Cedric coughed and stirred his soup. “What my grandfather means is that it’s not customary.”
He gave his grandfather a look I could only describe as a blend of pity and frustration. His Lordship was chewing on a mussel, seemingly unbothered by the tension.
“So, Cedric, your sister is attending the Season?” Lydia asked. She had learned ten minutes ago that it was futile to speak to Olivia directly. “Will you not attend?”
“Unfortunately, no. I am looking through some encyclopedias I found during my travels,” he said. He chatted animatedly about a book of various herbs and their medicinal properties. I hardly understood half of what he was describing, but I was glad someone was talking at all.
Lord Gideon harrumphed. “You embarrass yourself, boy. You’re supposed to bind books, not read them. Especially not ones about plants. Botany is not a real man’s hobby.”
“Botany is an admirable science,” Genevieve interceded. “I’m quite fond of plants myself.”
“Really?” Cedric said, leaning forward. “Do you have a favorite?”
My stepsister smiled. “Roses.”
“Ah, you did have some lovely ones in your garden.”
A loud rustling sounded as Lord Gideon pulled out a newspaper from underneath the table and flicked it open. A corner of it soaked into his gravy boat. Lydia stared.
“Anything interesting in the news, grandfather?” Cedric said after a beat.
He grunted. “Some fellow got arrested for buying from the Witch Market.”
“Horrid place, that is,” Lydia said.
Lord Gideon looked at her with steely eyes. “How would you know? Have you been there?”
“N-no, Your Lordship. I only hear things, that’s all.”
“I’m sure you do.” He disappeared behind his newspaper again.
The clinking of spoons filled the air for a few moments.
“So, the welcome banquet for debutantes is in a week,” Cedric said. I was impressed by how cheery he still sounded.
“It is,” Genevieve said, seemingly eager to converse again. “Olivia could take a carriage with me and Amarante to the palace if she wishes.”
Olivia bent lower over her soup. Cedric smiled at her.
“That’s kind of you to offer, Miss Genevieve, but my sister and I are moving into the palace tomorrow. I thought it’d be a good opportunity to see the royal grounds while I’m in Delibera.”
My stepmother’s eyes widened. The palace offered room and board for debutantes who wished to stay close for events, but the cost of living with royalty was a high one indeed. The fact that both Cedric and Olivia could afford to live there spoke volumes about their wealth.
“Well! That is quite exciting,” Lydia said. “Maybe you’ll catch a glimpse of Queen Cordelia, or the princes.”
“Heard that Prince Ash is illegitimate,” Lord Gideon said from behind his newspaper.
“How would you know, Grandfather? Were you present at his birth?” Cedric said with utmost politeness.
His Lordship snorted. “Touché, boy.”
Dinner went on in this way, Lydia asking questions, Cedric answering, and Lord Gideon throwing in rude comments. I was beyond relieved when dessert was cleared from the table.
Cedric escorted us back home and apologized profusely for his grandfather, but Lydia still muttered about Lord Gideon’s ill manners when the doors closed behind us. Genevieve lingered at the threshold, claiming she needed air.
I would’ve teased her, but the earlier talk of the Season unsettled me. In a few days, I would have to attend the dreaded welcome banquet.
The thought of meeting the Season mentors, especially Duchess Wilhelmina, struck a chord of panic in me. Genevieve and I grew up reading about her. Endless magazines and newspaper articles lauded the duchess as a pioneer of both fashion and politics. Julianna had often told stories of Her Grace as if she were a hero of mankind instead of a duchess. How I would act in the scrutiny of such a woman, I did not know.
