Too late to undo it now.
Harriet raised her hand in a wave as she emerged from the small orchard that bordered the walled gardens and led through to the fishpond. A lake, really, but a bit too small for such a grand title.
Beside his daughter, their arms linked, was Frances.
His primary concern had been that she would not come, despite the maid informing him that his invitation had been accepted. Yet, there she was, in a simple dress of duck-egg blue, looking so radiant that he could not draw his gaze away from her.
“Luncheon,” he replied, realizing he had not yet answered Harriet. “It is a fine day, and you have been working hard. I thought you deserved something… suitable as a reward.”
Harriet beamed as she took in the quaint scene. “It is perfect, Papa. I have always wanted to have a picnic.”
“You have never had a picnic before?” Frances glanced at her, shock raising her eyebrows.
Harriet chuckled. “I have had a picnic before, but never here. Iknewit would be the perfect place for one.”
“Yes, well,” Dominic cleared his throat, “sit and enjoy everything. I asked the cook to make your favorites, Harriet.”
Suspicion flickered across his daughter’s face, her eyes narrowed. A moment later, she seemed to decide that all was well, and dragged Frances toward the patchwork of blankets, where the staff immediately began to serve the pair.
Dominic held back for a short while, to observe the two women together. Harriet was chattering about something and Frances was listening intently, humor brightening her beautiful face, her green eyes alight with merriment, her demeanor at ease with the entire situation. No hint of the rigid apprehension he had witnessed in the garden, when he had first apologized.
Perhaps, this is not a mistake after all,he mused, as he finally approached and took his place on the picnic blankets.
An hour later, with bellies full and a pleasant atmosphere surrounding the trio, Dominic no longer had any doubts about his plan. He had never seen Frances more comfortable, and though he was still sorry to have behaved as he did, he truly believed that he was forgiven.
“Strawberry tart?” Frances asked, surprising him.
He looked at the neat, glistening pastry in her hand and shook his head. “It is the last one. I could not.” He offered a smile. “You seem fond of them. You should have it.”
“I cannot eat another bite,” she protested.
Harriet sighed. “Very well, if you insist.” She reached for the tart, plucking it from Frances’ palm. “If I am sick, I shall blame you.”
“You do not have to—” Dominic rasped a resigned laugh. “Never mind.”
“Well, the two of you were going to… insist you did not want it, and then it would be left… uneaten, so you gave me… no choice,” Harriet protested between mouthfuls, clearly remembering her lessons in dining etiquette. “You are both too well raised. Meanwhile,Iam still half-wild.”
It was not much of an insult, and likely was not intended as one, but it struck a nerve in Dominic all the same.
“You have been raised well,” he argued. “You have had every opportunity and everything you could need. True, there are certain gaps in your knowledge of society, but that is being remedied.”
Harriet lay back on the picnic blanket. “In truth, I think I could enter society now if I had to, thanks to Frances.” She grinned. “I have been thinking about it, and I am not certain that all of mywildness should be ‘remedied’ after all. Society will appreciate something interesting for once.”
“What do you mean?” Frances asked, before Dominic could ask the same thing.
“Well, I must be talked about to be a success,” Harriet explained, igniting a sense of dread in her father. “If I were to stuff a strawberry tart into my mouth and enjoy it wholly, without worrying about a bit of jam on my lip, then they will talk about me. And I know that gentlemen of thetonmust be bored of the same debutantes, over and over. I shall be something different, something intriguing, something just a little bit untamed, less bothered about all of those stuffy rules.”
She grinned at Frances. “Though, I shall not forget the important things you have taught me; do not worry. Just the unnecessary things that were written in those dreary books, like… do not dance more than twice with a gentleman, do not smile too much, do not fix your dress in front of a gentleman, do not ask too many questions. All nonsense. All dusty information that serves no purpose in modern society.”
The comfortable atmosphere collapsed. Dominic bristled as that dread swelled within him, becoming a tide of unease, and he was not the only one. Frances no longer had a relaxed demeanor, sitting rod straight upon the blankets, her shoulders tense with something like fear.
“You think you know about society, Harriet, but you know nothing,” Dominic said sternly. “If you debut with that attitude, you will be cast out before the end of your first ball.”
Harriet sat up, her eyes flashing with annoyance. “How would you know? You have not been in society since before I was born. Things have changed, Father.”
“That is the point; they have not,” Dominic retorted. “All those ‘dusty rules’ are still very much in place. I do not know who has told you otherwise, but if youareto debut, you must abide by those rules.”
“I think you are wrong,” she insisted, folding her arms across her chest. “I think society iswaitingfor someone interesting, someone different. Of course, I am not going to do anything too wild, but I have never been like the other daughters of the country’s peers, so why should I start now?”
