Despicable.
Built on fear.
In his twenty-nine years, Gauge had heard it all before, but only in reports from his spies. No one had dared say it to his face. Perhaps if it’d come from Axis, Gauge would’ve simply laughed into the younger man’s chiseled face. Or if he’d heard such talk from Valve, it would make Gauge roll his eyes.
But hearing it from Lexia stung the little boy in him, always vying for her approval. Gauge had thought, as Leon Tempest’s daughter, she would see the merit in the Founding Season—in Gauge. He’d saved Winter. He’d saved her…
The music picked up tempo. It was the assigned cue for the dancing to start. As host, Gauge had to swallow his momentary disappointment and stand to address his guests. “Distinguished ladies and gentlemen, please enjoy the atmosphere. Tonight, we dance under starlight.”
The heavy lamps dimmed as a new chandelier was lowered over the dance floor. Hundreds of teeny flames twinkled against the crystal and antiqued mirror surfaces, submerging the dancers in a night sky they’d not seen in ten years.
Gauge clapped with the guests, but his eyes were on Lexia and her reaction. Her eyes were so black the chandelier reflected off of them like a mirror, and she smiled despite herself.
Now.
Gauge reached out his hand to her, and after a slight hesitation, Lexia took it. They made quite the pair as he led her to the center of the dance floor, with the polished marble reflecting the chandelier above. Years of balls, galas, and parties had made Gauge into a confident dancer, but he wondered how well Lexia would fare given her sparse history of social affairs.
She surprised him by letting him lead. He took her hand in one and wrapped the other around her waist. This close, he could see the blue freckles at her temples hidden beneath pale powder. Even in those heels, he could see she was tall for a woman on Winter, and the boots brought her up to nearly eye level with him. It was more intimate.
It proved difficult not to flex when Lexia’s free hand rested on his bicep, but Gauge contained himself. Not his smile though.
She peered at him curiously, and he responded by pulling her into the first of many turns around the dance floor. More guests joined them as the music carried on, but here in each other’s arms was plenty of privacy to get to know one another.
“I understand you’re quite the protégé.” Gauge spent every night before an event brushing up on the ins and outs of his guests. Even though last night he was particularly focused on Valve and Axis, he’d found time to learn the business side of Lexia Tempest’s mind. It had impressed him in a clinical sense—a professional one—but since seeing her tonight, it moved him on a more personal level.
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With her reflective eyes on Gauge, Lexia said, “My father wanted to entrust our employees and produce to a well-educated and capable inheritor. Once he retires, I intend to not only honor the family name, but to elevate it.”
Confidence looked good on the crop heiress, whose bodice was driving Gauge insane at this level. It was hard not to notice the graceful glide of her long legs as they danced. He wondered what it would feel like to have them wrapped around him—
“How do you intend to ‘elevate’ such an already prestigious name as ‘Tempest?’” Gauge asked to stem the direction of his thoughts. He wasn’t a teenager. He could control himself.
Lexia tossed her hair a bit, moving her bangs out of her eyes in a cute habitual gesture before saying, “Unions.”
Gauge quirked a brow. “Unions?”
They made another turn around the dance floor, the other dancers swirling into oblivion, leaving them the only two on the marble sea of stars.
Lexia said, “Yes. Our fields and plantations are enormous, expanding even more now with your new city. The people need fair representation, and they aren’t receiving it while scattered as individuals across a densely populated farm in separated cities. So I’m encouraging them to organize and make reasonable demands regarding their benefits and how those benefits stand up to the cost of living on Winter.” She’d gotten so passionate about her little speech that she’d miss the song ending and the next one beginning.
Gauge wasn’t about to tell her she’d technically honored her vow for one dance. Instead, he pulled Lexia closer by the small of her back and twirled them further around the room. He wanted to see the look on Axis’ face, but he knew breaking eye contact with the intelligent young woman in his arms would ruin the moment. So instead, Gauge said, “I’m experiencing the same lack of representation in my mines. Gold, iron—the lot of them. I suppose unions are the reasonable and inevitable solution.”
Lexia looked taken aback. “You agree with me?”
“Yes, but I wonder if we could standardize the expectations a little. To keep things fair across the board. One would hate to see cotton treated with higher regard than corn. Would you be interested in brainstorming some models with me sometime?”
The heiress did not blush like other people on Winter. Her cheeks warmed to a soft yellow in the starlit room. The beautiful young woman broke into a smile, and Lexia’s scent beckoned the edge of Gauge’s memory—rain on a hot summer’s day. Fresh and full of life, she emanated the same warmth from her expression.
Lexia said, “I would like that very much, Count Snow.”
“May I cut in?”
The dancing couple stopped twirling and peered up at the only man in the room taller than Gauge.
Axis would be so much fun to play poker with because the boy couldn’t hide a thing on his face. His soft green eyes had hardened into stained glass as he seethed at Gauge. The censure immediately melted as he looked down at Lexia. They shared a smile so bright it dazzled the room, and Gauge now understood the epic tales of their romance.
Truth be told, Gauge couldn’t afford a duel with Axis. He was too weak and would die pitifully quick. And although he’d loved his time with Lexia in his arms, he had to admit that his bones ached. It was the perfect excuse to sit down and rest.
But…
Gauge lifted Lexia’s knuckles to his lips, and when she didn’t slip her hand out of his gloved one, he took it as permission to kiss them. He put a lot more promise than necessary into his next words. “I’ll call on you tomorrow, Ms. Tempest.” He gave a cheeky nod to Axis, saying, “Master Flicker,” before leaving the couple to their dance.
Cane.
Gauge needed his cane and possibly some adrenaline because he’d nearly let Lexia dance him to death.