Princess Lea (Part 1) Eng.

Chapter 16

He laughed, but quickly went to join her.

– Almost everyone's here – he added, catching her on the stairs.

– Phenomenal, she said, nervously adjusting her wrist watch. Lea had no idea what to do with her hands, the lack of pockets where she could hide them was a source of discomfort.

They walked into the main hall. Most of the people were already there. Lea noticed Henry, which was unfortunate for her. The boy noticed her as well and started to walk towards her.

– Hold me or I won't make it – she muttered, Samuel hid a smile and as soon as Henry approached him, he tactfully backed away, leaving them alone, much to Lea's displeasure.

– It's good to see you all safe and sound – Henry gave a deep bow.

– You too – Lea tried to sound pleasant, she even smiled slightly, although it looked more like grimacing.

– I'm very sorry about the accident – Henry was worried when he saw the stitches she got.

– It's nothing serious – she waved her hand around, but she didn't see Ned anywhere, could he not be on his way and leave her alone?

She felt a pang of regret and started to get more and more nervous. A moment later, there was a call for everyone to be at the table where hot food was on the table. Lea's mother had planned the seating of the guests carefully, there was a little card with the first and last name of the guest on each place setting, Henry sat next to Lea on the right and there was a free place for Ned on the left. Lea was eating her soup slowly. She was well aware of the fact that after the meal there was always that awkward moment when the music would start to play and everyone would be asked to go on the dance floor. Today there was a musician who played the piano for her.

Of course, at the request of her mother, he only played slow songs. Letycja jumped onto the dance floor first. Lea had already stopped caring who all these new people were who started to appear around them.

– May I ask you to dance with me? – Henry turned to Lea and put down his napkin.

Lea cursed in her mind, but she had no choice but to agree. She was counting the hours until the end of this farce, if Henry jumped out and proposed right away, she would faint.

– Of course – she made a grimace, imitated a smile, and rose from her chair, taking Henry's hand as he led her to the center of the dance floor.

Besides them and Letitia, several couples appeared on the dance floor. Thanks to them, Lea did not feel like everyone was staring at her, even though everyone was staring at her, especially her parents. Henry danced quite well, having been taught to dance since he was a child, just like her. She could dance, but she deliberately stepped on Henry's toes several times in hopes of discouraging him.

– Excuse me – she said – I must be doing badly today.

– It doesn't matter – Henry, although he realized that the girl wasn't feeling well, tried to put on a good face for her bad play – you must be tired after that accident.

– Yes, that must be it – she said with relief, glad that he'd thought of it himself. She was about to go to the table when she heard someone's voice behind her.

– Since you've finished – Ned said – I'm kidnapping this young lady - he held out his hand.

A broad smile appeared on Lea's face, she felt an incredible sense of relief at the sight of him. She took his hand and Henry frowned at her, not understanding why the girl had seemed so tired just a moment ago and now she was beaming with joy. He went back to the table with a reluctance. Ned pulled Lea close to him, embracing her around the waist with one hand and holding her hand at the level of his heart with the other.