Through My Eyes

Hey, it's me again! I've been working on Through My Eyes for quite a while now, so it's become one of my baby projects. I've actually started to think of the main character, Eloise as one of my own friends, so as you can guess, I'm pretty protective :P Anyway, as you may have noticed, I've been AWOL from Wattpad for a while, but now I'm back!! Burning Desire is still a work in progress, and if you guys wanna check it out, please be my guest!! Enjoy the story and please comment and vote IF you think the story deserves it. So, I'm gonna shut up now, Lightness xxxx

Prologue

There are hordes and hordes of people gathered in the ballroom. The women are mostly immersed in conversation or staring up at bachelors as they are spun around in a whirl of silk and velvet. The men are shrouded behind clouds of smoke emerging from behind their pipes, their beady eyes settling upon pretty young girls like a hawk watching it's prey. 

I stand up, resting the glass of punch on the table and setting my dress to rights. It swishes around me as I walk around the edges of the alleged dance-floor. Music croons from a raised platform, where some international band pull at their instruments, eyes closed, their facial muscles twitching while they bare their souls to the audience around me.

In front of me, a woman with the nose of an aristocrat glances at me, then leans in close with her companion and whispers conspiratorially. I pretend not to notice and clasp my hands in front of me, observing the people all around me. 

As I approach the woman and her friend, she touches me softly on the arm.

“Excuse me, sorry to bother you. Aren't you Eloise, the daughter of Duchess Adeline?” She asks, batting her eyelashes innocently.

“Yes, I am.” I confirm.

“I have a son your age. Bentley, he is called. He is still a bachelor, you know.” She grins at me knowingly, reminding me of a smug Cheshire cat.

“That's good to hear.” I smile and then add, “I hope you find a bride for him soon.” Gently tugging my arm away, I stride in the direction I was heading in before I was halted. 

I hear an outraged gasp behind me and can't help but to smile to myself with satisfaction.

A man, around my age but maybe one or two years older, has his back to me. Something about him draws me to him. I peer around some stranger, trying to get a better look at me. I now push past people, walking around them in order to get closer to the man. 

When I am around ten or twenty feet behind him, he turns to face me. He has short dark brown hair and contrasting cobalt blue eyes that strike a fire in me. He has a body muscled from a life of hard labour but it doesn't show in his smooth, golden skin. 

He smiles at the sight of me and I break out in a goofy grin of my own. He glides over to me, lowering to a knee and kissing my hand. 

Girls around me gasp with envy at the sight of this endearing gesture.

I ignore them; my eyes glued to the man's as he rises to stand, towering at least a head above me. He does not let go of my hand, he just holds it tighter as he asks in a low  voice, in a hushed tone that makes his dialogue seem intimate, just for the two of us. “Can I have this dance?”

Blinking, I nod.

He confidently leads me into the centre of the room, in the midst of the swell of people dancing. He leads my hand up, around his neck and he holds the other in his hand, still. His free arm curls around my waist, pulling me closer.

We begin to step to the music, swaying slowly, him leading the dance and me following. He spins me around gracefully, encasing me with his arms and then dipping me low.

My head reels from the spinning... and the warmth... and his proximity. 

The music stops and I immediately remember myself, allowing him to lift me back up so I can stand on my own two feet. Nervously, I attempt to tuck my hair behind my ear, only to remember too late that it has all been pulled up in a chignon. 

As people began to chatter again, I turn and stride into a dark corner of the room, my cheeks burning...

P.S. the picture is of Eloise