Frederick is distracted for a while, chatting politely with two pretty young ladies who happened to accost him-- one is wearing a green, satin dress, the other is in orange and yellow and wearing copious amounts of jewelry. He unfortunately remembers only one of their names, and at the moment he's not even certain which one it belongs to. But he flirts with them an appropriate amount before excusing himself to approach Alec's table, fully aware that their eyes are following him almost jealously.

"Good evening," he greets, leaning over the chair opposite the one occupied by Alec. "What's that you're reading? Is it interesting?"