The week flew by for Claire both from excitement and anxiety. By Saturday evening everything was set, from the Hors d'oeuvres in the kitchen on glistening silver platters to the pins that held Claire’s hair in the most extravagant, lovely way to let a few locks cascade down around her neck to her left shoulder. For the night she had picked out a light purple dress, and of course the necklace Nicholas had given her before the wedding. Part of her was reminded of the more ‘negative’ days together, but she quickly dismissed it. The last week had been filled with time cuddling in bed, making her almost thankful for his wound; he never would have spent so much alone time with her if he’d been working.

To finish the outfit she had a black mask that covered the top half of her face, a couple flowers in the corner that matches ones in her hair. The guests had been arriving for the past fifteen minutes in groups of twos, threes, and fours. The entire estate was crowded with staff, friends, and of course those invited strictly for political reasons. They would be spoken to later; for now, Claire was surrounded by the women she hadn’t seen in much too long. It seemed her marriage to Nicholas and the wedding had helped her standing with them, and they all couldn’t get over how extravagant of a home someone that wasn’t nobility had provided.

“Where is his husband of yours, Claire? I haven’t gotten to see him, surely he isn’t hiding from you,” Martha McCoy said, fanning herself despite the cooling weather that evening. She was always doing it, Claire assumed it was just because she couldn’t sit still or wanted to remind people she was there even when silent.

“I’m not sure…I’m sure he’s busy greeting his own guests.” Honestly, despite her flirts of wanting to spend the night searching for each other in the crowd…Claire was eager for him to keep busy with his own devices. She needed to get vital information for the Professor, information that would hopefully be her last to pass on. Things were getting complicated, and she wanted out before they started a family, started a life. She couldn’t get close to her husband having something like this hanging over her head.

Claire had already spotted a couple of the higher military officials, her best bet to getting the job done quickly. With enough drinks and cute flirting she should get her way.