An orchestra played music that made me want to dance, but nobody was dancing yet. Lord Henry led us to a grouping of chairs where we could see the floor but were out of the way of most of the people milling about the room. Once seated, Flora snapped open her fan and used it to shield her face while she studied the attendees.

“The officers aren’t very handsome,” she commented.

“Don’t be rude, Flora,” Henry said absently, as though it was an automatic response that came up even when his mind was elsewhere.

“They can’t hear me, it’s so noisy in here. And I don’t care if they know what I think of them.”

“That’s still no call to be rude.”

“What do you think, Miss Newton?” she asked, turning to me. “Do you see any who are particularly handsome?”

I had to agree with Flora. There was a hardness about these men that made them unappealing, even if their faces and forms were pleasant. The ones who weren’t hard seemed far too soft to be military men. I guessed that these were noblemen who got their rank through their positions. I pitied Flora if those were the only magisters in the group. “These men aren’t to my taste,” I said. But that didn’t mean I would have minded dancing with some of them. It would be a valuable intelligence-gathering opportunity. Not to mention, it would be a pity not to dance at my first ball.

The orchestra played a fanfare, and the guests applauded as a small group of people went to the center of the floor. I recognized the governor and General Montgomery among a few other men in uniform with their ladies. “It’s the quadrille,” Flora explained. “The host and the top guests do this to start the dancing.”

When the quadrille was over, the orchestra struck up a waltz, and the mass of red uniforms fanned out around the room in search of partners. Flora was easily one of the prettiest girls in attendance, so she was much in demand, and in spite of her earlier dismissal of the men, she accepted them all politely. None of them acknowledged my presence. Henry didn’t go in search of a partner, instead staying near me with his eyes on the dance floor. I wished I’d had a better look at the sketch I’d seen in his book so I could recognize whichever lady had caught his eye.

When Flora took a break from dancing and returned to us, the governor came over to greet his granddaughter and Henry. “You are enjoying yourself, my dear?” he asked Flora.

“The officers are good dancers,” she said, fanning herself, “but I don’t much care for their company.”