"I am," Charles said, actually feeling a bit of pride. "And it's a pleasure to meet you, formally."
He glanced off at the dancers in the center of the ballroom for a moment before turning his attention back to Mr. Laurent.
"My father truly is a dedicated host. I can only hope I've learned enough from him," Charles said. This time he really was proud, for his father. "I'm sorry if I seem a bit distracted at the moment. I've hired a small acting troupe to perform one of my plays after the dancing, and I'm ...anxious about seeing it off of the page for the first time."
Of course he was anxious about far more than that. What if the one of the guests recognised one of the actors? And what about after the play. He couldn't deny that the house was large enough to sneak around in for illicit activities. Naturally, none of these things could be voiced to anyone aside from Abigail.