Proper Princess

Chapter Five

I did my best to behave as a lady- truly I did. But church stretched on and on, and my legs became sore, needing to be stretched. My hands became sore, eventually, as well. So I began to flex my fingers and wring my hands.

Mother was not very approving.

When we arrived home from church, Mother insisted that Elizabeth and I not change out of our Sunday dresses, despite them being too formal for midday tea. She said that Elizabeth needed to make a good impression on the Earl, though I did not understand that logic. He had already seen her twice- surely she had already made an impression, and he liked her if he continued to return.

Unfortunately, The Duke was the first to arrive, his wife and daughter in stride. Mother sent me a warning glare over her shoulder, silently reminding me to be polite to the girl I despised as the women hurried off to the drawing room, and the men retreated to the Men's Parlor for cigars.

It was strange, not having Thomas here to trail after them- Michael had been a bit forlorn lately, which was why I was not so angry that John was spending so much time with him. With Thomas now wed to Susanna and honeymooning in France, he would never again return to live in this house. Father had already gifted them one of the lands just outside of London, with Mother insisting that her and Susanna get to work on setting up a nursery as soon as they returned "just in case".

For the millionth time in my life, I felt out of place among the other noble girls, and watched as John and Michael disappeared into the Men's parlor with Father and the Duke. I turned back to Elizabeth and Molly as we were left alone.

"Let us stroll through the gardens," Elizabeth suggested, gesturing for Molly to go first. We had learned years ago that offering to let Molly choose just led to arguments when she deemed nothing on our property interesting, and now that we were a bit older, Molly was too much of a lady to insult the Estate aloud. Still, she made a slight face as she made her way towards the door.

Elizabeth was good at playing peacekeeper- she inquired about Molly's family, and asked her if she was enjoying the warm summer weather. It was perfect for needlework, Elizabeth commented, mentioning that she liked to sit outside or near the window as she kept herself busy. The sunshine made it more enjoyable.

Molly sighed. "I have never taken much joy in needlework. What is the use, when any mending I need can be done by servants?"

"I find it calming," I commented, though it was a lie- I despised needlework. I just wanted to side with my sister, so this wretched girl would not think she had gotten the best of her. "After all, it is one of the most ladylike passtimes. It is only appropriate that we do it, and with a smile on our faces."

Elizabeth struggled to fight back a smirk, knowing full-well that those were words our Mother and Miss Lancing had said to me countless times as I complained about how tedious needlework was. Anything that required me to sit still for any length of time bored me.

"Hmm," Molly hummed, neither agreeing nor disagreeing. She glanced across the Garden, in the direction of Susanna's house. "When does Susanna return from her honeymoon?"

My fists clenched when she intentionally avoided inquiring about my brother, despite the fact that he was now wed to Susanna. "Well, they only just left. France takes a while to reach, so whenever they have had their fill of French culture, I suppose."

"Louis is French," Molly noted. Elizabeth glanced at me, but I shrugged. I had never heard the name.

Molly clearly knew that we had no idea what she was talking about, but still acted surprised. "Oh! You haven't met him yet, I suppose. We are courting. His Father was one of the men who overthrew the French government, so he is from a very well-off family. He owns six estates. Oh- perhaps it was eight. That is just in France, of course. He owns several here, as well."