Alice sipped very gently on a small glass of wine as she watched Anya run away, strangely panicked, and disappear out of sight.

Weird

, she thought. She hadn 't even seen the famous Donovan Desmond enter the Ballroom, but Anya seemed convinced that he was there for some reason. But it wasn 't really any of her business, so she didn 't say anything, choosing instead to find her way back to Emile, who had somehow managed to reconnect with both Becky and Bill.

Alice had to admit, Becky 's stylist had excellent taste. The shade of peacock-blue was perfect for her, and the halterneck dress was adorned with large fabric roses on one side, starting at the crook of her neck, trailing down her side and disappearing into her waist. It almost made her regret her own chartreuse choice - but if she wanted to be friends with Becky Blackbell, she had to master the art of admiring Becky 's choices,

and