It was suddenly very important to her to get out of as soon as possible and change back into her tunic.

Without another moment's hesitation, she stood and quickly abandoned the floor, her eyes scanning for the nearest doorway and intentionally ignoring all else. As soon as she was through the door she veered into a nearby hall. For some reason she found she was breathing hard and her hands had begun to shake slightly. No doubt some strange after effect of her nerves just now catching up with her.

Once she'd settled and felt certain she'd not been followed or found out, she made her way back to the...