For those of you who were reading this before the revision and are thinking, "Whoa, what the heck?! this should be chapter 13," This story is being revised. Please re read this, it'll be worth it. I'm adding more depth and imagery to my scenes and am adding a couple more characters to the story where needed... Also, Wilkins will not be in this story, instead I will replace his part with an OC so I can have a little more creative freedom with the character...

I want to thank everyone who reviewed and read the unrevised and unpolished first few chapters :)

Healer of Hearts

Chapter 2: Dancing

Eve and Sarah stared at the door for a few seconds after the departure of the Frenchman. Finally Sarah got tired of the nippy night air and took Eve's arm, pulling her into the ballroom. The room was warm and quite stuffy, making Eve and Sarah wish they could go back outside but they knew that wasn't possible when they spotted Sarah's mother making a Bee line towards them. She immediatly waved at them as if she were trying to flag a ship.

"Oh, Miss Cromwell, it's such a delight to see you," she said as she hugged her.

"And you too-."

"I see your father has met up with an old friend. It's highly surprising to me that he would have become friends with a Frenchman especially given the war but your father was raised unconventionally and sent to boarding school here in Paris so it's not truly outrageous, I'm sure."

"Um, mother, Eve and I were just trying to find a spot to sit. It's too stuffed in here," Sarah cut her mother off. The woman did talk a lot but that was only when she was excited about something. Sarah couldn't stand it but Eve, however loved the sound of the woman's voice and didn't mind it at all.

Two chairs finally cleared out and Eve felt herself being dragged towards them. She tried not to trip on the hem of her dress. Sarah was truly desperate to sit down and when they did, she let out a little sigh of relief again. Eve smiled and tried to get comfortable. Mrs. Cabbett had pulled her corset a bit too tightly and it starting to bother her greatly.

"Wouldn't it be wonderful if a man asked either one of us to dance?" Sarah said hopefully.

"You and I haven't been asked to dance at a ball since we moved here," Eve said sorrowfully but also in a joking manner, "My sister, however, took to flirting with every man with a full pocket book and has made herself quite a collection of handsome suitors to dance with."

Sarah looked over at Anne and laughed. The girl was only sixteen and had already been proposed to several times, three times by the same man, who happened to be three times her age and had somehow desperately fallen in love with her, however, he didn't have enough money to keep Anne's interests. The girl truly baffled Eve and Sarah alike but they did worry for her, knowing she was too naive and selfish to choose the right man and fall in love with him for reasons other than the size of his income.

"Yes, I dare say she's made quite a little collection for herself," Sarah said jokingly.

"Well, at least when I see her happily smiling as she dances, my pining for a man to ask me to dance goes away," Eve smiled, "for a short while, though."

"I don't have any siblings to live happily through, so I can pine away all night," Sarah said with a slight hint of laughter in her voice.

"Hmm, that's not good for your health, Sarah," Eve grinned at her friend, "remember, girls are poor and insipid little things with weak hearts and fluttering emotions and if our dreams of dancing are dashed, then our health will be frail. So, don't think of dancing and then perhaps you'll stay healthy."

"Oh, stop jesting with me, Eve," Sarah said as she nudged Eve's arm, "You know as well I do that what those doctors say about the 'frailty' of women is no more true than fairy tales."

Eve laughed with Sarah and as the dancing song ended, they grew quiet and Anne darted towards them excitedly.

"He wishes to dance again with me," she said jovially. Eve and Sarah shared a look and smirked.

"And you're surprised?" Eve asked Anne.

"No," Anne answered bluntly, "but I thought I should tell you."

"Oh, go dance, Anne," Eve urged her on and rolled her eyes, "You can't make me feel badly about being a wall flower, dear."

"But I can try," Anne joked back as Eve light heartedly shooed her off.

The next song started and the violins and drums began to play a happy and jovial tune. Everyone started to clap with the beat as the young dancers all lined up together and began to skip around one another and join hands and dance in circles. Eve loved the jovial country dances of France. They were much more refreshing than the gliding elegance of the private English balls she had attended too much in her days.

Eve was too caught up with clapping that she didn't realize that her rescuer, Mr. Villeneuve, was standing next to her. When the dance had begun her father excused Jean and urged him to ask Eve to dance. Jean, not being the type of man to take directions from another man, just glared a this friend. Mr. Cromwell laughed.

"Oh, yes, I forgot, you don't like being ordered around do you, my old friend?" he smirked, "Well, consider it as an urging and not an order."

Jean laughed shook his head, "I don't dance these days."

"You're not too old to enjoy the company of of a young woman on the dance floor," Mr. Cromwell smiled, "My daughter is a lovely dancer but I haven't seen her dance for quite some time. I'm sure you couldn't keep up with her, anyways," he joked, knowing that Jean also didn't like it when people underestimated him. He shot a look at his friend and immediatly started walking towards Eve, who didn't even notice. Mr. Cromwell chuckled, knowing Eve probably would be too shocked to even accept and walked over to her too just in case he had to urge her to take the offer.

Jean cleared his throat. The music was a bit loud but when it finally quieted down a bit, Eve looked up at him in shock.

"I was wondering if you would do me the honor," he put his hand out and smiled down at her. Sarah's mouth fell open and she looked over at Eve, who was also frozen. Mr. Cromwell took Eve's hand and forced her to stand up, placing her hand in Jean's so that she couldn't refuse, all though, he thought it was highly unlikely that she would.

"Come now, Eve," he laughed, "the man's been wishing to dance all night. Don't just stand there."

She smiled up at the man and nodded, looking back at Sarah in shock as they headed for the dance floor.

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Her father was beaming on their way back from the ball. Eve was looking out the window again and thinking. The man wasn't a knight in shining armor like she had imagined. He was belligerent in some of his behaviors and stout but he was taller than her, well, most men were taller than her. She was quite short. However, he was kind and a warmth in his eyes called to her. In fact, she had been able to carry a conversation with him and was able to retort with witty remarks at times, however, his age discouraged her. Perhaps because she hadn't thought of him as a possible suitor, she was able to talk to him and even look him in the eyes. She didn't feel nervous and jumpy around him. She felt a lot more calm around him and she, in return, had done the same for him.

"He's much older than me," she thought, "but this might be my chance."

"What wrong, my dear?" her father finally asked, "you should be happy. You danced with the man the whole night."

"She's tired, George," his wife spoke up, "leave her be."

"I imagine she would be after dancing for two hours straight," Anne giggled, "It was a sight to behold. Even the old women remarked about it. i heard them."

"What did they say?" Eve looked back at her sister.

"They were shocked," Anne grinned, "And they also mentioned that it was about time you danced."

"Well, I can't disagree with them," Eve said back, "however, I wish Sarah had been asked."

"She will get her chance some day," her father reassured her, "she will."

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Eve and Sarah met up in town the next day to take a walk about the countryside and talk about the happenings of the night before. Sarah was a bit sad she herself had not been asked but she knew it would happen someday.

"So, the two of you made quite a lovely pair," Sarah said boldly as they walked through town, "Though he is quite older than you and the both of you are in completely different areas when it comes to tempers and appearances."

"Appearances, yes, but tempers?" Eve looked confused.

"the man was quite, how would you put it," Sarah stalled as she thought of a word, "stout? no. Belligerent! yes, that's it."

"That may be so but he was also quite obliging and kind," Eve corrected her friend, "Though the way he walks does remind me of a belligerent peacock."

The two girls started laughing at the image Eve had conjured up of the man. He did have a proud walk about him but he didn't really reflect it in his treatment of those around him. He was polite but he was most definitely not shy in the least bit.

"He did save me from a hard fall, though," Eve said after they finished laughing, "which I found to be very heroic."

"I'm sure his saving you is nothing compared to what he's done in war."

"What do you mean?" Eve asked.

"You didn't know?" Sarah stopped and looked at Eve, "he's a colonel in the French army. He was a major but he was quickly promoted after the victory in the Colonies. He's retired now, or at least that's what Madame LeRoque said."

"Who is Madame Le Roque?"

"His housekeeper," Sarah said bluntly, "she took your chair after you left it and struck a conversation with me."

"What was his housekeeper doing at a ball?" Eve asked. In England, one's housekeeper didn't attend the ball unless the ball was being held in the home of her employer.

"She's married to one of the friends of the owner of the estate."

"That makes more sense."

"She was a very kind woman. She can't dance anymore, though, she is getting up there in years."

"So she sat next to you and struck a casual conversation?"

"Of course," Sarah smiled, "she was quite jovial and friendly."

"I'm just happy you had someone to talk to while I was away," Eve joked.

"It was a nice little talk we had," Sarah said smiling, "A very nice two hour talk."

"Did she do most of the talking?" Eve knew Sarah couldn't stand it when people incessantly spoke without breaking to let her have a word or two.

"I dare say she did," Sarah laughed, "oh, it was torture, Eve. I scarcely said five words to her and she just rambled on like a hen."

"I don't think she meant any harm by it, Sarah," Eve stifled another laugh, knowing her friend wouldn't appreciate it, "but it sounded like it had to be torture."

"Don't use that sarcastic tone with me," Sarah said as she prodded Eve.

"Well, as long as we're on the subject of the colorful Mr. Villeneuve, I might as well say that my father invited him to dinner," Eve informed Sarah, "and has most likely invited him to stay a spell. I think he wants me to marry the man."

"Of course he does," Sarah said enthusiastically, "if you did, you wouldn't be living too far from home and you'd be comfortably provided for, given the income that Mr. Villeneuve now has."

"Let me guess, he came upon fortune from war-."

"And the death of his uncle."

"Madame Le Roque shared a lot of details of his life, did she?"

"Too many for me to remember."

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