He was beginning to wonder where she’d got to when he heard the sound of heels click-clacking on the stairs.

He started to say “Where on earth have you …….?” but as he looked up from his newspaper and saw her standing in the doorway, the question faded away on the air. She stood watching him, her face aglow with infectious delight as she performed a perfect curtsey, then a ballerina twirl, holding gathered in her outstretched arms yards of peach coloured satin which fell around her from the waist of a beautiful ball gown, to form a pool of shimmering fabric on the wooden floor.

“Where did you find that?” he asked lowering the paper slightly.

“Oh you’ve seen it before, I’ve had it for years, since I was a student”, she said, twirling once more “It was in the bottom of the box I was unpacking.” She kicked off her shoes sending them clattering across the floor and began to walk towards him pointing her bare toes with each step and swinging the skirt of the dress in time to some silent rhythm.

“Take me dancing!” she said, “Come on Peter, take me dancing now!”

A frown crossed his face and he turned back to the paper rustling it with irritation. “Don’t be silly, you know we can’t , we no longer have any money and we now live in the middle of nowhere in case you hadn’t noticed.”

She sighed but continued walking towards him, “Of course I’d noticed, ” she said “But you don’t need money to dance, and there is a wild and wonderful garden just out there. Come on, come with me, forget everything just for a while. The moon is out, there are a million stars and it’s warm and beautiful tonight.” She gently reached for his hand and despite himself he found he was standing up to follow as she led the way through the French doors and out to the moonlit garden beyond.

“This is crazy”, he protested , “the grass is wet and we have no music, you’re just mad Jess, look at my shoes!”

“Kick them off, it doesn’t matter, just use your imagination, dream a little for once, just follow me,” she got hold of his hands and began to move to the music inside her head, “Just dream Peter, the music is playing , can’t you hear it? It’s a beautiful waltz, just let go and dance with me like we used to……..”

And as she turned and began to dance, he could suddenly hear quite clearly, the sound of a violin playing somewhere out in the wood.  He kicked off his shoes and felt the damp grass between his toes.  The moonlight sparkled on her hair and the beads of her dress and the single violin was suddenly joined by several more.  He could hear the whole orchestra now as he put his arms about her waist and shoulders and began to lead her in the waltz, round and round in the moonlight as the music played and they twirled and dreamed and laughed and danced as they had never danced before.

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ALL PHOTOS © JANE MORLEY

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