Natalie finished talking to an old viscountess whose diamonds looked old enough to hold grudges. She then turned slightly toward Gabriel, as if to acknowledge something in the godparent cluster, and used the motion to move one step to the side of the main flow.
Arik did the same thing from the other side, stopping a baron before he could change direction and answer any question that had been meant for her with calm, princely efficiency.
Ten seconds later they were no longer in the center.
Twenty seconds later they were in the edge current of the room, where guests still saw them but did not feel entitled to stop them.
Thirty seconds later Natalie slipped through the side arch and into the half-lit corridor leading toward the winter gallery.
Her laugh was still echoing softly in the warded corridor when Arik reached the arch.
