Jasper's face had gone very still.
He took the box back from Eleanor with both hands and a stiff bow of his head.
"I owe you an apology," he said. "I was clearly misinformed about the piece. I'll have something appropriate delivered to you personally tomorrow."
Eleanor's expression had cooled several degrees.
"Please don't trouble yourself," she said, with the kind of politeness that closed doors.
She turned away.
The surrounding guests resumed their conversations, but the volume was lower now, and several people were looking at Jasper's group with the particular attention reserved for people who had just done something embarrassing in public.
"Did you hear that? A synthetic stone at Eleanor Everett's birthday."
"I wouldn't have made that mistake."
"Honestly, who vets the
