In the five months that followed, Melinda's reality had somehow become even stranger. She found out that she was pregnant shortly after the affair, and although Malcolm seemed to be pleased with it at first, he avoided her, and they never had intercourse again. She had no idea what it was, but she was sure that everything would solve itself soon enough, especially upon her giving birth to their child, and the Winter Ball was far more important anyway.
She loved hosting balls, even if they reminded her of herself too much - beautiful on the outside, empty on the inside - and all the balls she had hosted in less than two years as Queen were highly regarded. She organised everything with much care in those months, making sure that everything was perfect, knowing that with her immense effort, it would be a night to remember.
That night, Maguire arrived rather early, accompanied by many people, dressed in his most expensive overcoat, with delicately combed hair as well. There was a tinge of sorrow in his eyes, but she knew not where it could have come from, nor did she think it important, so she did not bother herself with analyzing it.
The stars shone with great force, as well as the moon, which caused her to broaden her smile, believing that nature too had faith in her success. She stretched out her hand towards George, and once he grabbed it, she led him to the ballroom. It was as glamorous as it had always been, and the winter-themed clothes and decorations helped with that. The room was filled with people in white, almost pearl-like, suits and dresses, the clothes of each of them having some detail that distinguished them from the rest. Everyone had words to spare, speaking them the merriest they could, laughing every few sentences, this being the sole thing that was keeping their boredom and impatience at the current lack of music and dancing at bay.
White roses, lilies and such were contained in various vases; white lights were illuminating everything from beyond; three people in chairs were playing soft music on their violins; white petals were slowly descending from the chandelier. George felt like he was young again, playing with other boys in streets which were so covered in snow that they reached his knees, running home upon sensing the inviting smell of his parents' food and hearing the little bell his mother rang while calling his name. The memory of it all made him smile, which he did not notice until Melinda pointed it out.
"You have smiled tonight at last," she said. "It must mean you are impressed with how this ball has been organized."
He nodded. "Yes, I am indeed impressed. I am even more than impressed, which does not leave me surprised whatsoever. How did you come to plan the event this perfectly?"
"It took me months upon months and a whole lot of money to arrange a costly event such as this, but do not worry yourself, George. I would do anything for this marriage," she responded while the first waltz of the night was starting to play.
He swallowed. "I have something to say-"
She shushed him. "Whatever it is, I am certain that it does not matter on this beautiful, lovely night. Let us dance for a while and not live, for living is something we all ought to take a break from once in a while."
It was an argument he could not counter and a woman he could not disturb. They commenced dancing without another word, smiling, Melinda especially so, unaware that Susanne was sitting all alone at the table across from her, glaring at her. Malcolm took out the chair next to that lady and sat over there, turning to face her, and she instinctively snorted, which he did not notice.
"Since we are both lacking when it comes to partners, may I ask you for a quick dance, madam?" he spoke, and she turned away from him.
He sat still, wondering what was going on in her head. He was confident that she was considering his request and that he would get at least some answer soon enough. After all, there is nothing shameful in wanting to have one brief dance with someone. Perhaps she was merely shocked that he said that to her, or that he had arrived there in the first place. However, there is time to try everything, and Melinda insisted that he go, which he could not refuse. He was in the right, for after several minutes had passed, she turned towards him and began talking.
"I suppose I could fulfil your request," she muttered, and with those words, they stood up from their chairs, starting to dance.
At first, Malcolm did not know what to do, but after a few seconds, he remembered all that Melinda taught him about waltzes during all those clandestine meetings in the garden. Due to that, he was dancing pretty well for someone who had never been to a ball before, and Susanne's eyes widened at seeing that.
"Where did you learn these moves, sir?" she inquired, causing him to scratch his neck.
He sighed. "A friend of mine taught me all she knows."
"You are not eager to converse tonight, are you, Mister Lopez?"
He sighed again. "I am never eager to converse."
"Alright then," she told him before remembering something else. "Could there be a woman you have fallen in love with? From what I see, you are acting like there is one."
As the second song was beginning, Melinda glanced at the two of them. At first, she found nothing strange about their conversation, but now she pondered whether Susanne had heard of his visit to her bedroom from months ago, even as she reassured herself that it was most likely paranoia and that the other woman had no way of knowing so. When the music started to play, she looked away from them, still listening to their conversation as much as she could. It was only logical that she was doing so because if something went horribly wrong, it was her responsibility to undo that.
"Why would there be one?" he said, shivers crawling down his spine.
She smiled at him. "It is perfectly acceptable to love someone, even if you have sworn to be celibate. The passions of the heart cannot be commanded by any codex."
Melinda and Malcolm were both offended at what they perceived as mockery, each in their own way. She continued dancing, repressing her audacious words, and he, while not at all furious, was struggling to collect himself and come up with a proper answer. Glad that Susanne noticed nothing when he decided to do that at last, he uttered those words normally.
"If you genuinely meant that, I doubt you know what my celibacy vow means to me, and if you did not, then I do not want to talk with you anymore. Are we going to dance normally or are we going to waste our time with pointless questions?"
"I would also wager that it is not important," she announced, continuing to dance.
After that, Melinda's smile widened. The night seemed to be blessed, making Susanne peaceful enough to leave her theories and insipid remarks behind for a while, and she had faith that there was no chance that anything would fail. During the first notes of the third song, a woman walked in without any company. Her light brown hair was tied into a regular bun, and the white dress and shoes she was wearing were plain as well, but the lovely gleam in her green eyes and charming smile made up for it. She raised an eyebrow, struggling to remember if she had ever seen her before, having no idea as to why someone like her was there, unattended.
What was even more peculiar was that George turned towards her in an instant, his face brimming with joy. At the sight of that, the lady's own face brimmed with joy, and Melinda knew that she could not be mistaken, having seen the same joy on her and Malcolm's faces every time they met for months. She furrowed her eyebrows, not having expected to be introduced to Hilde this way. She stood there without a flinch, listening to their conversation.
George bent his head towards the floor. "From the bottom of my heart, I apologise. I should have sent a carriage for you too."
"Do not be so ridiculous, George. Carriages are in too high a demand right now for me to ask for one," she responded, laughing at the severity of his concern a little.
"Still, you told me you would be there before the end, if not the beginning of, the first song. What caused you to be late?"
Hilde shrugged. "I fell into the snow, cleaned up my dress the best I could and ran the moment I heard music coming from here, but it is fine now."
"You cleaned it up meticulously enough for me not to see the snow at all."
"Thank you," she said, giggling.
The rest of their conversation was just as irrelevant and dull, so she danced with a noble whom she remembered nothing about before and after until the fourth song began. Although he was not an expert at waltzing, especially when compared to her, at least he did not step on her feet once, did not behave uncomfortably nor imprudently, nor did he yearn to dance with her for one more song like some other minor wealthy men knew to do.
But just when she thought she had avoided disaster, she heard George whisper something to Hilde, and the two of them started to head towards the stairs. Not many people had noticed it before Melinda pushed Susanne out of her way and quickly walked over to the couple. It caused everyone to turn towards them, many people gasping and covering their mouths. They halted performing those actions when George began talking, attempting to explain the situation.
"Melinda..." he stammered. "I apologise most earnestly, but I cannot be with you. I love this woman."
She snorted. "Oh, I am sure of it. However, it is completely irrelevant. This is an arranged marriage, and you know what that means. You are my lover, my fiance, and the father of my child. You cannot leave me. I could not leave my friend, Douglas, either - God bless his soul - only doing so out of urgency. Life is all about making sacrifices, George, so go ahead and commit to it. Our wedding rings are in my pocket."
"Why did you put them there?" he asked, utterly befuddled.
"Why I was worrying that something like this might happen," she snarled, causing him to look uncomfortably at her as he prepared to walk down the staircase.
"I will not make the sacrifice," he said defiantly. "Not everyone is you, Melinda. Most people tend to choose the easy path. Besides, you already have a child without a father, so not much is going to change."
As they began to leave, Melinda was steadily running out of time to think about her next move, having only a few seconds to decide what to do. She glanced at her surroundings for anything that might help. Time ran out fast, and she was about to chase them when she saw Robert Ashmond walking over to her with the world's widest smile plastered onto his face, charming as ever. Unable to help herself, she pulled him tight and passionately kissed him on the lips, the blaze in her veins reminding her that it was more than just strategy.
"You're so handsome," she whispered breathily as she reached for his muscles, her fingers relishing the strength they felt over the cloth of his dark blue suit. "And you'll never leave me either. You cannot leave me. I know how charmed you are by my mere existence. Many men are. It makes me rather pleased."
"Oh, I am rather pleased as well," he responded, blind to everything but her love.
Everyone was stunned, to say the least. Some people were appalled, including not only sad, jealous women like Susanne and Sofia, but also those like Theresa and Wentworth, and not a small number of people supported her actions - eye for an eye, they thought. The person most affected by this situation was Malcolm, who had begun to regret ignoring her a while ago, initially believing that she had discarded their love because of his actions. However, when the show was over and when the bystanders were done gasping and whispering, leaving the maid to clean up the ballroom, she winked in his direction while walking away, causing him to blush.
George was not unaffected, either. He sighed dreamily as Hilde tried to hold his attention, having vivid memories of the one union they had, making her frightened at the uncertainty of the future. Pretty much everyone was frightened by the uncertainty of the future, but it was not the time to think of that at two in the morning. It was time to go to bed, and there would be time to solve everything, which they were sure would come very soon.