Page 76 of A Curse of Hope and Shadows: Part I
Adeline glared at him. “That’s because I don’t eat enough of it.”
Dimitri’s insides twisted. He handed over his money pouch. “Get two.”
Adeline munched her way through another bun, a portion of fire flakes, a toffee apple, a slice of spiced cake, and a piece of ‘cinder’—a brittle, sweet syrupy biscuit that melted on your tongue. She washed it all down with a mug of warm cider and sighed contentedly.
“Are you done with the food?” he asked, trying to stifle his amazement.
“I don’t know. Give me an hour and I could probably go again.”
He didn’t dare doubt her, and she was off again like a shot.
She had a go at all there was to offer, from pumpkin smashing to apple bobbing. She was terrible at almost everything apart from the shooting, but made up for a lack of ability with sheerenthusiasm,the infectious, bubbly kind, that made him want to try everything too, that made him forget he was different, that a slip of his mask was all it would take for these people to stop looking him in the eyes, or recoil and scream in horror.
Just for tonight, he would forget.
“Dancing!” Adeline declared, dragging him towards the square. “Come on!”
Before his panic could renew, before he could imagine a hundred ways that this could go badly, badly wrong, she stopped abruptly. “Oh.”
“What?”
“It’s my…”
He followed her gaze to a young man sitting at the side of the dancers, stag mask askew. He looked up at the two of them, his face breaking into a smile when he saw Adeline. He was tall, dark-haired, strong-looking and distinctly not unpleasant to look at.
And Dimitri knew that smile. He felt it every time he looked at Adeline.
“Adie!” the man exclaimed, leaping up and running towards her. Dimitri’s stomach churned at the warmth and familiarity in his voice, the softness in his expression.
“Jean!” Adeline went to meet him, and he wrapped in a big bear hug that she did not try to wriggle out of.
“How wonderful to see you. It’s been too long. I ran into your brother earlier. He said you’ve got a job at the manor? How’s that going?”
“Splendidly, thank you.”
“Have you seen…” He lowered his voice. “You know?Him.”
Dimitri stepped up to her side. “I wonder who on earth you could be talking about.”
Jean stiffened, gaze running over Dimitri, exploring his form, searching behind the mask, pausing on his left, half-closed eye. If he sensed anything amiss, he did not buckle, but his eyes widened nonetheless. “Hello,” he said, with a cheeriness that rivalled Adeline’s. He held out his hand. “I’m Jean Dupont.”
Dimitri took it, wishing he could use his left and crush this man’s fingers.
“He’s an old school friend,” Adeline said quickly.
“That hurts a little,” said Jean, clutching his heart. Dimitri knew that look, too, the look of minimising pain with a joke and a laugh. Thatdidhurt him. And more than a little. “But never mind,” he added. “I see that you are busy. Perhaps we can catch up another time.”
He started to move away.
“It was good to see you again, Jean,” said Adeline, and Dimitri hated the level of truth in her voice.
Jean smiled at her, bright and beaming. “You too, Adie. Until later.” He gave her a comically dramatic bow, and slipped into the dance.
Adeline was silent for a moment after he departed, staring at the ground. “He didn’t mean to be rude,” she said. “He was only curious. You, though. You looked ready to bite his head off.”
“I didn’t like how he looked at you.” He pursed his lips, waiting for her reprimand. Hehadbeen rude. He was deserving of a scolding. He just couldn’t stand how thisJeanhad made him feel with his easiness around her. “Who was he?”
“He was my first sweetheart. Myonlysweetheart. We courted for a short while after my father’s death, but after Mama died…” Her gaze dropped further, squirming into the ground. Whatever had passed between the two of them, he felt it hadn’t quite ended naturally despite their friendly demeanour towards one another.
