CLOVER

Step 3: Kill the man

The orchestra started playing different music for the guests until the ceremony officially started. William invited Scarlett for a dance. She happily agreed and gave him her hand. He took her to the dance floor, which was already filled with couples holding close onto each other. Love is indeed powerful. The fact of still knowing who your dearest is, even if they are standing behind a mask, was truly admirable. "I saw her yesterday."-he broke the silence with the sharp words. "What?"-she asked dumbfounded. "I was in a tavern. She somehow knew I was there and came to see me. I tried to follow her and catch her but she was too fast."-he explained to her. "Why would she do that? What if you got her? Her whole plan would go wasted." -"Tell me about it! That was her stupidest move ever. Since I found out who she truly is, I feel like the Clover I knew before was a completely different person." William turned her around to change the partners according to the dance. The lady who was now dancing with William seemed a lot familiar. "Have I perhaps met you before, my lady?"- he asked her curiously. "I do not think so. It is the first ball that I am attending."-she answered awkwardly. "What a coincidence! It is my first one too!" The lady looked closer into his eyes, trying to understand who he was. William seemed familiar to her, but she couldn't understand why. "Your eyes."-she finally spoke. "They remind me of a man I know." -"Whose?"-William asked. "You must know him. He is." The time to change partners came again, and the lady could not finish her sentence. "You seem to be very good at socializing, Trenor."-Scarlett distracted him. "Yeah, I do love meeting new people, but my heart refuses to open a space for them."-he smiled at her. "It is already filled with the admiration of someone." -"And who might that be?"-she asked teasingly. They exhanged partners again, and Scarlett twirled around to the arms of another man while William got to dance with the same lady as before. "It is you again!"-he spoke happily. "Yes." -"You did not tell me, who do I remind you of?" -"Oh, my apologies. The dance is keeping us focused on it!" William got closer to her, holding her down by her waist. "So?"-he asked her. "You remind me of my work partner, Detective William Trenor." For a moment, he froze still until the music ended. "Are you well, sir?"-she asked him. He nodded as a sign of confirmation and excused himself, making his way to find Scarlett. "What happened, Trenor?" -"You saw the woman I was dancing with? It was her." Scarlett tried to look for a sight of her, but she seemed to have disappeared really quickly from the dance floor. "Listen to me, Trenor. We need to put our plan to work. Clover won't hesitate to execute her final step even if the second one fails. Even if she fails to get you to kiss her, she will kill you in any way!"-Scarlett added. "Then what should I do?"- he asked, worried. "Just be attentive! She can use anything other than poison to kill you." They decided to blend into the crowd so they could look for her. "Trenor. If you find her, make her believe that she got your interest. Be careful afterward!"-she advised him worried. He nodded, and then they split up. The park started getting more crowded with people from well-known families or wealthy ones. On a corner, you could notice a group of widows sitting in agony. Apparently, someone who was invited to this party spread the information faster than the speed of light. Almost everyone knew that Clover was attending the ceremony ball, and all the eyes full of sorrow and hate were looking for her and William. Lucky for him, he had a mask on, or else he would have to face another Wood situation. William couldn't spend the evening worrying about that. His eyes and mind were now in search of Jennifer. He didn't study the lady he danced with much. From what he remembered, Chiswik had said that Clover had got a lavender dress. Lavender was a rare color to wear as ladies were mostly focused on warm tones or deeper shades of blue and red. The trumpets welcoming the king caught his attention. The royal carriages had arrived along with the royal guards standing on every corner of them. The king soon got off his carriage and waved to everyone. With the royal guards beside him, he managed to walk in the center, his back facing The Big Ben. He was standing behind what seemed like a long red piece of ribbon that was held by two metal poles. The mayor approached him with a pair of scissors that looked twice as big as his hands. He handed them to the king, and then he asked for everyone's attention as he was pointing the scissors towards the ribbon.