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The dandy guided her, cluh the final refrain of the waltz He relaxed noticeably at the end and whisked her to the punch bowl, taking proprietary control of her dance card so that she could not find her next partner As it happened, she had no partner She was, after all, not out, and could really only dance with her escort or her brothers

Sophronia glared at hin

"You’re awfully friendly with that young man," said a horribly familiar voice fro them both away from the punch and into a corner behind a potted plant "What on earth are you doing here?"

"Swilling punch with the aristocracy Keeping an eye on you"

"I can take care of myself!"

"Not froot yourself engaged!"

"Oh ho, trust you to be in on the gossip"

"The ladies like me, what can I say? What do you have to say for yourself?" He was glaring at Felix, who held court across the crowded ballroo, cocky way

Soap inclined his head

Sophronia could allare

Sophronia was convinced these two shouldn’t encounter each other when Soap was pretending to be a gentleht result

"Silly Soap, it’s not to Felix Mue me to Pillover"

"What?" That took the coal out of Soap’s boiler

"Misunderstanding"

"I should hope so He’s a child"

"Sadly, he doesn’t look like it anyrily at Felix and turned to follow Pillover’s slouched forh a reel in a coht he was the

"Oh, dear," said Soap

"Who knew Pillover would turn into a lady-killer?"

"Who indeed?" Soap could do a fair imitation of an upper-crust accent when he put his mind to it

If Sophronia hadn’t been so annoyed with hi coeneral air of bleakness and dyspepsia; woood cheer"

"Poor old Pillover"

As if knowing he was the object of their discussion, Pillover spotted thean to bend his set in their direction Felix extracted hi ladies and desperate mamas and circled in on their location as well

Sophronia panicked "Soap, you have to get out of here! You haven’t been invited What if soainst it You could be cashiered or whatever it is they do upon encountering unsanctioned ood!"

"Soap, and I don’t mean to be rude, but you do know you are of African descent, don’t you? What if your ed "I like your costume, miss You look a treat, almost like you was one of us down below"