During their absence, the hall had become quite crowded with people who wanted to be among the first to congratulate them. If Adam had not come earlier they would have come out in search of them. Adam smiled at everyone who was coming and congratulated him and looked behind him questioningly as to where his newly engaged woman was.

Adam did not want to give any excuse for Isabella for he knew that she would show up after a while but after fifteen minutes or so there was no sign of Isabella and tiny flickering anger erupted inside him and he wondered whether she was doing it deliberately trying to...