"It has been an absolutely splendid evening." Torie assured Miss Dashwood with a genuine smile, watching out of the corner of her eye as her sister and Mr. Foxwood finally got underway with their dance. It was hard to read their expressions from across the room, but Estelle looked especially stiff, which was not uncommon, but this was even more so than usual. What she would not give to be close enough to overhear their conversation! It was probably not very sporting of her, considering she should be championing her sister's success, but she was just a tiny bit jealous that she was not in Estelle's place at this very moment.

Torie couldn't help but to chuckle at the mention of Merlin. She was rather enthralled by the idea of Mr. Foxwood. Each conversation and conspiration with Professor Foxwood led her to believe they were well-suited and now talking to Miss Dashwood was solidifying the fact. Torie couldn't tell if it was Mr. Foxwood she was enraptured by, or merely the idea of him, but either way, she would very much like to find out. Merlin was just a delightful little bonus. "He is on my dance card for later, I do hope darling Merlin does not take my spot!" The thought of it was rather amusing though!