Being skilled in social observation was not an entry requirement for the Department of Mysteries and Lena freely admitted that she was terrible at it, however, even she could not fail to notice the edge to Effie’s voice. And it took no skill whatsoever for her to hazard a guess as to the reason, though she could not be certain. It had been years, after all, and perhaps something had changed for Effie in the interim?

She was marrying Brooks, after all. Surely being a spinster in society’s eyes was better than marrying someone you did not love at least a little bit?

“Well, the company has just improved considerably,” she said, toasting her glass in a mocking salute to Effie. “But I was never one for parties. How about you? Are you…” She nodded her head towards the man still chatting away, but couldn’t find the words to describe what he may or may not be.