"Chassay to the corners, right!"
Vincent untangled the difference between "chassay" and "balance" and acquitted himself. Now that his first panic of astonishment was over, he observed that the figures of the dance were of great simplicity, all but the central part, the climax.
When the preliminary part was over, the music changed and again the men broke out into their accompanying chant. This time it ran,
"The gent around the lady
and
The lady around the gent.
Then
The lady around the lady
and
The gent around the gent."
Somewhere in the hypnotic to-and-fro of those swaying, poised, alert human figures, he encountered Marise, coming on her suddenly, and finding her standing stock-still.
"Around me!" she commanded, imperatively, nodding and laughing. "Just as the song says."
"The gent around the lady,"
sang the men.
Frank was circling about Nelly, his eyes on hers, treading lightly, his tall body apparently weighing no more than thistle-down. It was as though he were weaving a charm.
Vincent ended his circle.