46 Conflict (1)

Hank studied his wife's reaction to what Scarlet said. She was hiding something from him. "Incident? What incident?" 

"Ah, it was nothing serious," Layla replied, letting go of Hank to search for her handkerchief. Her palms were starting to feel sweaty.

"Was it not serious? You wanted me to call for the guards," Scarlet continued. 

Ian pretended to wipe something above his mouth with his right hand to hide his smile. He didn't care to bring up the talk he had with Layla at the ball but why would he stop Scarlet when she was speaking on behalf of him?

Hank turned to Layla to get answers. "What incident called for you to need the guards? I was told that you left the ball early so I didn't know you had met with my wife, Scarlet. I'm a little out of the loop right now."

"It was a small misunderstanding and I had overreacted. It is time we go say hello to our peers," Layla said, starting to walk off but Hank held her arm.