The closer we got to my debut, the more of a slave driver the countess was. She made me spend hours with my dance master every single day and I danced so hard my feet ached constantly. It didn't help that the shoes here had zero arch support.
I wondered if I could contact a cobbler about making me some more comfortable shoes. What I wouldn't give for some gel inserts about now.
"Percy, I'm going to die long before I debut," I said dramatically as we dismounted our horses after one of our daily rides.
He smiled. "Is it really that bad?"
"Worse," I confirmed. "Mother won't stop nagging me about how it will be shameful if I don't find a husband within the first year of my debut. Apparently Lady Iris's daughter didn't get married until her third year out in society and they still gossip about that at tea."
"I don't think you'll have a problem with that, Catherine."
