Their conversation ended not too long after that, but time moved swiftly. So now Alice was looking forward to sitting down, her legs ached and if she stayed any longer—what if she got varicose veins? Such an unacceptable horror. She craned her neck a bit, glancing around at the remaining participants… the one she encountered at the banquet had also been chosen!
Alice forgot her name, or rather tried not to remember. The woman stood there properly, without a hint of a smile or anything else for that matter. It was as if she was simply a mannequin. Or she had to endure countless of events like this one, perhaps. But the woman clearly garnered much attention.
“Two thousand and nine hundred pounds.”
“Three thousand and five hundred!”
“Five thousand.” It was the same old guy from afar, she
