Tonight had gone smoothly enough, he thought. Ford had lost track of both of his sisters at various points during the evening, but he wasn't concerned about what Verity did while he wasn't looking. Grace seemed to need more active supervision to feel bold enough to participate in the festivities, but that was fine. That was his job, wasn't it, as her older brother? So he hardly minded, and every time he came back from getting a drink or giving someone a dance and saw her just waiting and watching he felt a little guilty for having abandoned her, however briefly.

It wasn't terribly late, but it was later than the Greengrass family tended to all stay up together, so Ford had assumed they would dissipate fairly quickly after arriving back home. He headed to the kitchen for a glass of water, and on his way back up towards his bedroom saw Grace standing a little shell-shocked in the hallway.

"Not going to bed yet?" he teased lightly, wondering if she was about to fall asleep on her feet. "You've got a big day tomorrow."