She didn't know what she had expected. There a were already dozens of people in the room when Alexandra arrived at Cliff House. She was looking out for Andreas but couldn't find him. For a moment, the crowd opened up and to her surprise there was the man looking like Oscar Wilde, talking to a bearded man she didn't know.

The crowd closed in on her again and the smell of damp clothes mixed with the odours of various spirits. She had to get rid of her coat, or else she wouldn't survive the evening. Turning around, she nearly bumped into a man.

"Hello, my dear, nice to see you again."

"Is it really, Vicent?" Only now did she remember that she had seen him on the train to Westport. But then Volker had fainted, leaving her no time to wonder about Vincent. "Come on, love, let me take your coat." Vincent dived into the crowd and reappeared miraculously after a few minutes.

At that moment, the bearded man called for attention. So this was Sean Cannon. It took her some minutes to realize that the letter he was reading was not the original letter of invitation. A hush fell over the crowd - Brian O'Donnell's widow had written, threatening legal actions an claiming all the pictures. People looked disappointed or even shocked when Sean tried to explain that they would try to postpone the auction to the end of the week. Everybody started to talk at once.

Alexandra turned to find her jacket. Enough for one night.