New Gods of North America

A slightly cheerful dance music started playing, and Wayne and Miss Mary took steps at the same time on the dance floor.

From the corner of my eye, I saw Inissa and Lina, guided by an older lady, climbing the stairs towards the second floor.

Mrs. Brooke was still in the banquet room.

At this moment, he was talking to several ladies.

Mary Brooke was not very interested in the "poor boy from the detective agency", even if he had a good appearance and image.

However, there were not many opportunities for young ladies to communicate alone with unmarried men of the same age, so she took advantage of the gap between the two of them getting closer during the dance and started a conversation:

"It seems that Miss Olivia will not refuse your invitation to dance, Mr. Wayne. I thought Mr. Wayne would definitely choose Miss Olivia first."

This is a preliminary test.

Mary was really curious about Miss Olivia's relationship with this poor boy.

"We have had some business dealings in the past."

Wayne first gave a relatively brief answer, and the two of them moved further away and then closer as they danced:

"Compared to Miss Olivia, I think Miss Mary is the most dazzling jewel in the ball tonight."

Wayne was telling the truth. To attract Mrs. Brooke's attention, the more logical and unobtrusive way was to communicate more with Miss Mary.

If that didn't work, Wayne would have to force himself to strike up a conversation with Mrs. Brooke. They were not familiar with each other, and there was a big gap in their status and age. Not only would it be awkward, but it would also be difficult to find a suitable topic.

Even if he was pretending to get closer to the Brooke family, according to social conventions, Wayne should have gone to Mr. Brooke or Alex.

The basic entry requirement for "Lady Diplomacy" is that you must at least be a "lady" or an "acquaintance."

This poor boy really made himself a target!

Mary Brooke's face remained expressionless, but for the sake of Alex and her own love, she could only endure it temporarily:

"Based on what I know, Mr. Wayne, what kind of traits of the opposite sex would Miss Olivia be more interested in?"

Although they are not suitable partners, some poor boys are very good at deceiving the hearts of young ladies. At least that's what many novels and gossips say.

Mary was also a little curious why this guy was more favored by Miss Olivia than Alex.

"Actually, Miss Olivia isn't difficult to get along with. As for the opposite sex she might be interested in... Compared to this, I'm more curious about what kind of opposite sex you, Miss Mary, would be curious about."

Noticing Miss Mary's focus, Wayne deliberately changed the subject and kept her in suspense, just to keep her hanging.

According to etiquette, a rather paradoxical point is that young ladies are often taught that they should not refuse polite invitations from gentlemen, except when they are "unwell".

But unless they are temporarily eliminated in the "multiple choice" situation, gentlemen should not continue to invite ladies after being explicitly rejected or after dancing with them.

Therefore, the same unmarried couple at a dance usually only have one chance to dance with each other, otherwise it would be "inappropriate". This is one of the reasons why some young ladies are invited by many different men every time.

So according to the plan, Wayne needs to seize this opportunity as much as possible.

Mary Brooke was somewhat dissatisfied with Wayne's behavior of changing the subject, but out of politeness, she could only express her refusal implicitly:

"It is not easy for women to fight for the right to study. I still want to focus on my studies and do not plan to consider marriage for the time being."

"I see..." Wayne thought for a moment and tried to bring up a new topic. "That's a pity. I heard from Ian Fisk that he has been thinking about finding a suitable partner recently."

This is true. Every time Ian Fisk chatted with Wayne privately, he seemed to occasionally hear him talk about the topic of "what kind of partner he is more interested in recently."

Miss Mary was indeed a gossip-loving person and was very interested in this. "Master Ian... he should know a lot of outstanding ladies, right? I wonder what kind of ladies he would pay more attention to?"

The dance was relatively cheerful at this time. Miss Mary was talking as she danced, and her steps were a little off.

Since Wayne was not good enough at dancing and had not yet learned the "emergency response" part, he could only follow the steps. So in order not to embarrass himself in public, Wayne chose to manually let the dance "return to normal" - that is, to secretly use appropriate force to "pull" Miss Mary back.

Rude! Disrespectful!

Mary Brooke was about to let go and walk away from the dance floor to put an end to the poor boy's inappropriate and impolite behavior.

As a result, she then heard a topic that she was particularly interested in.

"I did hear Ian Fisk mention Miss Mary, although..."

As the dance progressed, it was almost over. Mary suppressed her curiosity and followed the process to complete the final spin.

Then the dance stopped, the partners saluted each other, and Wayne followed etiquette and asked his partner where she wanted to go, "Miss Mary, do you plan to return to your previous position, or where do you want to go?"

After a dance, the men usually have to "see off" the women they danced with back to the place where they originally invited them, or to other places in the banquet hall where they want to go, and then leave on their own.

Mary Brooke thought for a moment and pouted slightly, "I'm a little hungry, I want to get some dessert."

Young ladies are not allowed to communicate with unmarried men for a long time at the ball. Gentlemen and ladies usually gather on both sides of the banquet hall to avoid this situation.

Perhaps the only exception is the long table filled with food.

If the gentlemen send the ladies over there, if both parties are interested, they can take the opportunity to get food and communicate for a while - this is an unspoken rule that all the ladies and girls in the upper class are familiar with.

Wayne readily accepted this, "I'll take you there."

…

"It turns out that Master Ian likes to drink ice wine... What about clothes? What color does he prefer?"

Wayne was a little surprised by Miss Mary's interest in Ian Fisk.

Wayne had almost filled up a plate of food without realizing it, and was a little worried that he might not be able to eat any more. Miss Mary was still holding the pitifully empty plate and kept asking questions.

Until a gentle voice came from behind the two of them, interrupting Miss Mary's questioning:

"Mary, you are a fine lady, and you should learn to be moderate. You have enough dessert on your plate."

Wayne looked back and saw that it was Mrs. Brooke who came over and seemed to be planning to take some food.

He quietly opened his vision of simple lines, his mind working rapidly, trying to find a suitable topic to talk to her as soon as possible.