The Harvest || h.s.

Chapter 11

XI. ETIQUETTE

Lena

"No! You are doing it the wrong way! Just like I taught you. Don't grip the cup. Grasp it with your thumb and one finger by the handle. Don't forget to raise your pinkie."

Harry's aunt, Mary, has been teaching Lena everything she needed to know, in case she ever married Prince Harry and became a Princess, for two full hours. So far Lena had already dropped and broken three fine china teacups. To her defense, the handle was really thin and the liquid felt really heavy.

This time, she has finally grasped the handle of the delicate teacup, raised her pinkie and took a sip, and she had done it right. Aunt Mary sighed in relief and sat down next to Lena. "Good job, girl."

How hard could it possibly be to learn how to drink tea properly?

But Aunt Mary has never lived like Lena used to live, back at home. Lena never drank tea like that. She barely even drank tea at all, only in the most unforgiving, freezing days in the winter. Lena has never attended a tea party; Aunt Mary, however, had attended and hosted uncountable ones.

"Let's practice with dinner now, shall we?" Aunt Mary asked, ringing a little bell she carried everywhere with her, and Betty entered the room, followed by Louis, and they set up the table in front of Lena. "So what do you know about eating properly?"

"Use a knife and a fork?" Lena stated, a bit unsure, so it sounded more like a question.

"Which side does the knife go?"

"The fork goes on the left, and the knife goes on the right, with the sharp part facing the plate." Duh. She wasn't stupid. She used to set the table every night at her house.

But what was different for her was the amount of silverware in front of her. On her left, three different kinds of silver forks, and on her right, two different types of knives, and another two types of spoons.

Aunt Mary noticed Lena staring at the silverware in front of her, so she decided to continue with the lesson.

"You have to use the silverware according to the meal, from the outside to the inside. First, we have the salad fork and knife, which are the ones on the outer side. Those are the first ones you'll use. Then we have the soup spoon. Then, the larger ones, which are the dinner fork, knife, and spoon. But be careful, you will have to learn how to tell apart which knife is for meat, and which one is for fish. And lastly, we have the dessert fork." Aunt Mary explained, confusing the hell out of Lena.

"What?" Lena thought. "Two different knives for meat and fish? That's insane." Back home, Lena used to have dinner with only one knife, one fork, and rarely one spoon. Life was simpler there for her.

"But first," Aunt Mary stood up from her seat across from Lena, with a handkerchief in hand. "Place your head against the chair." Lena did as told, but she did not expect what Aunt Mary was going to do when she tied the handkerchief around her neck and the chair, making Lena unable to move her head forward. "You will have to learn to eat with your head still." Aunt Mary smiled, ringing her annoying little bell again, and Betty brought Lena the salad, placing it in front of her.

Lena grabbed the salad fork and took a few bites out of it, doing the same with the soup, main course, and dessert afterwards. Aunt Mary untied her from the back of the chair and Lena rubbed her neck, as it was sore from the tight embrace of the handkerchief.

"Maybe we should move on with the dance lessons, yeah?" Mary clapped her hands, grabbing Lena's and taking her to another room, where the furniture has been placed against the walls. This allowed the centre of the room to be cleared, where a big rug was laying on the wooden floor. Taped to the rug, was a long, white straight line of what looked like duct tape.

Harry was sitting on a chair, looking down at the floor, talking to someone. As Lena walked further into the room, she noticed he was talking to Lou, who was sitting on the floor next to Harry, smiling up at him.

Lena turned around to look at the door, where she saw Crawford leaning against the doorframe, smirking at Lena. She waved at him, recognizing him as Harry's cousin whom she met at the party. Crawford nodded his head, smiling at Lena, causing her to blush.

Mary dragged Lena to the center of the room. "So, Lena. I have seen the way you danced with Harry at the party he hosted the other day. I have to admit, you have very smooth movements, which I have no choice but to congratulate you on, so maybe that can wait until the end. What I have found flaws in are your posture, the way you walk, and how you sit. So let's start with that."

Lena noticed Aunt Mary had grabbed a long, and what looked to be heavy, thin pole made out of wood; she then proceeded to place the pole horizontally against Lena's back, taking both of her arms behind her back as well. "Hold the pole with your inner elbows, that will help you have a straight back. Now walk in a straight line, follow the line of duct tape, with one foot in front of the other."

Lena did as told, but she never imagined it would be this hard. Her arms were tired of holding the pole and her back hurt like hell. Aunt Mary made her walk in a straight line for ten minutes straight.

"Good job, sweetheart. Now this is where it gets tricky." She placed two heavy books on top of Lena's head. Lena was about to cry any second now, out of desperation, but she did as told, as always. She tripped and fell several times, but she got back up again and continued to walk.

"I'll let you rest now." Aunt Mary said, and Lena sighed and dropped the books accidentally. "Here, sit down." Mary extended a chair out to Lena and she took a seat. "Back straight. Never forget that." Lena straightened her back. "Now put your legs together, turn them to one side, and cross your ankles. Ladies never sit with their legs crossed," she explained.

"What should I do with my hands?" Lena asked, looking up at Aunt Mary.

"Gently place them over your knees, dear." Lena placed her hands on her knees and sat there, awkwardly. Aunt Mary furrowed her brows and examined Lena's sitting position. She grabbed Lena's hands and placed them correctly over her knees. "Perfect. Now remember that, okay? It's very important that you never forget it." Lena nodded and looked over at Harry, who gave her a warm smile.

"Let's get to the dance now, yeah?" Aunt Mary brought Harry with her to the centre of the room, making him stand across from Lena. "Come closer, don't be afraid." She grabbed Harry by the arms and brought him even closer to Lena. She grabbed Harry's right arm and placed it on Lena's back. "Keep your hand in there, Harold. And as for you, Lena, place your left hand on his shoulder. Great. And now I think you know what to do."

The music started and they began waltzing, back and forth. Harry, stepping on Lena's feet every once in a while, Lena didn't mind as much, she continued to stay focused and stare at her feet, making no eye contact with Harry. The dance was coming to an end; Lena looked up, to find Harry already staring at her, which caused her to stare back at him, both getting lost in the moment. They stopped moving soon all together and stood still, while their eyes still locked on one another's. Harry then flashed a smile at Lena, which caused her to break the prolonging eye contact that was going on between them, and looking back at the floor once more.

She surely wanted to return the smile, but she wasn't sure about Harry yet. She looked back up again to find Crawford still standing by the doorframe, staring intensely at her.

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A/N: I hope you liked it and don't forget to vote and comment! x