The young duke had rushed to the main floor of the estate without thinking about it. Once he made it to the door that would lead him to the courtyard where Irene was standing, he didn't know what he was going to say.
All he could think about was how dejected her body language was and how he wanted to be by her side to see her smile again.
He pushed through the doors and he saw her head snap up to see who was there.
When she saw it was Henry, she turned away.
"Commander," she said, trying to make her voice sound normal. "What are you doing here?"
"You said you wanted to dance," Henry reminded her. "But when I was finished dancing with Lady Rose, you were nowhere to be found."
Irene wiped away any sign of tears with the back of her hand and bent down to pick up the wooden sword that had fallen to the ground.
"I'm not wearing a dress anymore," she said. "I would rather spar."
