As she looked up from her prone position, the door, somehow closed, had opened, and she turned her head to see her mother, her sister, and her friends frozen, horrified, in the doorway. A man's hand had reached down to her shoulder, and she grasped it eagerly, allowing herself to be raised to her feet. As she put her feet back firmly on the ground, she gave a quick look at her rescuer. Soft blue eyes met hers in a twinkle of amusement, and she had gasped, quickly extracting herself. As she turned towards her mother, she saw that it was too late, that the damage had been done. The whole world had seen her on her knees in front of the Duke of Barwick. Now, there was nothing she could do to save her reputation.
