“I told that guy I’d go on a date with him if he won his match,” Aiden confessed.
Nicholas blinked. He guessed there was a bright side to losing the match after all. He didn’t want that prize.
“I… didn’t know Bastien’s match was against you,” said Aiden, eyes still on the trees.
“’Course not,” said Nicholas. “Why would you want to see me lose in front of everybody? You’re on my team.”
Aiden made a complicated little hook shape with his mouth. It was like Eugene was allergic to pineapples, and Aiden was allergic to being believed in.
Nicholas had no idea why Aiden got so many dates. He seemed like a lot to handle, honestly.
Yet at that moment, another admirer approached, blushing under his freckles. “I’m Colm,” he said in an Irish accent. “Aiden, isn’t it? You look amazing.”
Aiden rolled his eyes. “Every moment’s radiant o’clock for me. Get used to it.”
“I’d like to,” said the boy. “Will you dance with me?”
Wow, everyone was obsessed with dancing. Nicholas sneaked a look over at Seiji to share their dancing-related distaste and saw the captain approaching out of the corner of his eye. Nicholas perked up.
“Look, there’s Harvard. With his friend Arune. Do you know him, Aiden? Arune’s super nice.”
Aiden’s attention slid abruptly away from the trees. Something shifted in his demeanor, like a light being flipped on a stage to indicate, Everyone, look over here! though his expression didn’t change. He stepped forward and slipped an arm around Colm’s waist. Colm jumped and then relaxed, turning his head so their faces were very close together.
“I’d love to dance,” Aiden murmured.
They moved onto the dance floor before Harvard reached them, Aiden turning rather pointedly away. Harvard wasn’t looking at the dance floor. He was smiling at the rest of them, so clearly, he was fine with whoever Aiden was dating. Nicholas grinned back, and Eugene joined the group.
Nicholas and Eugene hugged, Eugene thumping Nicholas’s back with almost his usual terrifying strength.
“Thanks for the card, Seiji, my guy,” Eugene told him. “Really liked it. Very you.”
“You’re welcome,” said Seiji, clearly pleased.
Eugene turned to the rest of his teammates. “Hey, guys, I have a huge problem. Melodie says she loves to waltz.”
Nicholas shook his head in commiseration. “Why does everyone like dancing?”
Eugene stared. “Dancing sounds awesome, bro! I’d love to waltz with her! But I don’t know how.”
That was a problem Nicholas couldn’t help him with. He wasn’t entirely sure what waltzing even looked like.
Then Seiji’s arm, set against Nicholas’s, went tense as sprung steel.
Through lemon trees and starlight walked Jesse Coste and Marcel Berré, the Leventis twins behind them. Jesse’s curling golden hair was swept back in a way that Nicholas thought of as a rich-boy style, but it suited him. Slightly dressed up with his hair done that way, Jesse looked indefinably more grown-up. He resembled their father even more than usual.
“Hello, Seiji,” he said.
The Leventis twins, Thomas and Aster, exchanged a look. Nicholas wasn’t sure which of the twins, with their identical brown mops of hair and mirror-bright blue eyes, was which. The only difference between them was that one twin usually frowned while the other usually wore a smile. The smiling one, surprisingly, was the one who led the way into the crowd and away from the Kings Row team.
Maybe they didn’t want to be near the Kings Row team, in case the other Camp Menton trainees would think they were losers, too.
“Hi, Jesse,” said Harvard. “There are other people here, you know.”
His voice was warm and not judgmental, but faint color stole into Jesse’s face. “Hello, everyone,” he said with a smile too sudden to be at all sincere. His gaze skipped over Nicholas.
Arune snorted with amusement. “Hey, Jesse. Hi, Marcel. Fun match we had against Exton the other day.”
“You’re still overextending when you lunge,” murmured Marcel.
Nicholas thought it sounded like constructive criticism—like Coach would give him. Or like Seiji would give him. He honestly didn’t think it was a mean comment. The Exton boys just knew what was best when it came to fencing and let everyone know they knew best.
Eugene eyed Jesse in the manner of a lion spotting a fresh antelope. “Hey, bro.”
Jesse stared, clearly finding it impossible to believe anyone would ever address him that way.
Eugene persisted. “Can you waltz?”
Jesse regarded Eugene with suspicion. “I can waltz.”
“Can you teach me how, bro, real quick?”
“Do you not know how?” Jesse seemed so deeply startled by this information that, for a moment, Nicholas thought he might switch into coaching mode and waltz with Eugene. Instead, Jesse said disapprovingly, “Your captain should be the one to fill the gaps in your expertise.”
Harvard looked taken aback, but willing. “Well… if you like, Eugene, I could…”
“Oh wow!” exclaimed Eugene, totally oblivious to Harvard offering to waltz with him under the lemon trees. “She’s coming! She’s beautiful! Everybody, act normal!”
“Not sure you’re playing to this group’s strengths,” muttered Arune. “Hey, Harvard, c’mon. Let me introduce you to some fun German fencers I know.”
As Harvard and Arune moved off, Melodie Suard drifted in from another building that provided accommodation for Camp Menton, this one a whitewashed farmhouse with a painted wheel in the window. She had her long hair down, which would get in her eyes if she fenced, Nicholas thought critically. Eugene sighed.
Melodie fluttered her eyelashes. “You look dashing tonight, Eugene.”
“You too!” said Eugene. An expression of extreme mortification crossed his face an instant later.
Melodie smiled at the compliment, then held out a hand, fingers circled with silver rings, and placed it on Eugene’s arm. “Would you care to dance?”
“Um,” said Eugene. “Great that you asked. Let me tell you, I can totally dance. But maybe later? I’m… not feeling well.”
Melodie’s face softened with concern. “Ah, of course. You should rest a while. Shall we go talk down by the brook?”
“I would love to go talk down by the brook,” said Eugene enthusiastically.
“On our last night, that’s when we have the proper party,” Melodie continued. “We shall waltz then.”
“Oh…,” Eugene said. “Great.…”
Melodie glided off to the brook, Eugene following close behind. Another pair of fencers stopped by Seiji, speaking to him in a language Nicholas didn’t even recognize but with an admiring intonation. Clearly, people had been watching Seiji train all day. Before Jesse came, Seiji had been careful about introducing Nicholas to people, but this time he seemed to forget Nicholas completely and turned his back on Jesse with alacrity.
That left Nicholas alone, in the cold spotlight of the Exton boys’ gaze.
“Were you expecting to be introduced as Seiji’s fencing partner all night?” Jesse asked. All the warmth and charm was gone from his voice.