In the corner, music began to play again. It was a piece Maria was very familiar with, as most of her dance lessons had been accompanied by this tune.

The guests instinctively made room, expecting the Duke to open the dance.

When the guests assumed that Simon would dance the first dance with his sister, Eleanor obediently stepped aside, leaving the space for her brother and his teacher.

Though they had suspected as much, seeing that the Duke indeed chose to open the dance with Maria caused many of the guests' faces to darken.

In noble circles, there was a well-known unwritten rule: if an unmarried man and woman, who...