We glanced at each other. The invitation seemed genuine. “Certainly!” Tony said. “Please send word when you’re ready.”
Their Inventor, a young brown-haired woman, smiled and shook hands without rising. To speak with another Family’s Inventor raised suspicion. So our duties completed and the music waning, we descended to join the real party.
I glanced back at the dais. “What do you suppose the Clubbs were about?”
Tony smiled for the first time since entering the ballroom. “We’ll learn soon enough. Neither of them breathe without it being part of some intrigue.”
The loudspeaker blared, the applause died down, and the music began. Tony and I danced a slow waltz, deliberately circling the dais. This gave us the opportunity to survey the room. Couples from all four Families danced around us
