Wait here a moment.’’ she instructed, ’I’ll check the ladies retiring room and cloak.’ Nev affirmed, placing a hand on his arm, a gentle instruction to wait on the spot. The entrance to the room being just behind the beautifully painted silk screen. It was actually 4 interconnected room where ladies could euphemistically ‘refresh’ themselves between dances. Maids scurried back and forth maintaining the dignity of the room and it’s occupants. Clusters of soft wingback ladies chair were grouped together and older ladies sometimes planted themselves there to interrogate the ladies who were dancing as they passed through the retiring room - demanding after their prospects or their likelihood to marry this season. Benevolence did a quick circuit, avoiding the matriarchs and checking the closets before assuring herself that Melody wasn’t there.

Genuinely perplexed, she returned to where she had left Mister Crouch. ’She’s not in there. Could she have gone home? Could something have happened to Nora and someone failed to get the message to you?’ She considered Melody one of her closets friends, but she was naive to the complexities of her relationship to her husband.
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