My Sweet Daisy

Chapter 15 - The Bair Havel Ball

Chapter 15

The Bair Havel Ball

The last few hours before the Ball set in with the setting of the sun. Daisy, without much of her insistence being paid attention to, was rushed into a tub by Miriam and another maid. They scrubbed her clean with hot, rose-perfumed water. The gown they helped her in was the green one her aunt picked from the seamstress' sketches, which did look marvellous on her. The emerald colour brought out the colour in her eyes and made them sparkle. The bodice of the dropped to reveal her creamy cleavage but not deep enough to appear indecent. The skirt was floor length with a lace train hanging it that brought out its elegance. It flowed down from her waist and accentuated her hips with small side gathers. For his final artwork, Artemis piled her hair on her crown, leaving the back to spill down her back in thin ringlets.

Finally at six, she trailed down the manor's front terrace with her aunt and cousins into the white coach pulled at the entrance, feeling she was equally as beautiful as either of her cousins. Juliet looked exquisite in a beautiful cream dress with gold satin lining the hem that adored her smooth pale skin and Cynthia so lovely in a dusty gold gown that did wonders to her darker shade of chestnut hair. Her aunt had a look of approval as she watched the three of them sail down the stairs.

The Bair Havel Ball was held in the palace in Bair Havel in its magnificent ballroom. The room was the largest Daisy had seen. Its stylish floor to ceiling windows were panelled with glass of varying colours, adding rainbow colouring to the ornate gold chandeliers lights hanging down from the ceilings. At the time they entered, the room was already crowded with people; pea-cocked-dressed young ladies like themselves with their eagle-eyed mothers and chaperones like her aunt. Fortunately, this time, there seemed to be enough men to satisfy more than two-thirds of the hunting party.

"Good Lord, the matrons outdid themselves this season. How did they get all these gentlemen here? Great God, there's even the Duke of Boldfort. He hasn't set foot here for three years. This would be our first time meeting him," Juliet commented as she secretly surveyed the crowd above her opened fan. "Make a good impression, Cynthia. I heard he favours chestnut-haired. All his mistresses were."

"Maybe Prince Richard will come," whispered Cynthia. Her sister gave her a stern look that was lost on her.

At the mention of the prince's name, Daisy's heart did a flip-flop. The prince would most likely never be seen in a gathering like this if he turned up at all. Juliet had however said a ride through the park was something out of character for him to do and yet, he rode with her. So what if he come and decide to make his presence known? She didn't think she could bear the embarrassment if those teasing, blue eyes were ever to settle on her again.

"If a gentleman requests a dance, write it in your dance book so you don't forget. They can come streaming upon you all at once it'd be hard keeping track of all of them," her aunt instructed.

"Can I ask for their names?" she asked so you wouldn't make any more mistakes that would put her in an awkward position or offending someone.

"You can. How else will you write their names down?"

Of course, they were not royals like the one she had boldly demanded his age and name. "Before the dance begins, I would introduce you to as many gentlemen as I can."

She was introduced to the Duke of Boldfort, a duke in his late twenties who was related to the royal family six ancestors back. He had ducked out of several marriage arrangements with ingenious strategies while freely attending all the seasons balls in his younger years and his recent method had been to live quietly and avoid it altogether until now, when the matrons had made threats he couldn't ignore, he had jokingly narrated to Daisy as he asked for her second dance. Edwin had already won her first. She made the acquaintance of the Duchess of Davenport and her two daughters who regarded her haughtily.

"It's their nature. Their father is one of the few Dukes without royal ancestry to be elected as a prime lord so they consider themselves of royal standard as well," Cynthia offered in a whisper.

Lady Brendan and her three were more generous with some strained smiles. Lady Seyfield was the wife of the king's eldest brother, the Viscount of Tumas. Her daughter Sharon was pretty and very friendly, apparently because she was Cynthia's best friend. With her help, the two sisters pried her away from their mother's side to fill her in with more gossip about the other guests. Soon, she could commit almost every gentleman and lady in the room with a name and a character.

"Lady Catherine is just an old maid." Sharon nudged in the direction of two ladies sitting pressed to the wall. "She'd be twenty-four this year and has not had any suitors ever since her father brought her back from the Caribbeans. She fled there with a man and almost eloped with him. Everyone believes she's damaged goods. Moreover, she's chaperoned by Lady Esther whom everyone knows is very permissible. Lady Esther doesn't improve her reputation. She only gets invited to events because all her aunts are matrons of Bair Havel and other prestigious ballrooms. Don't be friendly with her or else your character will be brought to question too."

Daisy nodded, glancing sideways at the beautiful lady sitting beside a greying woman who seemed to be nodding in sleep. The two of them seemed to be isolated like outcasts. She felt sorry for the young lady, looking very lonely.

"You ought to be careful around Lord Greg too. He has the reputation of being a rogue. He has had more mistresses than any man and he changes them as frequently as he changes his coat. Not only that, but he has also dishonoured a notable number of ladies. I don't know how true that is, but you'll still want to be careful around him. Your reputation would forever be sullied if you make the mistake of partnering him twice in one evening," said Sharon solemnly.

The rogue was devilishly handsome enough to make Daisy believe her.

"Ah, there's Cousin Linda." Lady Linda was the attentive audience of Lord Greg. That evening, her prized golden hair was daringly held down with only the sides twisted behind her ears and held with a couple of hair clips. Daisy could well imagine her lavender-coloured eyes worshipfully upturned to the Lord. "Now that she's occupied, I better look out for Elisa. The poor princess begged me last time to ensure I never drift from her side at this ball."