“Ah, I see some of my friends over there.You two go on and find yours,” Lady Stark said, nodding her head in the direction of a group of older ladies seated around a small table, which was piled high with various nibbles.She waved her hand at Johanna and Rose.“Enjoy yourselves.”
“Thank you, Lady Stark,” they chorused, grinning at each other.Rose linked her arm through Johanna’s as they began walking down the pathway, heading deeper into the gardens, looking for ladies of the younger set.
“So.”Rose eyed Johanna.
She sighed.
“I did not know how Matthew would take Mother’s actions,” Johanna explained, keeping her voice low even though they were on the move and she could not see anyone.The hedges made their conversation feel private, but it did not actually ensure such.“It was all too possible that he might blame her for his father’s death and me for keeping it from him.”
“You did not need to protect me.”Rose shook her head.
“But I did.Because if something happened to Mother and me…” She let her voice trail off.Rose would be the one to take care of Micah, Bridget, and Charlotte, and she knew it.“I knew I could trust you to keep them safe but only if you were kept out of it.”
Rose made a derogatory noise, though she did not answer right away, obviously thinking about Johanna’s point.After a moment, she gave herself a little shake.
“Well.Do not do it again.”
“Hopefully, I will never have cause to.I do not think it is very often that someone will approach anyone in our family with an offer that will make them an accessory to… something like that.”At least she certainly hoped not.Once was more than enough.
A rustle of leaves was the only warning they got before Tiffany came through an opening in the bushes that Johanna had not immediately noticed, making both her and Rose jump.
“There you two are!”Tiffany beamed at them.“We saw you arrive, and I came to fetch you, as you would not likely find the way otherwise.”
“We would not have,” Johanna admitted as Tiffany turned, leading them through the cleverly hidden opening.There was more than enough space to walk through, but it was set at a diagonal to the pathways, so that it was very difficult to see while walking along.If Tiffany had not come out of it, Johanna would not have seen it at all.
“How did you see us?”Rose inquired.
“Oh, we have the perfect view of every arrival,” Tiffany said cheerfully.“And you two do stand out in your purple and red today.Johanna is like a lily, and Rose is… well, like a rose.”
“Too true,” Johanna replied, glancing down at her lavender-and-white-striped dress.Rose’s gown was a deep red, though a brighter hue than she had been wearing before Lady Stark helped revamp her wardrobe.“Does that make you a bluebell?”
As usual, Tiffany was garbed in a pretty shade of blue, which brought out the highlights in her hair and the color in her cheeks.She laughed as they broke through to the next opening in the hedges, and Johanna marveled at the surrounds.It was a square space, between all the bushes, and it did indeed have a splendid view of Lady Chesterham greeting her guests if one looked up in that direction.
Rather than a table, there was an array of blankets and cushions set out for a picnic, complete with baskets of refreshments.
Lady Astrid sat in the middle, Mei on one side of her and Delilah on the other, while Kalina waited opposite them.If they were describing the ladies by flowers, Lady Astrid was a bright orange tulip with red tips, Delilah a stunning sunflower, and Kalina a pink rose.Johanna could not think of a flower that was the shade of green as Mei’s outfit, but she was put in mind of a holly bush, as there were tiny red embroidered accents dotted over the fabric.
“Ladies, welcome to the cabal,” Lady Astrid said, lifting a champagne flute.Her eyes sparkled with mischief.“We have escaped the constraints of Society and are doing as we please.”
“How have we escaped when we are still at the tea party?”Rose asked, amused, as she and Johanna joined the group.The cushions were very comfortable, though it was a bit odd to be sitting on the ground.It reminded Johanna of the happier times in her childhood, which felt so very far away now.
“According to Lady Astrid, no one knows we are here, and it is very difficult to be overheard from this particular spot if we keep our voices low,” Kalina explained with a smile.“Indeed, any conversationswehave heard from passersby have been very muffled.”
“Which means we can talk about whatever we wish,” Lady Astrid said wickedly.“As I am soon to be a married woman, I am endeavoring for Tiffany, Kalina, and Delilah to explain the delights of the marital bedroom.”She waved the champagne flute in the air as Delilah shook her head.
“You are terrible,” Delilah said to Lady Astrid with a throaty laugh.She had the most amazing voice, sultry and beguiling even when she was scolding her friend.As the eldest of them, and the only widow, she was likely the only one who would dare say such a thing to Lady Astrid.“As if you do not know enough already.”
Lady Astrid smiled and took a sip of her champagne.“Well, what is good for the gander is good for the goose.”
“I believe it is the other way round,” Delilah murmured.
“But what do you mean?”Tiffany paused as she reached for a crumpet, her hand hovering in midair as her attention was arrested by Lady Astrid’s statement.
“Oh, do not look at me like that.”Lady Astrid threw a napkin at Tiffany, though the air caught the thin linen, and it did not make it even halfway, falling atop a plate of scones instead.“My all-important virginity is still intact.I am just saying, there are ways to enjoy oneself that do not require the loss of it.”
“There are, but I think you are still not supposed to be indulging in them,” Kalina replied, clearly amused and not quite as scandalized as Tiffany.She glanced over at Rose and Mei.“Besides, I believe this topic is not at all appropriate foreveryonehere.”
“I do not mind,” Rose said immediately, taking the glass of tea that Tiffany offered her.“I know far more about the pitfalls than the pleasures of such engagements, I will admit.”
