"I don't think you can, my dear!" Lucien half-taunted, his grin now akin to that of a Chesshire cat.
"145 gold pieces for the man for sale" Lucien yelled, looking edgeways to the gnome, expecting her to bid again. When she didn't the seller made that distinct call "Going once. Going twice. All in, fair warned..."
No response
"SOLD to the noble Le Croix's"
Lucien smiled at Rosa "I told you I'd get him."
Rosa herself was caught up in the buzz of it all. She couldn't believe they'd won! She was adamant that Gnome would keep bidding until they had nothing left. She wasn't sure when her father would stop, if he would stop.
"Rosa. Go and invite our noble rival for a drink or two in the Hippogriff. I'm going to collect our... winning."
Rosa slipped through the crowd, dipping her hands into a couple of pockets as she went. Old habits die hard.
"Excuse me" She addressed the Gnome, curtseying slightly "I just wanted to say, that was a fine battle we had. I haven't had so much fun in years! I was just wondering... who are you?"