“Are you sure?”
“Absolutely. She is not going to like it, but she’s going to have to respect your mother’s decision.”
Harriet watched her husband as he put jam on a piece of toast he hadn’t yet eaten. She wondered if his mother had mentioned what ailed her sister. It was obvious it was life threatening and could go one of two ways.
“Do you want me to tell your mother of our decision or do you?” he asked.
“Why don’t I be the one to tell her. I’ll send her a missive this morning. She’ll come calling as quickly as possible to try and change my mind.”
“Very well. If you do not wish to stay and wait for her to come, we could go to the museum. I understand there’s a new exhibit on Egyptian tomb finds. It sounded quite interesting to me,” Lucien suggested.
“I think the museum is a much better choice than having to spend time waiting for my mother to show.”
“Then it’s settled. How much time will you need to write your mother and get ready for our outing?”
“An hour and a half? Is that all right?”
“Yes, and while you’re doing that, I’m going to finish up some things in my study,” Lucien replied. He finished his coffee and picked up his mother’s letter. He rose from his chair and bent down to kiss her on the cheek.
“I’ll see you soon,” Harriet said.
“Yes, you will.” He smiled and pushed back an errant lock of dark hair that had covered his right eye.
She found herself alone, which was fine. It gave her time to compose her letter to her mother in her head. She knew no matter how she told her mother, her mother would never listen. Harriet had already made the decision that if her mother were even the slightest bit difficult and didn’t accept what she was being told, she would let Lucien take over. Her mother just didn’t know when to quit, and her mother would see he already knew her tactics.
Finishing her breakfast, Harriet walked back to their suite. Rex was in the middle of tidying things up when she walked in.
“Lord Lucien and I are going to the museum, so I best change into something more appropriate. I was thinking about that dark-blue dress.”
Rex nodded in agreement. “That color looks good on you, especially that shade. Let me go get it ready. I won’t be but a few minutes.”
“Perfect. I need to write a quick note to my mother,” Harriet replied.
As her maid walked to the room where her clothes were, Harriet glanced outside as she sat down at the writing desk. It appeared to be the perfect day to be outside. The sky was a clear deep blue with a few fluffy white clouds drifting lazily along.
Gathering what she needed out of the top drawer, Harriet placed the writing paper to her liking and began to tell her mother there would be no party, at least for now. She knew her mother wasn’t going to take well to the news, so she tried to tell her as gently as possible.
She thought for a moment about warning her father but knew if he wasn’t at home and her mother happened to see her handwriting, she’d open it and make excuses to her father later. He was used to his wife’s antics, so he’d take things in stride as he normally did.
Giggling for a moment, Harriet was sure her father would be glad he didn’t have to dress up as Henry. The postponement would allow everyone in the family time to convince her mother a masquerade was best suited for something else. Not a wedding ball.
Harriet heard her maid back already and folded the letter and readied it for delivery. Rex in the meanwhile had laid the blue dress and all its accessories neatly across the bed.
“Thank you. I agree with your assessment. I love that dress. The color, the style. It’s just well put together.”
For the next half hour her maid helped her into the dress until Harriet stood in front of a mirror. Perfection. All she needed was a sturdy pair of boots and she’d be set. Her hair didn’t take long as she didn’t like to overdo the styling for going out during the day. If she were going to an affair women might have, she would, but for the museum she was comfortable with it pulled up like this. Simple but elegant.
Rex handed her a shawl and reticule that matched.
“I suppose I should go find my husband. I’m sure he’s sitting patiently waiting on me,” she said. “Thank you, Rex.”
“You’re very welcome, my lady. I think you’ll find his lordship in the drawing room.”
“Ah, that means he’s finished all his work.”
Rushing through the house, Harriet easily found the drawing room. Inside she found Lucien pacing the floor, stopping in front of a picture of mixed flowers. It was colorful with the blooms inside a crystal vase. He turned upon hearing her walking across the floor.
“My grandmother painted this,” he said.
