3rd October 1814, All the Gaiety of a Ball

James, having been briefly held up by a naval aquintance, was just escorting Charlotte in, pleasantly discussing the changes in London since his last visit. When he spotted Willoughby, he steered the girl in his direction.

"Ah, Lord Gwydyr! Might we hope that you will direct us to Lady Bella's table?"

"Ah but you must be reading my mind captain." Willoughby laughed softly. "I was just about to get you." He nodded to both. "And invite you to supper with us. So.." He took a step to the side as if to give them some space. "Without further ado... this way" His smile broadened. "..Good do see you again, as well, miss Charlotte." He addressed her politely and then turned to lead the way.

Charlotte gave a little curtsy.

"Likewise, Mylord", she replied, then blushed. Was she allowed to say something like that to an officer and lord, or was that presuming a familiarity that he did not want?

James guided her to the table their little group had commandeered and with a bow handed her to a seat, where Bella immediately drew her into the discussion. With a tilt of his head towards the long table where the food was served, James asked Willoughby lightly:

"Without further ado ... this way now?"

Willoughby smiled encouragingly at Charlotte and nodded. Then he turned to James, who was already indicating the long table with the food and drink and chuckled. "Without further ado indeed." He said and then added. "Make haste...ahoy." Though a moment later looking a bit embarrassed. "I have not long been on a ship...and I admit, my attempts at humour with it, are poor."

He never the less moved in the direction of the table.

"Ah, give it two weeks and you will find your sea legs too. I had men who were so sick on their first week on board that the surgeon feared for their health, and half a year later they climbed all over the ship like happy monkeys!", James assured him, laughing, assuming that meant a rather common affliction.

"Some doctor explained to me that you need to strengthen the muscles of your inner ear or some such. Probably not worth the paper it was printed on, but it does indeed in nearly all cases get better. Fellow I met in India once recommended ginger."

"Another remedy I have heard of, was to lie in the shade of a church on some island I do not recall the name of. It sounded quite sensible. If you do lie in that shade you are on land and thus most certainly do not suffer from seasickness. Another that I have also heard is of some strange combination of animals stuck into other animals that you ought to eat. I think that if you do not get sick from that you are good for anything." Willoughbly laughed. "But.. If I need to take a ride on a ship again I will take your council. Ginger, I hope it will work." The first days that he had traveled on board a ship going back home had indeed been rather dreadful. He was an officer then, so some conditions had improved. Thinking back on the first full day as a trooper on board, he still felt his stomach turning.

"Can you tell me this. Do you, if you stay on board for a long while, once you have returned on land, and staying there a little, still have your sea legs, or do you need to get accustomed to the whole ordeal yet again?" He spotted a tray, which had been nearly empty by then and the plates that they needed to take. It would save them a couple of trips back and forth and he grinned nodding towards it. "Could you snatch that while I get the food?"

"Commanders of the Royal Navy do not snatch. The sail by convertly and take abord cargo without any enemy being the wiser!", James declared with a twinkle in his eye, then went cooly to the table, politely served some of the remaining chicken pieces on the plate to a young man with an overlarge cravat, and carried the rest of the bounty away with such an air of confidence that nobody even looked twice.

Perfect. While the commander commandeered the tray, Willoughby had had four plates filled with the white soup and had them waiting neatly for their 'ship' which they were to board. He had turned to produce another two plates of little snacks, which would serve as a followup to the soup and with the help of which they could then determine what the ladies would have preferred having more of.

The "ship" arrived in short order and inserted itself neatly next to Willoughby.

"One plate present and ready, Sir", James announced cheerfully.

"Wonderful. I see that your mission had been a resounding success." Willoughby began to load the plates carefully onto the tray. He had then taken the plates he had loaded with the choice snacks and decided to carry those.

"Shall we bring our supply wagon now to our troops." He grinned mischievously. "They shall be trilled with our efficiency and speed."

"It's a long time since I have been doing supply runs, but I think I still know how to convey it safely to port."

James hefted the tray carefully and nodded for Willoughby to precede him back.

"Let's just hope nobody confuses me with a footman and helps himself to our bounty. I'm afraid I left the guns at home ..."

"Never fear, I shall defend you with my life!" Willoughby said, chuckling softly, though he did take the position ahead of James, as if to lead the charge and in that conceal the precious cargo behind him.

"Almost there, brave man." He added as they were a few steps from the ladies that they have left waiting.

"Very good - we made it through without any casualties."

James approached the girls from behind and left it to Willoughy to serve out the individual plates. Bella nearly startled him, though, when suddenly, deep in a discussion with Charlotte, she firmly declared:

"No, that is only a myth! Lord Gwydyr, you play violin, help me, please! Is it or is it not possible to break a glass with it?"

"Should I say that it is possible, or that it is not?" Willoughby asked playfully. He took the first plate from the tray, to ease James's load a bit and placed it before Bella. He turned to take another serving it to Charlotte. Both plates were then joined by a spoon which would enable the soup to be eaten at all.

"Bella says it is not, Miss Charlotte insists that it is, I would deem it theoretically possible, if you could increase the volume of the violin",

Torrington quickly summarised the arguments, before Bella could go off on a charming, but probably rather longwinded recounting of the battle sofar.

"Ah..." Willoughby saw no way in which he could answer the question without facing one party's displeasure. He of course might have wanted to make Bella feel as if she was the victor in this battle, but thought that he would be equally damned if he chose Torrington's side, or even Charlotte's.

"Well, I can say that I have not yet managed to break a glass." It was a perfect solution to the problem. He had not said that it was not possible, but he did say at the same time that he had not done it. A political answer, he hoped would not bring forth any more questions.

"But ..." Poor Charlotte started to protest, then blushed and ducked her head, while Bella smiled at Willoughby. Torrington made a dissatisfied sound.

"Certainly good for your tableware, but not conclusive proof either way, unless you have tried it extensively. Is there anybody else here whom we can ask? Every member of the Royal society I have seen tonight seems to be either an astronomer or a chemist."

"While I have not, I may offer my services should you wish to perform such a test or a number of them, should that be more to your liking." He smiled at both ladies and looked rather innocently at Torrington for such an offer.

"I do not know how many present here play a violin, while also conducting the many experiments to see whether they can shatter a glass." He offered rather unhelpfully.

Charlotte looked up hopefully, and Bella clapped her hands.

"Oh, yes, please! Don't worry, Edward! Your glasses will be perfectly safe!"

Torrington suppressed a smile and sighed, then bowed formally to Willoughby.

"Gwydyr, it seems then that I will hold a party with the express purpose of attempting the destruction of my crystal and possibly my hearing. Will you and your violin do me the honour of attending and try your worst?"

"I will need to ask my violin, but with such a grand invitation to a house of such a fine officer, I think she will nought but blush and accept. So I shall merely ask you of the date you wish us present, and the time and.. indeed, whether you wish to spare some of your crystal and we can both share the burden of destruction!" Willoughby answered with a bow of his own then, grinning lightly placed the last two plates onto the table.

He had laid the plate of soup he had meant for himself infront of Torrington and the other to James. He knew he would need to retrieve some more, and would do so once he saw the others settled.

"I fear family honour demands that i put my own glasses on the line and ask you to do your worst." Torrington smiled, and thanked the othe man for the soup.

"We will of course deferre to your violin concerning a suitable date."

"We will wait patiently to recieve the invitation." Willoughby said softly and then bowed. "Now, if you would excuse me for a moment longer while I retrieve the few things we may not have brought in our haste." He took the tray and with that final word turned to get some more soup. Anne smiled at James while delicately beginning to eat her own, the latter having been brought by her present partner.

Catherine smiled taking a small sip from her spoon. "I feel a pitty for the glass but equally...are you certain you wish to remain in the same room, while the violin is forced to make the 'cracking' noise?"

James smiled back and bowed briefly.

"I think that is the signal for me to depart as well and serve as an escort. Does any of the ladies have a wish for something special?"

Torrington shrugged.

"Well, somebody needs to act as observer, and since I am interested in the science, I think I will have to suffer through it."

Bella wrinkled her nose.

"Perhaps we can put wax in our ears. Or I could wear that bonnet I bought three days ago. I vow it makes me hear only half of what is going on around me."

"Could you bring some of those sweets.. the small and white ones.." Anne could not recall what they were named though she tried. "Please, if you could." She added politely. Catherine smiled. "The small chocolates for me, They've quite outdone themselves with the presentation with those." She added softly.

Willoughby had gone a bit ahead of James already, certain that he would be able to take the orders and hoping to get some soup before it might run out.

Anne turned to Bella and smiled. "The poor instrument! Will you decide how long you might abuse it, before you choose that the experiment is done if perchance no glass breaks?"

"I propose we put a feather into the glass. If the glass breaks, it can only be by resonance, surely. So the feather should flutter long before the glass breaks, hopefully without disturbing the experiment too much. Then it should be only a question of adding volume at that pitch. It should be discernible rather quickly whether the violin can produce sounds loud enough and in the correct pitch, don't you think, Gwydyr?"

Torrington was frowning heavily, trying to think this through properly. James accepted the commissions silently and departed, taking the try with him again - it would most likely proof rather useful a second time.