Snippet #769537

"Don't worry, I don't think you're in any danger of that," said Amelia softly.

It was true. Most people in this room would know of her engagement to Baron Becker and even before that, none of them, especially not the women, would have believed for a moment that she would have a man like River vying to be a suitor. Why would a someone so obviously worldly, so razor-sharp be remotely interested in a naive, unpretty thing like her? She had none of the polite viciousness that enabled many of the other young society women to elbow their way past their rivals into a man's affections. Besides, the only thing that would attract them was her money. It would be clear to everyone within twenty feet of them that River was no more a suitor of hers than he was a priest. No, they'd be wondering why he was with her in the first place.

It was a shame about the dancing, though. Amelia did not acknowledge she was good at many things; a small talent for sketching, a passable sewer, but she knew she could dance. It took little effort; her boyish frame became graceful on the dance-floor. It was perhaps the only thing that her mother was proud of her for.

Amelia shot a envious glance over at the waltzing dancers. But it was cut short by jolt of another person walking into them. She gasped and was about to apologise when she looked up and met the eyes of the man helping her regain her balance.

A sliver of magic touched her; figuratively-speaking it was no heavier than the brush of fingertips across a cheek or the settling of a leaf but Amelia had never experienced anything like it before. She knew of the existence of... other people like her, but she had never encountered anyone explicit in their abilities (aside from River, of course) before.

That accounted for some of the shock that involuntarily sprang to her features. But what was even more surprising than encountering another magic-user was his identity; Rembrandt Vaux, host and heir to a family even older and more prestigious than her own.

As he carried on across the ballroom, she watched his back disappear into the crowd then turned to River, shaking just a little.

"Did you feel that?" she said, in a low voice as they neared the other side of the room. She took a glass of champagne from a proffered tray to prevent her hands from trembling. "That man- Mr Vaux... He can use magic, I'm sure of it! I've never met anyone else like me before..."