"Then I was aware again of the sounds of the orchestra far below. I took a gliding step. I twirled. He bowed.
'The young lady must not dance alone.'
I had danced only at school with other pupils or our mistresses for partners.
He put his hand on my waist, and my heart began to pound, a rougher rhythm than the music. I held my skirt. Our free hands met. His felt warm and comforting and unsettling and bewildering - all at once."
Ella Enchanted
by Gail Carson Levine