Chapter 15: Jade Rabbit draws lots to choose a dance partner, someone gets there first

This public ball was indeed as grand as the villa manager said.

The party hall had two floors, and was filled with well-dressed ladies and well-dressed gentlemen. It was much more lively than any ball Alice had attended before.

In the lobby, the supervising emcee invited several newly arrived guests to draw a number card so that they could match dance partners for the young men and women who were not familiar with each other.

This was the first time Alice had heard of this method of choosing a dance partner by drawing lots, and she found it quite novel.

Although Meryton had public dances, they were only for familiar people who socialized frequently in the neighborhood, so there was no need for such a thing. Furthermore, once young people entered society, unless they were married, they would soon be dancing with the same old faces, exchanging dances with each other. Therefore, upon arriving in London, they were eager to find new partners. Unfortunately, most of the people they met were well-fed, so-called upper-class people, who were not very interesting at all.

She immediately reached out and pulled out a card from the prepared box, then took a look at it. It was number 53.

Miss Bentley also randomly drew a card, number 121.

Mr. Hurst showed no interest in the dance and went straight to the card room upon entering the party hall. Mrs. Hurst also had no intention of joining the dance and only chatted with Miss Bingley. After Mr. Bingley explained the situation of the engaged couple to the emcee, he directly invited Jane to join the dance.

The supervising emcee had to explain the dance arrangements to the two ladies who had drawn lots. There were about 200 sets of cards prepared for the evening, with approximately 15 to 20 couples dancing in each round. The emcee would call out the numbers, and the couple holding the same number would become dance partners.

Alice was eager to try and was looking forward to what kind of dance partner she would get.

Upstairs, Adrian Moran, who had also come to the public dance, had no idea about dancing.

"Ed, you're at the ball, but you're not dancing. What a waste of time!" The old Countess of Camden put down her cup and scolded her son without hesitation. "You're already 24. If you don't find a young lady to marry while you're still young and presentable, who will want you when you're older, given your foul mouth?"

The old countess looked up at her son's face, which should have been attractive but had quickly lost the favor of all the ladies. She continued to complain, "Ladies all want considerate husbands. You have no title, no money, and no good temper. When you lose your beauty, you'll be completely lost to me."

"Mom, let it fall into your hand." Adrian Moran spoke of this matter in his usual calm tone.

"Are you trying to make me angry just because my headache has gotten better?" The old countess accused her son of not being considerate of his old mother.

"How could that be, Mom?" He knew that his mother was deliberately looking for trouble to lead to the next sentence -

"I don't care. Since you're here now, go dance with me no matter what you say today. Don't waste the money I spent on hiring a dance etiquette teacher for you. Mr. Smith is not cheap." The elegant lady was still graceful and dignified even when she was playing tricks. People nearby who couldn't hear what she was saying just thought she was talking to her son in a gentle voice.

Adrian Moran leaned on the railing on the second floor, acting as a punching bag, waiting for his mother to vent her dissatisfaction for the day.

Miss Alice is here too.

Seeing the person coming, he straightened up and stood to the inside.

That Mr. Bingley… turned out to be her sister's lover. Glancing at the engaged couple dancing hand in hand downstairs, he turned his gaze back to the young lady curiously drawing lots.

"John, go downstairs and help your husband draw a number card." Seeing her son's indifference, the old countess used her ultimate strength, "Ed, before my headache is completely healed, please obey me for the last time."

"Yes, ma'am."

"Wait!" His mother seemed determined to make him dance today. Adrian Moran stopped John and said, "I'll smoke it myself."

After going down the stairs, he walked straight to the card box with an expressionless face and drew out a card with the font in particularly eye-catching letters: number 74.

He had just seen Miss Alice draw number 53 upstairs.

Since this dance must be performed, it is better to dance with this lady whom I am relatively familiar with than to offend other ladies, he told himself.

Adrian Moran was trying to find out who in the venue had the card number 53, but he didn't expect that person to be waiting at the door to see who his dance partner was. When he saw Alice holding the card with the same number, he came over.

A stocky, greasy man gently shook the card in his hand twice, making sure the lady opposite saw it before saying, "Miss, please allow me to introduce myself. My name is——"

Before he could finish his words, Alice turned and tried to leave, throwing away the cards in her hand. Dancing with such a man was a real waste of her time.

Fortunately, someone immediately saved her eyes and helped her solve the problem of handling the cards.

"Good evening, Miss Alice." Adrian Moran saw what Alice was about to do, walked over and bowed slightly to invite her, "May I have the next dance?"

"Sir, Miss Alice is my dance partner, and it will soon be our turn to dance." The greasy man called out the name of the lady he had not yet met in a very familiar manner.

"Mr. Moran and I came here together," Alice interrupted him, "I just wanted to try drawing cards. Sorry."

Then, he threw the card in his hand to the greasy man and replied to Adrian Moran: "Of course, I'm happy to do so."

Alice handed the man her gloved hand and led the still stunned man to the end of the new dance line, which was about to begin. There was a place reserved for men and women who were invited to dance freely.

The emcee announced that the next song would be an English country dance.

Alice and Adrian Moran were the last to enter. Unfortunately, there were twelve teams ahead of them, which was just enough space for three teams of four to perform this dance. They were left alone.

The event host asked the two if they wanted to wait for the next round.

Looking at the man in front of her who looked like he was about to go to the battlefield, Alice smiled and said angrily, "I'm afraid this gentleman will run away in the next round."

Before the man could react, she pulled him into the dance group and began to dance skillfully and lightly.

The hand movements of English country dance are not complicated. Instead, they should be kept as dignified as possible. There are more changes in dance steps and formations, and the overall style is light and elegant.

Alice turned around, returned to the center, held the man's hand with one hand, and turned half a circle together.

"Mr. Moran doesn't seem to dance often." She saw that the man's dancing movements were mechanical and stiff. He didn't look like he was enjoying a leisure activity. Instead, every move was tense, solemn and clumsy.

"I don't think it needs to be in my life all the time." Adrian Moran tried hard to recall his past learning results in his mind, but he could only copy them by rote memorization.

They began to change their dance formations, and the two of them only thought that there was another team in the open space next to them, and they exchanged positions with each other.

"Well, I think it's a healthy activity." Alice tilted her head to look at the man's hurried steps. "Mr. Moran really needs to learn it."

After saying this, the distance between the two of them shortened again.

Only then did Alice see the man's slightly flushed cheeks.

She deliberately moved a little closer and added the rest of her words: "Otherwise, such a poor dance will not win the lady's favor."

After saying this, the face that was already one point red instantly turned three points redder.

"Don't worry about that, Miss Alice." The man straightened his back and pretended nothing had happened.

When other groups of four held hands and spun in a circle, she and Mr. Moran would shrink the circle and spun in a circle holding hands.

Once when they were changing formations, the man accidentally took the wrong step and was almost tripped by her. She held his waist and prevented him from falling.

Alice held his waist with one hand and his shoulder with the other, and used all her strength to put him back on the right track before continuing her dance.

Her dancing was still as graceful and skillful as ever, leaving Adrian Moran's mind and body separated, and he didn't know where to put his hands and feet.

After barely finishing the dance, the man stiffened his body and prepared to say goodbye to Alice.

Unexpectedly, when the two of them came out of the rectangular dance floor, they saw an elegant old lady, her personal maid, and Adrian Moran's servant John waiting at the entrance.

Alice had seen this figure before; it was the same lady who had appeared in Hyde Park before.

He glanced at the person next to him and saw that it was his mother.

The visitor had a friendly smile on his face. He nodded at Alice and scolded his son, "Why don't you introduce her to me? Who is this lady?"

Inwardly, he was complaining: "Has my son finally been blessed by the god of love? He hadn't leaked any information before. John is really something. He actually missed such important information."

Adrian Moran was in the middle to introduce them.

Upon learning that she was the recent celebrity in London and the maker of the awakening ointment, the old Countess of Camden immediately expressed her gratitude: "Miss Alice, thanks to your medicine, my years-long headache has finally been cured."

"The only pity is that the awakening ointment is too effective, and my only means of urging Ed to socialize more is almost gone." The old countess spoke with regret.

However, it seems that a new solution has been found.

She looked at Miss Alice in front of her, who was dignified and elegant. She thought she was actually a good marriage candidate.

The topic of awakening ointment has been a hot topic at recent gatherings of upper-class ladies, and the name Alice Bennett has become well-known, with many people praising her.

Of course, there were also some people who said sour things. They kept saying that a lady from a gentleman's family should not do something as dishonorable as doing business, not to mention that they heard that each of their daughters had a dowry of only more than 800 pounds, which seemed a bit shabby for a gentleman's family.

But that was before.

This lady herself used Alice's Pharmacy's Refreshing Ointment to treat her headaches and was well aware of its effectiveness. She knew she would make a lot of money in the future. And while Alice wasn't a noble, she was at least a lady of the gentry class. In her eyes, the young woman in front of her basically met her criteria for a wife for her son, making her a promising prospect. Her son, in particular, seemed to be somewhat tempted.

Maybe we can bring one or two together.

After a brief exchange of pleasantries and the exchange of addresses in Bath, the old Countess learned that Alice and her sister lived next door to them, and that the two families were neighbors, so she warmly invited Alice to visit.

The author has something to say:

----------------------

Adrian Moran, nicknamed Ed