The music played merrily in the grand ballroom of the grand estate as the guests began to arrive.

The gentlemen, dressed in crisp suits, and the ladies, adorned in elegant gowns, moved about in a flurry of activity as they greeted one another and exchanged pleasantries.

One of the guests, James Ashley, a (self-considered) gentleman, stood at the threshold of the room, his hand nervously grasping the doorframe as he glanced around at the lively scene.