"You dance divinely, my lady," he said quietly near her ear, gently leading her with his arm and pressure on her hand past the gay colors of the other dancers. Clarissa flushed and smiled a bit proudly, then sighed and shook her head. "No, my lord," she said demurely. "You give me too much credit. I fear you are the one who dances divinely. I know it is not I, for I have been able to do nothing but stumble and fall when dancing with others." "Then the fault lies with those others. You are as light and graceful as a feather on the dance floor with me." Clarissa considered briefly; then, with a sense of justice, nodded her head. "I believe you may be right, my lord. After all, if it were me alone, even your obvious skill could not have made it so easy. Perhaps my previous partners were a bit nervous and awkward." "How refreshing." She could hear the smile in his voice, and so Clarissa raised her eyebrows in question. "My lord?" "Your honesty. I am pleased by your lack of false modesty. It is something that never really bothered me before, yet now seems as fake and unpleasant as the airs everyone puts on when in the city. I find your honesty most refreshing." Clarissa felt herself blush, and then the first strains of a new song hummed through the air. Her companion paused and turned her into his arms once more. "Close your eyes," he instructed, and began to move them around the room once more. -Adrian & Clarissa"