“Idiot,” Torgos said, and sighed.

Sparks glanced over her shoulder as Palfrey escorted Mrs. Bainbridge back to the ballroom, but no one followed them. They reentered through the main door, and she watched as Palfrey brought Mrs. Bainbridge over to the king’s table. His Majesty stood and bowed, then took Mrs. Bainbridge by the hand and led her onto the dance floor. The orchestra struck up “You and the Night and the Music,” and the guests applauded as the couple began to spin around the room.

A waltz. Good luck, Gwen, thought Sparks.

She needed a drink. Badly. She walked over to the bar.

“Whisky,” she said. “Make it a double, if you don’t mind.”

“And who do you think you are, missy?” sneered the bartender.

She stared at him blankly, then remembered what she was wearing.

“A maid,” she said. “I’m a maid, of course. I’ll just go stand over there with the others.”

King George II smiled at Mrs. Bainbridge.

“There were many women I have had to dance with tonight,” he said as they whirled around the room. “There is only one I wanted to dance with.”

“Then I’m sorry she couldn’t be here, Your Majesty,” replied Mrs. Bainbridge. “I hope that I prove an adequate substitute.”

“You are very well informed,” he said, laughing ruefully. “Still, it is a lovely thing to dance with a beautiful woman, no matter what the circumstances. One can forget that the world exists outside the dance floor. One can forget that one is no longer young, or healthy. Or king.”

“There are things I should like to forget as well, Your Majesty,” said Mrs. Bainbridge. “Let us be amnesiacs together.”

Bill Savill must have received some cue to prolong the moment, for he signaled the orchestra to take the repeat. Mrs. Bainbridge closed her eyes for a moment, and it was Ronnie holding her, spinning her into a dream. Then she opened them and saw the king looking at her sympathetically.

“I think that you were not forgetting at all,” he said softly.

“I can’t dance with the one I want to dance with, either, Your Majesty,” she said. “And I never will again.”

“Close your eyes again and think of him,” he urged. “It is all that I can offer.”

“Thank you,” she said.

And she closed her eyes and remembered it all. His arms became Ronnie’s arms. Another orchestra played in another ballroom, and they were young and looking forward to everything.

When the music stopped, the king released her, and she went into her curtsy again. This time, her leg didn’t complain at all. When she rose, he bowed and kissed her hand.

“Thank you for this respite,” he said.

“Thank you for letting me remember,” she replied.

She returned to her table, where Captain Palfrey stood and applauded.

“That was a sight to behold,” he said. “You danced with a king.”

“I danced with a king,” she said. “And stepped out with a memory. I think I would like to go now, if you don’t mind.”