Oliver listened to her rant with a patient smile, tilting his head in the same way his sister did when they regarded something that was of amusement to them.
“Yes, but can you imagineyour sisterbeing Presented?” he pointed out to her. “If even you barely managed through the entire affair with your sanity intact, I fear that it would drive Trixie to insanity, if she were in your shoes.”
Claire giggled at the thought of her outgoing sister crammed into a ridiculous court gown, heaped with garlands and jewels, and made to curtsy before the Queen. Indeed, it would probably drive her mad before she completed the task.
“Well, at least that is over and we can proceed to more leisurely things,” Lady Suzanna reminded them.
“And garb,” Oliver added with a twinkle in his eye.
“And garb,” she agreed, laughing. She patted Claire’s hand. “Do not fret, dear heart. It is highly unlikely that we shall be called to wear thesecontraptionsagain. In fact, most gowns for court are only ever worn once.”
“It sounds just like a wedding gown,” Claire sighed. “You spend so much time, effort, and money on it and you are only ever going to wear it once.”
“Yes, but if you do well when you make your curtsey, and hold yourself respectably, then you can be assured that youwillwear a wedding gown.”
“Or,” Oliver added. “You can follow in the footsteps of my lovely sister and turn down every single suitor that comes to our door.”
“Marriage might be the sole purpose for these affairs but it is not mine,” Lady Suzanna laughed. “I would rather remain a spinster than to spend the rest of my years in an unhappy union.”
“I agree,” Claire declared emphatically. “I wish to have the sort of marriage my parents had, back when Mother was still alive.” Her eyes misted with tears at the mention of her departed mother. “They loved each other dearly and they never disrespected each other.”
Lady Suzanna smiled. “It was the same for our parents, before they died. They were hardly ever separated from each other and I feel that even if it was such a tragic affair to lose them both at a young age, they would not have preferred to die any other way.”
They both looked at each other and Claire found a kindred spirit in Lady Suzanna. In more ways than one, the duke’s sister was also an older sister to her and now, she was guiding her through the murky waters of Polite Society.
“Well, with the Presentation finally out of the way,” Lady Suzanna smiled, “you, dear heart, are officially on the Marriage Mart. You may now attend the gatherings of thetonwhere you will meet many young men, who are seeking a bride.”
Claire laughed. “I just want to be able to survive all this while enjoying myself. As for marriage, I am not in a hurry to have it all done this Season. There is still next year, after all, although I fear that it will require a lot of money, going through another Season.”
“Quite so, but you need not fret about such things. All you need to do is enjoy yourself and you will attract the right kind of man, who will take care of your little heart.”
“Why do I feel like you should not be giving Claire advice on marriage?” Oliver told his sister with a wry smile. After all, you are still very much unmarried.”
“Not,” his sister replied with a sly smile, “for want of trying, brother dear.”
Claire listened to the light-hearted banter between the siblings with a small smile on her face. As for her, she could not wait to be rid of all her court finery and be finally free to experience all of London.
Today, she had seen the Palace for herself and she tucked the memory of it into her architectural brain, noting the nuances and details as she did.
I fear that I shall never get to see the Palace so close again.
As the carriage ambled on home, Claire also wondered if she would ever find the time to finally be able to see the other buildings she had on her list. After Queen Charlotte’s Ball, the Season would be in full swing and there would be a great number of balls, breakfasts, parties, afternoon teas, and soirees to attend.
Where will I get all the time to do what I want to do?Claire wondered. It seemed that there was just so much to do in so very little time.
She worried that at this point, she was more likely to find a suitable match than visit all the buildings on her little list.
That did not sit well with Claire at all.
By whatever means necessary, I shall find a way to visit all those grand structures in my list.I might be able to persuade His Grace to accompany me on this excursion one of these days!
However, she had also noted with some dismay that the Duke was rather preoccupied as of late and she worried even further that she might never be able to do what she had set out to do in London.
Chapter 7
The social affairs of London were governed by a stringent set of rules. Failure to abide by these rules meant that one would either become fodder for gossip the next day or have your reputation ruined for good.
In her first two weeks, even Claire was afraid to venture without the explicit approval of Lady Suzanna. However, after her first week, she had regained her usual confidence and mingled with the young lords and ladies of thetonthe way a fish would take to water.
