viii.

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I look through the many people that are walking on the street and spot my brother walking fast. I continue to follow him as he takes many turns. I try to stay at a distance so he doesn't notice me. He turns right into an alley and a few seconds later I do too. I look in the alley, but he is gone. I look around me, trying to find out where I am. Wait a second. I know this place. I hear someone grunting and I immediately open the door to my right. I walk inside the familiar space and see Anthony and Simon standing in the boxing ring. Simon hits Anthony on his right side and he groans as he stumbles back. "Stop this!" I say. "Well, what seems to be so urgent?" Simon asks ignoring me. Anthony puts his fists in front of him and they start circling each other.

I walk towards the ring. "I'd like to know what was going through your head last night and this morning." he says and he steps forward. He swings his fist at Simon's face, but Simon ducks. I quickly step inside of the ring as Simon comes up and raises his fist, ready to hit Anthony in his face. Before he can do that I hit him on his jaw with my right fist, throwing him off balance. I see anger cross his face. He swings his fist but I duck and hit him in the stomach. However, it doesn't seem to affect him as much as I had wanted and he holds his fists in front of his face.

"Delia?" he says as he looks at me, only now realizing that it was me who hit him. Twice. "What are you doing here?" Anthony says angrily. I turn around and look angrily at him. "I am here to prevent Simon from beating the shit out of you and hurting you." I say. "And to make a comeback." I say and I hold my fist in front of my face. "Are you serious?" he scoffs. "Oh no, not at all. This spinster with no talent at all is just messing with you." I say angrily and swing my right fist. It connects with his jaw and he stumbles to the side. "Okay I shouldn't have called you that." he says. "You shouldn't have called me that?" I yell. "You called me a disgrace Anthony." I say angrily and take another swing at him. This time hitting him in his left side. "Delia-" Simon starts. "Shut up Simon. This has absolutely nothing to do with you." I interrupt him. Anthony straightens and slightly raises his fists too. "And what were you planning on doing? You have clearly proven that you can beat him. What else is there to accomplish?" he asks. "Him breaking of the engagement of Nigel Berbrook and my sister." I say not lowering my fists as I stare into Anthony's eyes. "Have the bans been read then?" Simon asks. "I assure you all the formal preparations are underway." Anthony says, glancing at Simon. "I have arranged everything with Nigel Berbrooke, having given him my word." he says. I growl.

"Berbrooke is an unworthy suitor for Daphne." I say as I start circling, Anthony following my lead. I pretend to go and hit him in the face. Anthony moves his arms up to shield his face. I quickly redirect my fist towards his stomach and he groans as he takes a step back, putting his hand on the place I just hit him. "He is perfectly decent." he says as he straightens. "Nigel Berbrooke is hardly a saint." I say. "Enough!" Anthony yells. "Daphne will marry Nigel Berbrooke and there is nothing you are going to do about it." he says, not yelling anymore, but his voice still raised. I swing my left fist and it connects with his jaw, knocking him to the side, almost falling over but he catches himself on the ropes that surround the boxing ring.

I step out of the ring. "William." I say and I nod at him. "Delia." he says as he nods back. I walk out of the room and back into the alley. I start walking and try calming myself down with a few deep breaths. When I arrive at our house I walk towards the stables. Knowing that Cynthia will calm me down. I walk towards her and stroke her nose. I look at my knuckles and see that they are red. I walk into Cynthia's stable and sit down on the ground in a corner. Cynthia pushes her nose into my face and I continue stroking her.

~

"There you are." my mother says as I walk inside. "We were looking for you. We were supposed to start getting ready ten minutes ago." she says. She walks towards me but stops as she takes in my appearance. I am covered in straw. "We must draw you a bath immediately." she says and she grabs my wrist and drags me upstairs. She drags me to my room where I take a bath and put on the dress, with the help of Alice, that mother laid out for me. Alice then does my hair and we walk towards Daphne's room for the finishing touches. When we walk inside, Daphne is standing in front of the mirror in a beige-colored dress, covered with a lot of beams. Mother is standing behind her in a light pink dress. Hyacinth is sitting on a little bench next to the mirror and Eloise is sitting in one of the chairs, reading a book. "Look at you." mother says when she sees me. "You look beautiful." Daphne says as she turns around and looks at me. I am wearing a light green dress that has some light green lace detailing at the top and drops down in a layer of tule at my waist. Of course, there is another light green silk skirt, or else the dress would have been really seethrough. My hair is tied up in the same hairstyle as my sister's. Which is in a bun, with many curls at the back of my head. I walk to stand beside her. "You look beautiful too." I say and she smiles at me through the mirror. "Will it be the rubies or the pearls, miss?" Rose asks as she steps into the room. "The rubies of course. They would catch the eye of new suitors." I say and mother nods. Daphne takes the ruby earrings out of Rose's hand. Then suddenly the doors open and Mrs. Wilson walks inside, looking a bit out of breath. "Good heavens. What is it, Mrs. Wilson?" mama asks. "The queen, ma'am." Mrs. Wilson says and she takes a few deep breaths. "Has she fallen ill?" Daphne asks. "Has King George caused her harm?" Eloise asks. "Her Majesty's royal stationery." Rose says looking at the letter that Mrs. Wilson is holding. "She has written to you, my lady." Mrs. Wilson says. Mother hesitantly takes the letter. She looks at us with a shocked expression on her face. Then she opens the letter. "What does it say, Mama?" Hyacinth asks. Mother chuckles. Her mouth then drops slightly open and she doesn't say anything for a few seconds. "I am invited to a private tea with the queen in two days' time." mama says and she chuckles. This is a big deal. You don't get invited to a private tea with the queen that easily. She turns to look at me. "You shall wear the family diamonds tonight." she says as she strokes my cheek. "Oh no, why not let Daphne wear them. I-" I start but Daphne squeezes my hand. "You will look absolutely breathtaking." she says to me with an encouraging smile. I give her a small smile knowing I won't win if we were to argue. After a few moments, Alice comes walking out with the jewelry and a small tiara to match them. She puts the tiara on my head and looks at the necklace that is currently around my neck. It's a gold chain with a small solid gold heart hanging on it. "You'll have to take the necklace off Miss." Alice says. I swallow and give her a small nod. I carefully remove the necklace and I hold it in my hand as Alice puts the other necklace on. It's rather heavy in comparison to my gold necklace. It looks like the necklace is made out of different flowers attached to one another, of course, they aren't real flowers, because they are made out of diamonds. The earrings are a single flower hanging from a little ball. "Well, we are all ready to go then." mama says and she turns around and walks out of the room with Daphne following her. I remain looking at the necklace in my hand. Alice steps toward me. "I'll make sure it is safe." she says knowing how much the necklace means to me. "Thank you Alice." I say as I hand her the necklace and walk out of the room.

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