Anne warmly flirts with Twilwell

{if Twilwell-Anne > 0}"I'm glad that I've been so much on your mind," Anne says with a laugh and a smile, reaching out to touch Twilwell's hand warmly. Rather forward, but the situation seems to call for it. "You're far too kind to take my words with such serious consideration!"{else}"You're too kind," Anne says with a smile for both Twilwell and Rebecca. "You both are."{endif}

"Not at all, not at all!" Twilwell says cheerily.

"Have you gotten to know anyone in the county yet?" Anne asks, glancing around at the partygoers.

"Indeed, I'm afraid I have not! Do you think you could introduce me?"

"Well, I'm sure I can in a moment...but first, let me show you the lay of the land, if I may." Anne crosses to stand by Twilwell's side, facing out into the ballroom. "Let me see, you must by now have met the Bellingtons..."

"Yes, charming family."

"And that over there is the Tremont family - the younger Mr. Tremont is a very good sort, and he and his wife just had two lovely girls a year ago, twins. Over there..."

Anne and Twilwell descend into animated conversation as she points out the various families and luminaries of the county. They seem utterly engrossed in their conversation, two social butterflies content - at least for the moment - to flutter and gossip around each other.

Rebecca, meanwhile, is bored.

A throat-clearing next to her makes her start, and she realizes with some dismay that she's forgotten entirely about Mr. Twilwell's friend, Mr. Vickery. The dark-haired man is gazing at her awkwardly, shuffling slightly. Vickery glances at Twilwell and Anne, then smiles faintly at Rebecca.

"Well," he says. "They seem to be getting on quite well."

He doesn't sound especially happy about it, despite his smile, and something about him sets Rebecca's teeth on edge. "Indeed," she says politely. Glancing around the room quickly to see if there's anyone she can make an excuse to go see, she comes up completely dry. Drat.

Vickery clears his throat again. "Do you, er...like balls?" he asks. Rebecca arches an eyebrow.

"What woman doesn't love balls?" she asks dryly. Vickery blinks, and she thinks she catches the barest flicker of a smile on his lips, but then he shakes his head.

"I'm afraid they're not my metier, really," he says. He looks around the room and shakes his head grimly.

Just as Rebecca is beginning to become slightly curious about him, she spots something across the room. Oh, dear. Alice has found the punch, and appears to be going for a second cup already. Rebecca is pretty sure they haven't been here at the ball long enough for that to be a good idea - but on the other hand, she is now having a conversation with Mr. Vickery...