By now, Ben was frazzled, but still trying his best not to look it. He'd arrived tonight with Melody, even though neither of them had received an invitation of their own merit. A friend of his had invited Ben along, and he was determined to make the most of the evening. Networking was part of his job, which meant tonight was more work than pleasure. He'd parted ways with his wife periodically throughout the night, but it had never alarmed him. He was busy, she seemed to be having fun, and they'd circle back through each other's conversations every half-hour or so throughout the night. Things had been going well for them, both tonight and more generally if one looked at the last few months. But he'd lost track of her half an hour before midnight, and he hadn't seen her since. Some people were starting to depart, either for home and bed or for more raucous after-parties, and there was no sign of his wife anywhere.
He didn't want to ask anyone to help him look for her because while things were generally improving between the two of them, they were still publicly not ideal. The last thing they needed was someone starting rumors that Melody Crouch had run off in the middle of a party, or that he'd been too busy flirting with someone to notice her leaving. He was beginning to think that she must have left, though, because he'd circled the ballroom twice at least and not come across her anywhere. But why would she have left without saying anything to him first? Even if she'd had a headache and wanted to retire early, she would have told him before going. He was beginning to think something was wrong, though his fears were too shapeless at this point to even say what could have happened.
Miss Montague's question was a relief; he might have been hesitant to reveal his anxiety to someone else, but with her connection to both him and Melody he trusted that she would not be inclined to start any nefarious rumors. "I'm looking for my wife," he admitted. "I haven't seen her in — almost ninety minutes, now. Have you seen her? Did she say anything about leaving early?"
He didn't want to ask anyone to help him look for her because while things were generally improving between the two of them, they were still publicly not ideal. The last thing they needed was someone starting rumors that Melody Crouch had run off in the middle of a party, or that he'd been too busy flirting with someone to notice her leaving. He was beginning to think that she must have left, though, because he'd circled the ballroom twice at least and not come across her anywhere. But why would she have left without saying anything to him first? Even if she'd had a headache and wanted to retire early, she would have told him before going. He was beginning to think something was wrong, though his fears were too shapeless at this point to even say what could have happened.
Miss Montague's question was a relief; he might have been hesitant to reveal his anxiety to someone else, but with her connection to both him and Melody he trusted that she would not be inclined to start any nefarious rumors. "I'm looking for my wife," he admitted. "I haven't seen her in — almost ninety minutes, now. Have you seen her? Did she say anything about leaving early?"
MJ made this <3