie. What have you been doing all your life? You need to get out more, hon!"

"Where are you going, Bridget?" I asked as she began to saunter off.

"Oh, just finding some men to talk to. Don't mind me, I'll be back in a jiffy!" She vanished into the crowd with a wink.

"We'll start easy," Mr. Leigh said, turning to me. "Now you'll put your hands here- if you don't mind, that is. There. See? It really isn't too difficult, just like a hug. Make sure your feet are together- yeah, like that. Now, I'll start by putting my left foot forward-"

I backed up a little, and his light grip strengthened. "You can't dance if you're trying to get away from your partner, Miss Thornton," he said, smiling. "Is this really your first time dancing?"

"I haven't really been out much," I murmured.

"There's no fault in that. Okay, let's start this again. I'll put my left foot forward- there, that's it- and now you put your right foot back. No, your right foot- yes, that's right. Now I'll slide my right foot over here, and at the same time you'll move your left foot over there. See, it's just like walking. Okay, those are the slow beats. Now these next two steps are faster, but it's basically the same thing."

Slowly, awkwardly, we began to move. It was like walking, but the most difficult form of walking I could have imagined. I continued to scuff Mr. Leigh's polished shoes, mumbled an apology every time we bumped into each other. I couldn't seem to coordinate with him.

He made another movement, and my foot went another way, nearly making our faces hit each other. "Oh! I'm sorry," he said quickly. "I forgot to tell you about turning."

"This doesn't seem very simple to me," I said.

"It really is, you just need to get the hang of it. I've never taught anyone to dance before; everyone I know seems to already know how."