Viola completely missed Lady Rosalind and Lord Gabriel's pleasantries as she was too involved in looking at Lord Emerson just the right amount to avoid the suspicion that she was either looking at him too much or too little.

She did look straight at him as she took her drink from him, almost wincing as her fingers brushed his for a second. "Thank you," she murmured and then added in reply to his compliment, "I am glad you liked the beef; I must ask my aunt where she supplied it. So many people seem pleased with it. I myself preferred the salmon however."

She could still feel the place on her finger tingling where it had touched his. And she was saying the most tedious codswallop about the food. This was ridiculous. If she did not calm herself down and recover her poise she would not be able to perform successfully in the second half.

She smiled at the group. "Will you excuse me? I think I am required in the music room; we will be starting again soon. I do hope you continue to enjoy the evening."

She curtsied and removed herself from the group, only expelling the air in her lungs when she was out of the room and unobserved, allowing herself only a brief slump and quick mental shake and physical shake of the offending finger before she returned to the music room, hostess once again.

((OOC: Thanks guys! Apologies for Viola. She's an idiot.))