With a shared nod, they were off again. Ariel, still savoring a lingering smile from imagining Mandy's horror as Mr. Warner caught up with her, suddenly spotted someone who wiped that smile clean off her face. Noah's head bobbed in and out of the crowd several feet ahead, his eyes darting intently from person to person.

Shoot!

Her breath caught in her throat, Ariel pressed herself against the wall, trying to remain as inconspicuous as possible, hunching lower than the man walking in front of her.

Not now! This can't be happening!

Feeling a bit ridiculous and receiving knowing glances from those who noticed her awkward stance, Ariel crept forward, her movements stiff and deliberate.

Please don’t see me...please don’t see me...

Fighting down a guilty conscience as Mrs. Williams's voice echoed in her mind, "Noah's room is located in the back half of the Inn," Ariel passed Taylor's room and continued in the direction Mr. Warner had indicated.

The dining room is this way, and Jasper better be too!

A voice suddenly pierced the noise around her.

"See something interesting down there?"

Ariel froze as the man she had been using as a shield entered a room in front of her. The abrupt intrusion left her feeling very exposed. She turned and glared up at the person who had so rudely pulled her from hiding. Leroy, with his characteristic grin, looked down at her. Before he could say anything, Ariel yanked him forward.

"Oi—Ariel, what?" Leroy protested as she maneuvered him to block her from view.

"Leroy, don't move," Ariel ordered, tugging at the back of his shirt to hold him still.

"Can I at least ask a question?" he wondered, amusement evident in his tone, as he craned his neck to glance back at her.

"Hm?" Ariel responded, peering cautiously around the monk’s arm.

"Jasper or Noah?"

Ariel gave Leroy's shirt an unnecessary tug.

"What kind of question is that?"

The story has been illicitly taken; should you find it on Amazon, report the infringement.

"Well, you're hiding from one of them, so my money’s on Noah..."

"Is Jasper in the dining room?" Ariel asked, ignoring his last comment.

"So I am right—" Leroy smirked.

Ariel poked him in the back.

"Have you seen him or not, Leroy?"

"Who, Noah? I see him right now, and here he comes—"

"What?" Ariel cried as the monk stepped forward and waved.

In a surge of panic, Ariel ducked her head and slunk along the wall as swiftly as she could. Then, a series of events unfolded rapidly.

"Mandy!" a voice shouted from a distance.

"Jasper!" a breathless voice, much nearer, called out.

Ariel’s head snapped up as she recognized Mandy's voice. A few feet behind her, Ariel spotted Leroy, who seemed to have approached Noah but was now standing with Jasper.

That Leroy!

Ariel’s attention darted down the hall, where she glimpsed a brightly colored dress through the throng of people.

That Mandy!

"Excuse me," Ariel urged, forcing her way back toward the spot she had just fled.

"Mandy!" a male voice shouted again, this time much closer.

Not pausing, Ariel surged to her feet, desperately trying to spot Mr. Warner among the throng of men filling the hall.

"Ariel, there you are!" another voice called out.

Panic gripped Ariel as she recognized Noah's voice. A quick glance over her shoulder confirmed her fears—Noah was several feet behind her but had seen her.

Shoot!

Suppressing her guilt, Ariel pretended not to hear him.

"Ariel!"

With her head down and a blush of shame coloring her cheeks, Ariel pushed forward through the crowd. To her dismay, she encountered even more resistance than before.

What’s going on?

Anxiously peering past the throngs pressed against her, Ariel noticed a large group exiting the dining room, causing the already congested hall to reach its capacity.

"Jasper!" Mandy called out again, halted some distance away by the impenetrable human wall.

Ariel bounced on her feet nervously, hoping to catch a glimpse of their boss somewhere in the crowd, but luck was not on her side.

This can't be happening! Mandy can’t get to him first!

"Mandy!" a voice shouted directly behind Ariel.

Spinning around, Ariel saw Mr. Warner pushing through the crowd, excusing himself with an air of authority.

"Pardon me, official playwright business... Mr. Warner, owner of the Marlowe Playhouse coming through..."

"Mr. Warner!" Ariel called, waving to the agitated man.

"Ariel! We meet again. Have you seen Mandy?" he asked hurriedly, his eyes darting around uncertainly.

Realization dawned on Ariel—Mr. Warner could be her chance to reach Jasper, perhaps her only chance, and she was determined to seize it.

"Yes, I saw her somewhere over there," Ariel replied, pointing vaguely in the direction she had left Leroy.

With a nod and no further words, Mr. Warner began to push his way through the tightly packed crowd.

"Mr. Daniel Warner here, make way..."

Ariel hurried to follow, wondering if Noah was maneuvering through the crowd in the same manner Mr. Warner was heading toward Mandy. Would the crowd part for the heir to the Inn? With a knot of anxiety tightening in her stomach, Ariel kept her head down and stayed close to the playwright ahead of her.

After making rapid progress through the masses, Mr. Warner encountered two formidable barriers: someone who was unimpressed by his status and Shiloh.

"What do you mean? I'm the owner of the renowned Marlowe Playhouse!" Mr. Warner argued heatedly with a man who stood a good foot taller.

Ariel shrank back slightly, hoping to find another way through when a female voice cut through the murmur around them.

"Daniel! Daniel!"