The evening might have ended there if Vanessa hadn’t decided that the reception itself had to answer for her embarrassment.

At half past nine, Nora found me near the cake table.

“Your sister is asking people to leave early,” she said.

“She’s telling them there’s been a family emergency.”

I looked around.

Most guests were dancing.

A few were getting coats.

Across the room, Vanessa stood with Lily and Owen near the side exit, speaking intensely to my cousin Peter.