The Christmas Ball by Angelisa Fontaine-Wood
Hablot Knight Browne "A Christmas Dance at a Country House" THE CHRISTMAS BALL by Angelisa Fontaine-Wood The dancers shattered into a twirl of fragmented movement in the mirrors lining the walls. Despite the ballroom's heat, I shivered into goose-flesh at his icy hand between my shoulder blades. Though light on his feet, perhaps because he had none, my partner's chains tread heavy on my toes. Fetters however were no match for the heady waltz losing us in its vertiginous spin. Yet, when I listened closely he was counting. Not 1-2-3, 1-2-3, measuring his steps, rather, vast amounts of money — 112 pounds, 5 shillings 2 pence. While sighing, he seemed to be adding up some kind of accounts, unable or unwilling to otherwise converse. I dared...
