Bridgerton - A Girl To Remember

Chapter Ten

Benedict's point of view

Olivia is wearing the preposterous dress my brother picked out for her and I cannot help but pity her. I smile, but she still comes across nervously,

"are you ready?" I ask,

"can I be ready for this?"

"do not worry, we will have fun" I walk her to the ballroom and watch her look around for a minute,

"why have all this space if you never host a ball?" she asks while inspecting the ceiling,

"we can only host a ball when Gregory and Hyacinth are old enough, I hope you are not disappointed?"

"no, please, the less balls the better I presume.."

"you do not like them?"

"I..uhm.. I have never been to one.."

"of course, my apologies.."

"it's okay. It is just scaring me; I do not have the experience others have"

"no, but you have us.."

"are you coming to lady Danbury's ball?" I must admit, I was not planning on going, but by the fear written all over her face I cannot do differently than change my plans,

"yes, I am coming. I can dance all evening with you if you'd like, though my brother would not appreciate it"

"thank you"

"no need to, I enjoy dancing"

"you'd still enjoy it if I step on your feet every two seconds..?"

"maybe not. But I am sure our practice today will not let that happen" I smile and start to explain her the basic dance etiquette and moves. She truly is bad, but there is a lot of potential and she is not giving up until she has it perfectly right. After a few corrections from my side and a lot of hard work on hers, we get to the actual dances. Anthony told me just what ones she should learn for the upcoming ball, explicitly telling me this is not the last time I teach her. Luckily, the joy in her eyes makes it no more duty to give her dance lessons, instead, I find myself smiling all the time.

Olivia has an excellent memory; she remembers all the steps I teach her and within the hour she is able to perform one entire dance. We begin dancing together and I can see the hesitation,

"if you are afraid of me already, how will you ever dance with all the other gentlemen?" I ask politely,

"I am not afraid of you, Benedict, I am not used to this"

"you will, we will start off slowly" she nods, and I turn on the music. She neatly follows my lead but is obviously stiff, she is not listening to the music and only focusing on the steps she must make. Resulting in her stepping on my right foot,

"Auch"

"I am so sorry! Oh god... I will never be able to do this.."

"it is okay, it does not hurt"

"no I was being clumsy, my apologies"

"Olivia, do not worry so much, keep on practicing and we will get there"

"okay" she nods, and we start over again, every time she makes a mistake or steps on my feet she backs away and feels bad. She gets angry at herself, but she does not stop and she improves by the minute. When she knows the dances fully, Anthony walks in on us and Olivia lets go of me instantly,

"Hello Olivia, hello brother, everything okay in here?"

"excellent, brother" I answer on Olivia's behalf,

"good, you will not mind showing me then..?"

"of course not. Olivia..." I hold out my hand and she accepts my invitation with insecurity,

"if I ruin it now..." she sighs,

"I will take care of my brother for you, I promise. And you will not ruin anything. Just, breathe for me please, I will guide you.." she bites her lip for a second and then takes a deep breath, here we go...

The first tones of the music echo through the room and mister Anthony Bridgerton gives the dancing couple a criticizing look. They circle each other, their gaze remains locked. Benedict places his hand on Olivia's back, her hand on his shoulder, and their free hands finally meet. Together, they dance to the music, their feet in perfect sync to the beating of her heart. As the song progresses, Olivia appears more relaxed, and allows a small smile to form on her lips. She is perfect.

Benedict guides her across the dance floor as if they are in a dream. He keeps his eyes on her, yet still, he knows exactly where to take her. Nothing feels forced; It literally seems as if Olivia is floating. He goes right, she goes right. He speeds up, she speeds up. They become one with the song and with the dance. They continue like that until they must separate, because the song has ended.

Anthony's piercing look has been removed, he was not smiling either, but the pride was there. He was confident in her and in the ball, she was now officially ready to enter the ball. Yet, he knew by his sister's former experience, one misstep could change it all...

"that was not too bad, was it?" she asks with a tone of surprise in her voice,

"you were brilliant, Olivia"

"there would have been no brilliant without you, Benedict"

"I am just your older cousin, doing his duty.."

"well, you perform your duty quite well, mister Bridgerton"

"now I feel old.." she laughs innocently and excuses herself from me and Anthony. He walks towards me, and I cannot help but feel like the proud older brother, she proved him wrong, no doubt,

"she is good, is she not?" I ask teasing,

"yes, brother, you made her a fine dancer"

"I did not make her anything, it was all her. I just gave her the last little push she needed"

"as you wish, let us hope her talent will not leave her anytime soon"

"you should have more faith in her"

"faith is a lie, and it will ruin us all"

"of course it will, see you at dinner, brother.."

"brother.."