Mystery of the Inn by the Shore

It was about a month after the shipwreck which brought such strange consequences to the Blue Lion and its inmates that Clifford King, much against his will, found himself, for the first time that winter, at a dance. He detested dancing, never accepted an invitation to a ball if he could help it, and never turned up if he found himself compelled to accept.

But this entertainment was an exceptional one, being given in honor of the "coming out" of Otto Conybeare's youngest sister, and the mines laid for him had proved successful.