Mr Ellison lowered his voice. "You can't keep treating every mention of Ashford like a threat."
"I'm not."
"You just sent me out of my own conversation."
"You were about to speak carelessly in front of Avalan."
"I recognised her."
"You recognised a surname."
"And the girl."
A waiter passed behind me, carrying empty glasses. I stepped aside before he reached the door.
Inside, Richard said, "Then you understand why you should have stopped."
"Because of what happened?"
"Because of what people decided happened."
The reception room held its silence.
I waited for Mr Ellison to answer.
He didn't.
A voice called Richard's name from the main hall. Chairs were being moved near the stage, and the music started again.
Richard opened the door.
He stopped when he saw me.
We looked at ea
