Xavier looked at her reply, smirking a little. He could almost hear her indecision. Well, he'd just have to be quite convincing then. The last thing he wanted was to attend his mother's first dinner party of the season without a date. He'd be set up continually and it'd be a bugger to get out of it. She hated when he shagged the daughters of friends and then never took them out.
Beginning the return owl, he contemplated how to address her suggestion of saying hello. He'd been just going into the interview with her little friend, Bell, but he couldn't very well say that. Probably best just to ignore it altogether.
Alicia,
You'll keep me sane at the dinner - the biggest of all helps. The dinner is at my home in the country, but if you'd like to go get a new set of robes, who am I to stop a lady from shopping?