Rumor

I was in no position to calm anybody down, but I swear when I say I was probably the calmest person in the room then, I wasn't lying. 

Everybody was screeching, either scared or outraged. Honestly, I was a bit shaken, too. Why had the event suddenly been called short? And the lights, too. Why had they been shut off? As every woman around me ran around and complained, while others wailed like children, I stood my ground as I thought about it. The Marquess's demeanor had changed after he had conversed with that Wendell girl, and then he had proceeded to call everything off. What might she have said?

I looked around as I tried to find Wendell, hoping that she'd be where she had previously been seen. But with all hell loose and the dark upon us, I couldn't distinguish between anybody at all. 

"Ashli! Oh, Ashli!" I heard a familiar voice call out my alias. "Ashli, where are you?"