The jiggling knee under Euphemia's skirt betrayed her foot to Astoria. It was reassuring to know that some things hadn't changed since school. Neither had Euphemia's inability to keep a thought that she shouldn't admit to to herself. Astoria smiled. She'd forgotten that Brandon and Euphemia had formalised things at last. Every time she considered finding a man and marrying him to get her mother off her back, one of her peers provided a living example of why she didn't want to do that.
"Oh, I imagine he's around here somewhere. I was supposed to be at the Whittingtons' thing last night with Chris, but we're all still recovering from--" Astoria dropped her voice as if she were saying a dirty word "--Mathwall, and so we didn't. Just as well, with work being what it was last night. So I didn't see him, and instead of sleeping in and having toast and hot chocolate this morning, I'm here to be presented to the madding crowd." Astoria gave a careless gesture that encompassed the ladies who luncheoned and the few gentlemen dancing attendance on them.