Their absence wasn’t noticed until Annabelle and Duncan arrived back at the party hand in hand, moonstruck by all accounts. If anyone had been watching––and no one was, due to the shenanigans on stage––they’d notice that the kiss they shared at midnight was both hungry and eager. In high spirits, watching Annabelle say goodbye to friends and relatives as the party began to dwindle, Duncan’s only pang of uncertainty came when he overheard Annabelle tell one of her debutantes about instituting a “five date rule”. He had a sinking feeling that that whole thing was going to come back and bite him in the ass.