Jules on the other hand slipped and slid between the couples almost without notice. A whispered word of apology as he passed, a slight touch to move them a little away from him. All light and frippery, he would never openly challenge the gaze of another. Rather, he’d be the one to wait until someone passed before he ever so quietly picked from their pocket.
Jodi shivered, as though someone had just walked over her grave. It was hard to know who to be most careful of. She grinned. Maybe both. Then again, maybe neither.
* * *
Inside the gathering hall Jodi was forced to reappraise. A seething mass of people awaited. Any or all of them could have been what her father would refer to as ‘rebels’. Strangely, that was the least off-putting part of entering the hall.
The hall was supposed to b
