The balcony doors closed softly behind Audrey Sawyer as she stepped outside.
The air beyond the glass carried the sharper chill of winter, a quiet contrast to the warmth inside the ballroom. From here the music reached her in softened fragments, the quartet's notes drifting through the closed doors.
Audrey rested one hand lightly against the railing.
The view overlooked the city lights stretching across the river, their reflections trembling faintly in the dark water below. It was not the sort of view meant to distract a guest for long; the balcony had been designed more for pause than spectacle, a place where someone might step away from the center of the room for a few minutes before returning.
For Audrey, the pause felt necessary.
