Very Truly Yours, Simone

28. the reinvented dreams

The engagement ball was just as how the Earl of Abberton wanted it to be: grand and exhaustingly long.

The five-day long party was indeed interesting for Daniel, Emmeline, and their two younger sisters, Eliza and Elizabeth, twenty-one and nineteen of age, respectively, who did not take long to adapt to the Stratfords and their way of life.

Abberton House was filled with guests. Even the Poppets (yes, with Charity who would not miss the chance to celebrate the occasion for the world), who lived just a short distance away, were given rooms to stay in for the duration of the party, along with Pauline and Mrs. Baker who came from Coulway just for the occasion.

All Stratford grandchildren celebrated in their own chaotic way, with the men organizing riding parties, hunting afternoons, and, of course, gaming rooms at night.

The ladies, together with the Cavendish sisters who had not just adapted but embraced the Stratfords and their wonderful home, went on picnics, walks, and even painting sessions with Lydia.

Roxie and Freda, however, held the most successful activities. Given the liberty of setting up their own little theater in one of the drawing rooms, they showed their creative talent in storytelling, acting, and persuasion. The actors comprised servants (anyone they could spare), the guests (anyone willing), and their cousins (obliged by blood and tears), and stuffed animals (to play the animals if the real ones were a little wider than the doorway).

They divided the story of a prince's adventure in the woods in five parts, which effectively garnered everyone's attention and avid interest. By the end of the second night, everyone was talking about the story over breakfast and tea. Some guests even found some of the actor servants to ask how the story shall end, to which the said servants merely replied that they were only given their lines hours before the play and that they had no inkling of how the story shall progress. And no, they were quite certain that the prince and the talking frog were not one and the same, and that the princess he was forced to search for was not trapped in a tower sewing dresses "because that story has been told too many times to be original for our talented Roxie and Freda," as Leroy said.

Learning Daniel was once an actor, Roxie and Freda approached him and asked if he could act as one of their characters. Gracefully refusing, he offered to help them direct their succeeding plays instead and did a remarkable job in incorporating mystery that enticed more audience. So much so that Price and Gale suggested they sell tickets to control the number of guests who would all squeeze into the drawing room for a chance to see the play every night. That did not sit well with Simone, so the theater was moved to the courtyard to accommodate everyone.

Daniel understood when Simone was a little fretful over his involvement in the said play, but he laughingly assured her he was having fun with Roxie and Freda more than the hunting trips with Web and the others.

"Then will you tell me where the princess is?" she had asked, obviously trying to be nonchalant.

He had laughed and playfully pinched her nose. "No."

"Very well," she had replied, turning away from him. "I must have you know that I'm auditioning for the role."

Everyone in the party knew that Roxie and Freda were looking for someone to play the adult princess for the final day of the play.

"You are?"

"Yes."

He grinned. "I heard I'll be the one to pick the actor."

Simone gave him a stern look. "I should have you know, Your Grace, that I would not condone biases. You cannot pick me simply because I am to be your wife."