Norah - patience is eventually rewarded. ish. As long as you don't mind plot 
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The barn was a swirling mass of bodies with the dance in full swing. Tables and benches had been pushed against the walls. He could see Porthos spinning Norah around towards the back of the crowd and he caught a glimpse of Kate weaving through a line of dancers, laughing at one of the stable lads as he spun her round. Aramis grinned broadly at the sight of the women waiting to dance, weighing up prospective partners.
The music finished and people paused on the floor, some making their way back to tables, others waiting on the floor for the next tune. Kate started towards the side and was immediately spun back round to the floor by another of the lads. He smiled as he watched her - laughing and protesting as the next dance started. He leant against the wall with a glass as the pattern repeated itself, declining several offers of a dance as he watched.
Aramis re-appeared beside him. "Popular girl..." they watched as another dance finished and she dug her heels in, refusing to dance again until she'd had a drink. Aramis bowed to a young woman, who blushed and accompanied him to the floor.
He saw Porthos and Norah stopping to talk to her, Porthos nodding over to where they stood. Kate turned and her face lit up at the sight on him leaning against the wall, a look of amusement on his face. She started towards him, and immediately found herself dragged back onto the floor. She rolled her eyes at him and joined the circle of dancers.
Porthos arrived at his side, accompanied by Norah, who shot him an annoyed look. "You could dance with her yourself you know. It might shut some of the gossips up and make her life a bit easier."
He blinked at her, taken aback by the disapproval in her voice and bemused by the comment about gossip.
He glanced out onto the floor again - watched her matching steps with her partner, watched him watching her and frowned slightly. The tempo increased and her smile grew broader as the steps grew faster and more complicated, locking eyes with her partner as he lifted her mid-turn and she spun in the air, momentarily suspended, then landed, still turning in a fluid motion as the rest of their set watched on, cheering and laughing. Her partner offered her deep bow as the music stopped and, still laughing, she refused the arms that were offered, fending off the more persistent suitors to join him at the side of the room.
Kate turned back to watch her partner rejoin his friends and muttered something under her breath, taking a long drink and raising her eyebrows at the quizzical look she received.
"I said, if she won't dance with him now then she's a bloody fool and not worth him wasting any more time on." She nodded across the room where a petite blonde girl was watching the stable lads toasting their friend. "Martin's been chasing after her for months and she's given him a right run-around - can't see past him being 'just a stable lad', never mind the fact he'll be a groom the second there's a vacancy and he's be good enough to be Master of the Horse one day..."
She shook her head, and then smiled as she noticed Meg twirling in her dress, showing her friends the panels of colour that Norah had sewn in. "And Meg and Robbie have been making eyes at each other for ages too..." He looked down at her, amused as she stood watching the room, gathering information and assessing the situations without even realising she was doing it.
The musicians started up again at a slower pace. He took the glass from her hand, set it to one side and led her onto the floor as a waltz started.
"So what are the gossips saying?"
She looked puzzled by the question.
"Norah says that dancing with you will shut them up?"
"Oh. that. It's nothing. She hears far too much gossip in her job." He looked at her and she rolled her eyes. "It's just the usual malicious rubbish that circulates round court. You know - they whisper it just loud enough for you to hear, and wait to see your reaction. It's not worth bothering about."
He raised an eyebrow and continued to lead as they spun slowly round the floor. "So...?"
Kate sighed "You're only marrying me because you have to. You share my bed because it's convenient and I'm readily available - or a slut, depending what mood they're in. But you've no real liking for me apart from that.." She gazed over his shoulder. "The usual spite."
He looked at her, his face unreadable. "Why didn't you tell me? Kate?"
She looked at him and shrugged slightly "If I ignore them for long enough they'll find another topic and move on." She knew he liked her, knew the gossip was designed purely to hurt. But still couldn't shake off the deep seated fear that there might well be some truth their assessment.
"But there's no need to make your life harder than it needs to be?" He was looking at her intently, half a smile on his face "It would be very easy to prove them wrong after all..."
She swallowed, mouth dry as his eyes burned into her. She was suddenly very aware of his hand on her waist as they continued to move across the floor. His touch was light but the minimal contact seemed to scorch through her dress. He guided their steps to the edge of the room and stopped abruptly, drawing her off the dance floor and into his arms, then bent his head to kiss her. There was nothing tentative in his actions, his lips crushed against hers and his tongue explored her mouth ruthlessly. One hand was at the samll of her back, pulling her tight against him and the other was in her hair - she couldn't have stepped back if she'd wanted to. This was a very definite statement of intent, marking her out as his and leaving no room for misinterpretation by anyone who witnessed it. Her fingers gripped onto his shirt and jacket as her initial shock faded and she returned his kiss with equal intensity - the room and its occupants forgotten as her hand brushed against his beard and through his hair.
He heard a small whimper escape from her, and broke off as suddenly as he started.She leaned against him, dazed, as he murmured in her ear.
"If being discreet is causing you problems, it's very easily remedied." He grinned against her neck "And you do have your scandalous reputation to uphold. Do you think they got the message?"
Her face was buried against his shoulder, breathing in the smell of leather and musk.
"Kate?" She lifted her face to look at him, her cheeks now flushed with colour that had nothing to do with the exertion of the dancing "You need to tell me if there's a problem - even if I there's nothing I can do about it. I don't want to hear about it from someone else. You don't have to deal with everything by yourself, but I'm not a mind-reader - you need to tell me. Understood?"
Her eyes were huge and she nodded mutely, relief flooding through her. He smiled and cupped her face, kissing her more gently this time, letting her dictate the pace - a kiss intended for her, not their audience.
Across the room, Norah gaped in astonishment and nudged Porthos, who almost spat his mouthful of ale out and kicked Aramis under the table. His eyebrows shot up. "Well, I think we can safely say he's not entirely opposed to the betrothal then."
Porthos smirked "Looks quite enthusiastic if you ask me..."