The Ballroom Manners Lesson
A decrepit old man at the podium switched on the microphone. The metallic **ting** echoed sharply from the dusty old mic and vibrated the crystal chandeliers, scattering glittering flecks of light across the ceiling.
One… two… three. Microphone test. One… two… three. Microphone test. One… two… three. Microphone test. One… two… three. Microphone test.
Immediately afterward the old man introduced himself as Walter Pembroke. He stood ramrod straight, his brand-new black tuxedo contrasting sharply with the snow-white hair that had been freshly washed.
He had spent the last forty years teaching etiquette to the upper-class debutantes of New York. The manners and social dances he taught were essentially identical to what nineteenth-century aristocrats had learned before their society debuts.
In the twenty-first century, New York society taught its children the exact same archaic customs as if they were preparing them to debut in the European salon of the previous century. [I have also taught ballroom dancing and etiquette to the parents of the young ladies and gentlemen here tonight.]
He swept his gaze across the hall and then raised his chin with unmistakable pride, delivering the list of familiar faces seated on the mezzanine. [Miss Reed’s mother, Rebecca Green; Miss Cabot’s mother, Lorraine Collins; and, let me see… Mr. Lafayette’s father, Andre de Lafayette, and Mr. Hamilton’s father, Jared Hamilton themselves. It never fails to move me when I see these familiar young faces sitting up there instead of right here beside you.]
Walter gestured with his arm toward Hunter. [Before you enter the room, there is one very important piece of etiquette you must remember. When a young lady enters or arrives at a table, a gentleman should rise until she is seated. That, young ladies and gentlemen, is the very definition of good manners.]
He pointed instead at the assistant seated beside him. [Ladies sit with their spines straight and their shoulders relaxed. Here, like Miss Megan Fairchild, your knees must touch your ankles and your ankles must cross. You must never, ever sit with your knees pressed together. Train your body to remember proper posture at all times.]
Jiyu quietly imitated Megan’s graceful posture, bringing her knees together and crossing her ankles. [Now we have a moment to introduce yourselves and greet the person sitting beside you. Traditionally, the lady would introduce herself first, and only afterward would the gentleman reply. Times have changed, of course, and modern etiquette no longer demands that order. But here at the Cotillion, we still follow the old rules. When greeting someone, make brief eye contact. Shake their hand with a firm but gentle pressure—not too tight, not too weak. Now look at the person next to you and practice together.]
After exchanging introductions with Megan, Walter gave the children time to greet their new neighbors. [Jiyu closed her eyes tightly and opened them again. Maybe she should have sat next to someone she didn’t know. It would have been less awkward.]
She was about to turn toward Hunter when Rex tapped her shoulder. [I’ll go first.]
If Rex introduced himself first, Hunter would be left without a partner at the end. Was that okay? Jiyu hesitated, then looked back. Rex didn’t give her time to overthink it. [Don’t look anywhere else! Introduce yourself already!]
Um… my name is Olivia Parker. Nice to meet you. [Jiyu mumbled, pursing her lips. It felt horribly awkward to greet someone she already knew like a total stranger.]
Rex, however, looked far too excited. [Hello, my name is Alexander Blah-blah-blah de Lafayette. Nice to meet you. [He grinned and took her hand.]
When you shake hands, you’re supposed to look into each other’s eyes. Didn’t Mr. Pembroke say anything about that? [Rex asked with a playful wink, his face lighting up mischievously.]
Want to see my eyes change color? [Jiyu looked up quickly. Rex had once tricked her by telling her that squeezing her eyes in the middle would make both eyes turn different colors. The only person she knew with heterochromia was Rex, so she had believed him despite her suspicion. A few days later, when she told Hunter, he had laughed until his stomach hurt, calling her Ju Parker the biggest idiot of all.]
Suddenly Rex squeezed his eyes shut and made an exaggerated silly face. Jiyu, who had been distracted, burst out laughing. Hunter’s hand shot out instantly and snatched her hand away from Rex. [My turn.]
Rex gave a meaningful smirk, one eyebrow raised. Hunter looked at her in surprise. [My introduction.] [Hunter snarled through gritted teeth.]
She swallowed hard and composed herself. Um… hello. My name is… Olivia Jiyu Parker. Nice to… nice to meet you. [Jiyu stammered awkwardly, watching him closely. His piercing blue eyes swirled with something between anger and confusion. When their gazes locked, he quickly lowered his eyes and hid his expression.]
When Hunter looked up again, his stare was almost predatory. He lifted his chin arrogantly and extended his hand as if he owned the world. Jiyu just watched in silence. With a click of his tongue he caught her hand. [Hunter Hamilton.] [The introduction ended there.]
Jiyu, trying to hide her shaking fingers, noticed Hunter’s fingers tightening around hers in a death-grip tennis grip. It hurt. [Ouch, Hunter.] [He looked startled, then immediately shoved her hand away.]
Jiyu let out a silent sigh. Where on earth was he supposed to like that? She glanced sideways at Rex and mouthed, You were wrong. [Rex smiled like an angel with devil eyes, but said nothing.]
Hunter felt disgust roiling in his chest. The way Rex and Jiyu had been huddled together whispering since the beginning annoyed him. They were supposed to be children, not teenagers trading inside jokes and giggling like idiots. [Rex is such a show-off.]
As a child, Jiyu had been just as introverted. When Rex came around, she would hide in the library like a mouse, only to emerge in front of the boring ninja class she had no interest in. She would laugh at his lame jokes with her mouth wide open. Hunter had first seen her then, when her smile created those strange dimples at the corners of her mouth. It was infuriating that she showed them to Rex first. [Rex has always tried to compete with me.]
At a Korean dictation test, Rex got seven out of ten correct and bragged in front of Hunter, who had only managed five. Ju Parker even got all ten right and stayed quiet. [Liv, how many points did you get?] [Rex asked her.]
It irked Hunter that Rex called her Liv like they were old friends. [Huh? What?] [How Korean are you?] [I… I’m half Korean.] [Rex’s face fell when he calculated it. Hunter smirked. Jiyu jumped in before Hunter could say anything.] [But Rex, you speak Korean better than me.]
Reading and writing are my strong points. [But reading books is my favorite…] [Jiyu blushed, looking cute and flustered. How was it possible for someone so adorable to be so insufferable?]
‘Why are you laughing? What’s so funny about that?’ [That night Hunter lay awake, unable to sleep. By dawn he reluctantly admitted that his Korean was only slightly worse than Rex’s—barely any difference at all.]
Rex’s father, Andre de Lafayette, spoke seven languages fluently. Rex had inherited that talent. During summers he stayed with his grandmother in Korea for two months, so he spoke the language like a native. [Jiyu, whose English was terrible, learned to read, write, and speak Korean just because her nannies spoke to her in it.]
After that Hunter studied Korean every single night without exception. He had never worked so hard on anything except tennis. As his skill improved, Lauren was overjoyed.