Elspeth was perturbed. A gentleman -- indeed, any man with manners and respectable breeding -- would depart as soon as a lady let on that she wished to end the conversation. He would not offer her another drink, and certainly not request to sit somewhere in private!
"I do not think so, Mr. Cullen." Her posture seemed to swell, along with her indignation. The brunette had no height advantage, so she had to tip her head back to look down her nose. "And I do not like the implication one bit. If you'll excuse me!" Clearly, it would be necessary to remove herself. With a waltz underway before them, the only retreat was towards the cloak room, but when she turned that way, Elspeth found that several pairs of broad shoulders blocked it.
"Oh, wonderful. This is... just..." She ground her heel into the floor and faced the boy again. It was all his fault, really. If he hadn't jostled her, they never would've spoken, and she wouldn't have recognized him, and they wouldn't have wound up trapped in a claustrophobic corner of the room. Why had she ever thought him polite? He was a scoundrel! He had probably orchestrated the entire thing.
Why, she wouldn't be surprised if he had tried to steal private moments with Ruth in the boarding house. Maybe that's why he wanted to know her cousin's whereabouts.
Elspeth crossed her arms. "You are a sneaky little man, aren't you?"