Be circumspect

"I see," Alice says primly. Taking up a position at Vickery's side, she gazes out at the dancers as well. For a few moments, they stand in silence.

"...Were you not looking for a partner, Miss Foxhaven?" Vickery asks, sounding slightly irritated.

"Certainly not, Mr. Vickery," Alice replies pertly. "I was seeking to know what you were doing. I understand you're not interested in dancing - well, I am not so interested in dancing nor so desperate that I would just go from man to man, begging for a dance. If you'll not dance then tell me, what sort of business do you do?"

Vickery smirks slightly. "None," he says. "I'm the proprietor of Abbotton, in Yorkshire."

"Indeed?" Alice asks, her heart racing. If this man doesn't run a business but lives off his land, that must be a magnificent estate indeed! "And do you enjoy your role there?"

Vickery shrugs. "Tolerably well, I suppose. It keeps me in good financial shape and I have no masters to answer to. And you, Miss Foxhaven - you live in the area?"

"Indeed I do, sir," Alice says, then immediately works to move the conversation away from the dangerous terrain of her family, what her father does, et cetera. "I've lived here my entire life, but I hope to one day see more of the country."

"A fine ambition; though why not the world?"

Alice laughs. "I did not wish to seem presumptuous, Mr. Vickery. But yes, I should dearly love to see the world! France - once the war is done - and Italy, even Scandinavia fascinates me."

"Scandinavia? Now that's an unusual ambition," Vickery comments.

"Well, with Norway declaring independence it sounds like a strange, fantastical place. Full of trolls and legends! I'd dearly love to see it." And I hear that with the recession, some peasant families are openly auctioning their daughters...it'd be fun to have a blonde plaything.

"I'm pleased to see you follow politics," Vickery says with a smile. "It's good to see a young lady so aware of the world..."

Across the ballroom, Esther watches Alice speak with Mr. Vickery with a feeling of irritation. She has been searching in vain for Annalise for several minutes now. She desperately wants to talk to her friend after their last conversation, but in the whirl of the ball she just hasn't found the chance. Finally she spots the redheaded girl across the room - and she's alone! The perfect opportunity for Esther to catch a brief, private conversation. As Esther begins to move toward her friend, though, the other girl slips out one of the side doors, not noticing her.

Determined to finally get a chance to continue their chat, Esther scurries out the door herself, finding herself in one of the Bellingtons' hallways. A door a few feet down the hall is open, and from childhood experience Esther knows it leads into the study; probably that's where Annalise has retreated. She pushes the door open and hurries in, saying as she does so, "Annalise, are you - oh!"

Annalise is in the room, but to Esther's surprise she's not alone. Standing quite close to her - Annalise is just pulling back from him, in fact - is a slightly disheveled looking young man with a poof of untidy brown curls and a smirk on his goateed lips. Esther blushes, caught off-guard at having found her friend alone with a man. "I - I'm so sorry, Annalise, I didn't - "

"Don't worry, Esther!" Annalise says brightly, with a breathless laugh. "This is actually wonderful! I've been wanting to introduce the two of you. Esther, this is Percival Winthrop, that distant cousin I mentioned to you. Percy, this...is Esther Foxhaven. I must have told you about her a thousand times."

"Of course. Enchante, Miss Foxhaven," Percy says with a smile. When she reaches forward uncertainly, he takes her hand and kisses it firmly, sweeping his leg out in a courtly bow as he does so.

Esther smiles politely. "Why thank you, Mr. Winthrop. I'm pleased to make your acquaintance." She's a bit perplexed by the way that he's still holding her hand, until he plants another kiss on it.

"You have such radiant skin, Miss Foxhaven. Have you ever been beyond England?"

"I..." Esther glances at Annalise, but the other girl is just watching with an enigmatic smile on her lips. "No, sir, I have not."

"What!" He glances in mock incredulity to Annalise, who gives him a I-told-you-so shrug. "A young woman of your obvious refinement should see the Continent! Become educated in the ways of the world! May I show you how people of taste greet one another in France? The French are so much more liberated than we are..."

Esther swallows uneasily. She doesn't want to offend this cousin of Annalise - or, worse, look inhospitable or provincial before her friend. But then again, she gets a strange feeling from him, and she doesn't want to be put in an awkward position, either...