The two weeks sped by so quickly, for Alexander and Faith had a great number of things to say to each other and do together. They had always loved riding together, and now that Faith was on the mend they did plenty of it and she grew stronger and stronger each day. In addition to riding Faith had to look into getting a more complete wardrobe for the upcoming ball. Never one to have overly extravagant dresses, Faith's wardrobe had gone considerably downhill since her social life had ceased. Not that her dresses where ugly, Faith had wonderful taste in clothing, but the fancy dresses that she did retain had long since fallen out of fashion. Everyone was so happy, even Lady Wyndham had more of a bounce in her step. The only person who seemed discontent was Cynthia. She was overjoyed to see her much admired sister recovering but she hated being left behind from these occasions especially when Faith was going. Faith promised to tell her all about their evening when she got a chance and this appeased Cynthia a little. Finally the night came. Faith came down the stairs looking absolutely radiant in her brand new ball gown of blue silk, her green eyes sparkling in anticipation. Alexander smiled at her and offered her his arm, then they followed their parents into the carriage.

Blakeney Manor was ablaze with light and music. At first Faith clung to Alexander a little nervously, but when the friendly voices of Tony and Glynde greeted them she was put more at ease.

"Alexander, I am glad to see you are making it to more balls now days," Tony said teasingly.

"Tony, Glynde, I would like you to meet my sister Faith. Faith, this is Lord Anthony Dewhurst and Sir Phillip Glynde," Andrew said, ignoring Dewhurst's previous comment. Dewhurst and Glynde both bowed low in acknowledgment.

"We are glad to see that you are well again, Lady Wyndham."

"Thank you. I still feel a bit out of place and awkward, it's been about a year since I last was at a ball."

"Well you have a wonderful brother in Alexander and I am sure he will do a excellent job reintroducing you into society."

At this point in their conversation they were interrupted by the appearance of Hastings and, behind him, Laurent Thériault stood, very handsome in his English attire.

"Ah, it's Hastings and Laurent," cried Tony, introducing them into the circle. "Lady Wyndham, this is Lord Hastings and this is Laurent Thériault, a recent immigrant from France."

"Yes, Alexander has told me much about all of you," she said with a nod and curtsy.

After this Hastings' and Glynde's attentions were drawn away as some friends called to them and they walked over to talk to them, and Tony started talking with Alexander about a recent yacht race. Alexander was so absorbed in his conversation that he forgot to include Faith. When he remembered and turned to talk to her, he found her, to his surprise, deep in conversation with Laurent. The next thing he knew Laurent was offering her his arm and they headed off to dance. They presented a beautiful picture. Faith looked not a bit out of place or awkward, her graceful figure floated effortlessly across the room and Laurent looked at her admiringly. Tony, who had been talking all this time, stopped to see what had so caught his friends attention. When he saw what Alexander was watching he gave him a knowing wink. Just then Sir Percy came up to them. He greeted them and talked with them for a while before he told them, in a low voice to avoid being overheard by other guests, that there would be a meeting after the party was ended. Alexander and a few of the other League members spent most of the evening together, but he kept an eye on his sister to make sure she was getting on all right. "Getting on all right" would be an understatement, she was still with Laurent and looked like she was having the time of her life. As the night was drawing to a close and Alexander thought they would be leaving soon, he sought out his mother. He saw her near the door, taking leave of some friends. She saw him too and gave him the second surprise he had received that night, she gave him a really very agreeable smile.

"My goodness, Alexander, you really can make friends when you mean to. I must have seen you with over half a dozen friends tonight--a record for you! There was Lord Dewhurst, Lord Hastings, Sir Andrew Ffoulkes, Sir Phillip Glynde, and I even thought I saw you talking with Sir Percy for a good long time. He's so amazing! Now there's a really gentleman for you."

Alexander smiled thoughtfully and said:

"Yes, Sir Percy is amazing, he really is a true English gentleman."