“What does one wear to one of Mrs. Allenby’s salons? Is evening attire acceptable, or must I fashion a pair of sans-culottes?” Gilbert made a derisive noise, but Alistair could see the beginnings of a smile cutting through the gloom, so he kept on going. “Does one bring one’s own opium, or is there some sort of communal . . . I don’t know, tureen?”
