"I never said that to him… only my aunt… how in the world did he hear about that! This is utterly humiliating" she said from behind the napkin she'd been coughing into.
The whole table was giggling and her face grew redder, he did that on purpose as punishment. Maybe she'd been wrong and he did have a cruel streak.
"I'm not sure I've ever seen you so flustered before," one of the girls teased.
"I'm not, I- ooh" she ground out angrily "I formally take back what I said about him being kind," she said spitefully in case he or any of his spies were listening.
"Come now, boys are foolish, especially when they're smitten, I bet he didn't mean anything bad by it, boys tend to tease those they like, it's all part of courtship," Rachell said with her two years of extra wisdom.
"Yes well, if that's the case then boys are not as intelligent as they make themselves out to be." the table erupted in giggles again. "Why be mean to someone you like? Doesn't it make more sense to purposely embarrass those you hate? Maybe this is punishment for inconveniencing him so much," she reasoned half-heartedly.
"But he must like you if he's bothering to send you gifts?" her friend offered.
She looked at her apple and then shook her head. "No there is no elegant way to eat an apple served whole at a tea party, he must just take pleasure in seeing me humiliate myself." She sighed.
"Or he didn't think that part through because he's just a foolish boy, as most men are, and he thought an apple a thoughtful gift for his sick love interest," one of the girls said and she almost choked again at the phrase 'love interest'. If only they knew who they were talking about and calling foolish... He was considered a master war strategist, she doubted he'd do anything without giving the repercussions some thought.
When she was pestered for more information, she tried just reiterating that he was tall and helpful, but because they pestered her that she must have noticed something else about him... she added that he had on dark boots. Almost everyone had dark boots and many were considered tall, especially when compared to her, so it would do nothing to help them Identify her mystery savior.
Of course, no one was satisfied with that so she apologized and kept redirecting the talk to other girls' experiences as often as she could to keep the attention off of her and onto the girls who liked the spotlight. That worked incredibly well.
After another walk in the gardens with the girls she bowed out faining exhaustion and the need for a nap. However, she had to pay her respects to the elders before she left and had to explain why she had an apple in her hand. The old coots found it quite amusing, much to her embarrassment. They seemed to think it was cute, and a sign that he really cared about her health and that she should snag him quickly while she had the chance.
Weren't they supposed to be wise old women? How did an apple and tea equate to love? The way they talked, made it sound like no man would be kind to someone out of empathy alone, which was very sad and telling about their collective life experiences.
Once in her room, she ate her apple because why not, picked up one of her books, and made herself comfortable in bed to read in peace for the next hour and a half. When her aunt returned she pretended to be asleep, hiding the book under her pillow. But that didn't last as her aunt shook her arm and tapped her cheek telling her it was time to get up and ready for the feast.
In preparation for this feast, lunch had been skipped and they would start around 3pm and it would last until 6pm then they would change again and go to the ball to work off all that food. She changed to another dress and fixed her hair just a bit, because she'd never get it that nice again if she were to redo it herself, then continued reading as she waited for her aunt and cousin to finish getting ready.
She didn't understand why it took them so long. Her cousin was a male and didn't have to bother with as much clothing, or accessories or with things like hair or makeup at all, and her aunt was already married so who was she trying so hard to impress?
Once at the banquet hall, she was placed at a table of her peers like at the tea party except far more formal, and the single men of her peerage were placed on the other side of the extremely long table. Their long table sat in the center of the room with four other matching tables running parallel, two on either side. The parents of older children sat to one side and a table for those children beyond them. The established young couples and newlyweds were on their other side with the middle to older group beyond them.
A separate table for the hosts and the elders of high status sat at the head of the room at a table perpendicular to the rest, she would have expected the duke to have been placed up there for status and prestige alone, but like the young prince, his single status was what they'd focused on instead.
Luckily the duke would be sitting at the far end of the table closest to the head table rather than near her. The last thing she needed was to keep sticking her foot in her mouth like the day before as she was apparently apt to do in his presence.
She scanned the names on fancy cardstock as she walked past each seat on the girl's side of the table and was starting to think she'd zoned out and missed hers after she passed her cousin and best friend at the back to middle end of the long table. Being that they were all young and didn't have titles and most of them were second, third or even fourth children and unlikely to have any title handed down to them it was unsurprising. But then where was her seat, as the second child of an earl who'd lost favor with much of high society she's always sat near that end.
"Who is Lady Kassidy Calloway?" someone up ahead asked gesturing to an empty spot up ahead of her.
"She's that old crow's daughter, the one who hardly goes to any social events and only wears black." she was glad she wasn't wearing black today, though that was hardly her fault when it was the costume to wear black when greaving a lost loved one, and she'd have been criticized for not morning her father and brother had she not.
"The one who inherited that Earldom with the second-greatest army in the kingdom?" that was debatable, she still liked to believe they had the best, numbers weren't everything. But without her father to lead them and with the Duke's experience, they were likely right.
"Teah, I heard, she's already chased away two decent matches because she's a little unhinged."
"She lost her whole family, how could she not be?"
"The girl is surrounded by death, It's no wonder, their family crest is a bad omen, I mean who would pick a crow for their family crest?
When she'd reached her seat, she knew it was time to put an end to this conversation one way or another, and sitting meekly in shame didn't suit her. So, she casually pulled out her chair bringing all eyes to her. "Crows don't bring death, they warn of it. They are clever and loyal enough to morn there dead, and not too quick to judge." she smoothed her emerald green and gold evening dress and sat with a grace that hid her rolling anger and the anger hid the turmoil of other emotions she absolutely couldn't let show.