Hopeless Romance

5 | Pride & Prejudice

"Is my Tatiana not the most graceful dancer, Mister Forsythe?" Mrs. Joyner asked.

Addie and the Joyner family—minus Grace—had joined the Forsythes, Mr. Crandall, and Ms. Sophia Brown in a corner of the ballroom. The Fitzpatricks, from afar, stared at them jealously despite already conversing with the Forsythes several times during the ball.

"She most certainly is," Mr. Forsythe said as he looked to Tiana beside him with unmitigated glee. She blushed.

"Oh, Mister Forsythe, you're too kind," Tiana said.

"I speak honestly, Miss Tiana. You're a marvelous dancer. I suspect your feet are adorned with wings."

"Gratitude!" she said. "You're a wonderful dancer yourself."

"Why, thank you! With talent like yours, I hold your opinion in the highest regard," Mister Forsythe said. His eyes didn't leave Tiana despite her discomfort with his intensity.

Addie was captivated by Tiana's effortless effect on him. She felt like she and the others were interrupting a private moment between the two, except for Mrs. Joyner.

"What an elegant compliment, Mister Forsythe," Mrs. Joyner slurred, slinging her half-empty wine glass about with dramatic gestures. Addie, Tiana, and Mr. Joyner were well aware of the number of glasses she had consumed over the course of the evening — so much so that Addie was convinced the glasses themselves had become wary of her smudged lips. "You know, my youngest daughter, Grace, is a close second to Tatiana in beauty." Her glassy eyes fell upon Mr. Crandall. "As I'm sure you've noticed, she's spent most of the evening on the dancefloor with countless partners to choose from." In the days leading up to the ball, Mrs. Joyner devised a plan to pair Mr. Crandall with Grace, yet Addie could not envision a more unsuitable match. She couldn't decide who she would pity more, her sister or Mr. Crandall.

"Addie is also quite the dancer," Mr. Joyner added. "Why, an assembly only feels complete after I have shared at least two dances with her." It was not lost on Addie that her father's compliment served as a gentle reminder to Mr. Forsythe of his promise to dance with her. Though Addie had given up hope on that front, she wondered whether it might work.

"Oh?" Mr. Forsythe said, teasingly eyeing Mr. Crandall who immediately looked away. Addie's jaw tightened as she remembered Mr. Crandall's earlier insults.

"Oh, Jonathan, you exaggerate unnecessarily," Mrs. Joyner inserted after a sip of wine. "She's a tolerable dancer, yet she'd be more proficient if she had more opportunities to dance like my Tatiana and Grace. Countless gentlemen request their company on the dancefloor...and off," Mrs. Joyner playfully suggested. Addie noticed Ms. Forsythe and Ms. Brown smirking at each other.

"How do you like our glorious town, Mister Forsythe?" Mr. Joyner digressed to distract from his wife's drunken antics.

"I'm enjoying it a great deal so far," Mr. Forsythe answered.

"Splendid!" Mrs. Joyner chimed in. "And yourself, Mister Crandall? Miss Forsythe? Miss Brown?"

"It's perfectly adequate," Mr. Crandall unenthusiastically answered.

"Yes, it's a charming, little town," Ms. Meredith Forsythe said, her sarcasm obvious to Addie.

"It does indeed have a cute charm," Ms. Sophia Brown added in a shrill, nasal tone.

Addie wasn't fond of the two ladies. Their snobbery was barely concealed since their meeting hours earlier, and she sensed that their subtle insults were just a hint of their true capabilities.

"It truly is marvelous," Mr. Forsythe inserted. "The breathtaking views and friendly people like yourselves. I'm positively smitten," he said, looking at Tiana.