Valeria made me enter the room again.
"What was wrong with the first time?"
"You looked at the empty chair before greeting the person beside it."
"I wanted to sit down."
"I noticed. So would everyone else."
The person beside the chair was currently a folded coat. Valeria had arranged it over the back to stand in for a visiting patron at the academy reception. I was beginning to dislike him.
We had borrowed a quiet sitting room for half an hour. The reception itself would be a small event for visiting supporters and faculty guests, not a ball. Apparently, that made the expectations less visible rather than less numerous.
I went back to the door.
Valeria moved the empty chair a little farther from the entrance.
"Was that necessary?"
"You were going to reach it before I finished speaking."
"Now you're guessing."
"Now you have time to prove me wrong."
