Re: Una and Arabella
What Arabella did was to choose the hot chocolate, which would keep her head about her better than wine, and indulge in sipping it, privately, alone in her small corner of the room. Guests moved in toward the table, and Arabella let herself be moved in the flow, taking small steps backward and sideways, like a dance, until she turned and came face-to-face with the wealthy woman.
"Excuse me," Arabella said politely, and though she knew she shouldn't ask, the familiarity nagged at her until she asked, "Have we met?"
Perhaps this was an acquaintance of her father's, or a patron of the library societies Arabella frequented. That would explain, perhaps, why Arabella could not place her.