Testing the water It had already been decided that she would stay with a close family member at all times, as anyone who met her alone would probably lapse into formal introductions. Whilst she had a full fake name and origin it would, with a little digging, be possible to find that no such person existed on her mother’s second cousin’s wife’s side of the family (or whoever she was meant to be related to). Being with her sisters gave her an instant sort of legitimacy that could be passed off with a quick and informal ‘This is our cousin, Amelia, she’s in town for a few days.’ Whilst she could see the merits of that plan, it was something that made her throat tighten. Here she was, being swept around the party by… herself, or rather Delphine’s version of it. She had to outshine that. Because these people knew Araceli how she had been in first year, and that sort of thing stuck, however well Delphine had done in the meantime. What if, out of the two of them, the one who looked like Araceli was the chattier? What would people think of her then - after all, who could be shyer than that little mouse?
It was still so strange watching her sister being her, especially as she did so much better a job of it. Not necessarily of being Araceli because none of this was her, and she was still amazed that no one else could spot it right off. But it had even taken Effie time, because it wasn’t something anyone expected to need to look for. But Delphine was doing a better job at making what she was supposed to out of this life. Connections. Potential suitors. Friends. She had been trying to process what Delphine had told her about Makenzie. It should have made her feel much safer, feel reassured, and it certainly helped on some level, but she felt like she couldn’t believe it fully until she saw it with her own eyes. Not that there was anything really to see - it was a thought, a feeling of Makenzie’s - but she needed to somehow experience the truth of it before it would seem real, and do its magic.
As she entered the party, she tried to focus on the simple things, the basic deportment lessons she’d had drilled in since childhood - head up, shoulders back, walk with confidence. She watched people watching Delphine-Araceli, looking at her with recognition, and the difference in the looks they gave her. Some open and intrigued, some quizzical. She was no one yet, in any of their eyes, whilst they all had a clear notion of the person at her side. Whilst she had to still play the part she had always struggled with, a confident young lady, it was strangely liberating to be unrecognised. Or almost. Across the room, she saw a familiar face, framed by bright red hair. Her eyes locked for a second with Makenzie’s. She didn’t know whether Delphine had tipped her off about the party. She didn’t know whether she was just imagining it. But she could have sworn that the look in Makenzie’s eyes was different than the rest.