Alistair did not typically attend parties but he had felt compelled to go to this one. He was not drunk - certainly not as drunk as Bellamy Echelon - but he was experiencing a pleasant buzz. That feeling intensified somewhat when the other man singled him out and talked him into going with him to the Echelon country house. It was the liquor, he told himself because what else could it possibly be?

(The fact that Bellamy Echelons hand had a tight hold on his own definitely had nothing to do with anything. The hard beating of his heart was mostly surely because of the unexpected trek.)

Alistair was almost hit in the face with a low-hanging branch but managed to duck under it in time. "How did you happen upon it?" He asked curiously as he was pulled along.