Liliana spoke.

“Angelita?” she said. “Would you like to dance with me?”

Angelita said nothing, but she looked up from Liliana’s shoulder and focused her gaze on Liliana’s eyes.

“Rosalind showed us how to lead while we were practicing,” said Liliana. “If you’d like, I can show you. Would you like that?”

Angelita sat chewing at her knuckle for a moment before nodding her head.

“Great,” said Liliana, standing up. “I know you’re probably not used to standing very much, but I’m hoping if I help you ...” Liliana held out her hand.

Angelita reached up to take Liliana’s hand and pulled herself to standing. She looked up at Liliana with big brown eyes and blinked once.

“Put your other hand on my shoulder, here,” said Liliana, reaching for Angelita’s other hand. “Good. I’ll have my hand here, behind you. Concentrate on what that feels like and use any changes you feel to understand which way I’m moving. Got it?”

Angelita shrugged.

“It’s okay,” said Liliana. “We’ll start slow.”

Angelita stepped backward as Liliana led her in the first movements.

“You’ve got it,” said Liliana. “Just follow what I do.”

The pair moved together through three more steps. On the fourth, Angelita backed into Liliana’s bed and nearly tumbled over.

“That was my fault,” said Liliana. “This room is really too small, but I do enjoy dancing with you. Do you want to try again? We could move to the upstairs parlor.”

Angelita said nothing. She simply stared up at Liliana for a minute. And after that, she took Liliana’s cheeks in both hands and kissed her. It was several seconds before Angelita let go.

“Would you like to ...” Liliana moved her hand to untie the top of her sleeping gown, loosening the collar.

“We could ...” Liliana moved her hand down and straightened her arms to let the garment slide over her until it was a puddle at her feet.

“Do you want to --?” Liliana didn’t get a chance to finish, because Angelita had Liliana’s cheeks in her hands again and was pressing hard with her lips. Angelita backed up and the two of them went tumbling onto Liliana’s bed.

Angelita, still holding Liliana’s cheeks, planted rapid-fire kisses over every bit of Liliana’s face before coming up for air. The two simply held each other for a long time, and after a while Liliana rolled onto her elbow, settling down to gaze at Angelita’s face.

“I’m happy you’re here,” said Liliana.

Angelita stared and said nothing. Liliana reached up with the back of her free hand and wiped under her eye.

“Dancing in the courtyard earlier this evening, when the boys were here,” said Liliana. “There were so many stars twinkling in the sky overhead. Thousands of stars, and it made me feel quite small and insignificant. And that’s when I realized, more than ever, why my parents sent me here to Miss Isabella’s.

“I am to meet a respectable young man, from a good family, with a bright future ahead of him. And we are to be married, so we can have babies who can carry on the family name. And there may come a day when I send my own daughter to a place like this, so that she too can meet a respectable young man.”

Liliana paused as she sniffled and rubbed the back of her hand under her eyes a second time. “But that’s not why I’m crying, Angelita. I’m crying because I think I shall always need a girl in my bed. And I’m not crying because that thought makes me sad, but because it makes me happy.

“Do you understand that, Angelita?

“I’m crying because I’m so happy I came here to stay at Miss Isabella’s. And even though I know it can’t be like this forever, I’m crying because I’m so happy the girl in my bed is you.”