Chapter 378: Was it all?
Katherine looked... Uncertain, to say the least as her hands hit the piano keys after their short break.
The apparent confusion on her did not hinder her performance, however. Her fingers found the right notes just as easily and beautifully as they did before.
Arabella kept her hands on Sebastian’s chest when following his lead. The man still held his head high, but something seemed amiss in his eyes.
The look he gave his partner was not a far cry from his signature grin per se, but the glint in his eyes sure had dimmed significantly.
Silence reigned supreme between them, but Arabella made use of the opportunity to focus her senses on the rhythm of his heart.
Steady and fast it battered its cage. Did it follow a different pace the first time they had danced in each other’s arms? Or was it singing a new tune in response to the position she put him in out of the blue? Arabella merely wondered without voicing any of the questions.
"Are you feeling uncomfortable?" that was what she chose to say instead.
"Not the slightest bit of discomfort, my Lady," his smile stretched with his lips, but that time around, none of it reached his eyes.
"Do you dislike me, Sebastian?"
That made him take a moment. Though he kept his thoughts to himself, Arabella had his features to go by.
To her, they described a man who sought his footing. A man who returned to the same place but failed to find the thing he left there on his last visit.
"No, of course not! What reason would I have to?" he did his best to maintain his composure and to his credit, Sebastian was quite good at... Pretending?
"Being born on the wrong side of the border would do it," not once did she avert her gaze from him.
"I don’t have anything against humans if that is what you mean," it was subtle, but his grip tightened around her waist.
"Not a thing, really?" her eyes narrowed.
"No. Especially not someone like you,"
"I do care to know, what am I like as a person in your eyes?" with every answer he gave her, she found a follow up question that only made his shoulders tense further.
"I meant...," he trailed off before inhaling deeply, "I was never that much in contact with humans. Especially not with women,"
Was that it? Was that all? Did all of that anxiety stem from a misunderstanding?
Those thoughts brought her back to her early days with Silas. The days when every word out of his mouth cut in one way or another.
Could Sebastian have gotten frustrated because his charming methods weren’t working as well on her and Ada as they did with vampire women?
"Does the fact that I rose to the title of Lady under this roof after such a short period of time bother you in any way?"
"To be frank with you, I do not understand how a vampire can be with a human, but it is not my place to judge and more importantly, no, it does not bother me at all," he shook his head without breaking eye contact.
"We all judge those around us," her hand slid further towards his heart, "It may not have been your place to comment on it, but silently judging people around us based on their choices isn’t something we can truly refrain from doing,"
He took yet another deep breath before slightly bowing his head, "My apologies if I have offended you, my Lady,"
"You did not," she took her hands off his chest, "But if you want one piece of advice about dealing with human women, if one pulls away from you the way I just did then you should probably let go of her as well,"
Immediately after those words, Sebastian took his hands off her waist, "Thank you for the much needed advice, my Lady," the side smirk he gave was nothing if not strained.
"Ada is a sweet girl. If you think you’re being soft with her then try being softer than you already are,"
"Noted," was all he said.
When they split apart was when she finally realized the weight of all of the eyes that stalked her.
"Alright, now, I’d like to see Abigail and Damian on the floor, please," Persephone’s gaze followed her daughter in law as well while her lips called for the next couple to dance.
Arabella did her very best to keep her cheeks from flaring and thankfully, an image came to sweep her mind away from anything that would cause her to blush.
Allegra stood at the far back, facing the last window in a row. The vampiress seemed... So far from the rest no matter how many steps Arabella took towards her.
"The moon is only visible from KasselMoon tonight," that was her ice breaker.
Allegra made a little leap in her spot, "Oh, my Lady, I hadn’t noticed you approaching," she pushed an odd smile.
Odd as in insincere in Arabella’s eyes. Much like Sebastian, hers was forced to reach her eyes as well. Although there was no sinister element to it like his.
"I am not surprised. You looked like you were floating above a different world," Arabella returned the expression, though a tad warmer, "Is everything alright with you, Allegra?"
"Yes! Yes! I am alright," she nodded profusely without giving her words a thought.
"I can’t listen to your heart or breathe the chemicals that course your body right this instant, but even I can tell you are lying to me, Allegra," by then, the smile had vanished from the young woman’s face.
"No, I am not lying," her body language told a different story.
Arabella’s eyes went over Allegra’s rigid shoulders, her halfway clenched fists and stiffened jaws, "Is that so?"
No response was given to that answer. Allegra’s eyes fled back towards the window. Back towards the darkened yet cozy looking clouds.
Null doubt seeking refuge from the scrutiny of the woman standing beside her.