The Princess and I

Chapter II: At the Morningtons

After the wonderful experience at Hanover Square Garden I thought nothing in the whole world could surpass that experience. With my head still in the clouds my family and I go to the Morningtons at Hillcrest in the evening, where we are received by Mornington's shiny servants. By two men we are ushered into the ballroom, while two other servants lead our coachman to a parking spot. My heels almost immediately slip away on the hardwood dancefloor, which is polished till it shines like a thousand of diamonds are embedded in it. I hold onto my father's arm tensed, afraid of falling at my first ball as a marriageable woman. He looks at me from the corner of his eyes and lays his hand soothing upon mine.

My agitation soon disappears, when I take another look at my surroundings. The ballroom is immensely large; even bigger than ours with high ceilings and strong golden pillars. The orchestra is playing before the many windows, which adorn the room. On the opposite of the orchestra stands the buffet table with dishes from all over the country and even dishes from abroad. I realize that many families in the countryside could have lived off this food for many months, while we would squander this within a couple of hours. I pray to God to forgive us for our greed and then focus on the people surrounding me.

Many couples are already dancing. I hear a cheerful tune playing and see the quadrille being danced. I couldn't wait to dance myself, since I already had a couple of names written down on my dance card. Dancing sounds like a fun thing to do, but in our society it is foremost a tightly wound choreography of strict social behaviours and actions. You are bound to participate in the rules the occasion requires, lest you would scandalize yourself and the entire family.

Balls are the premier social events of this age and it's not always easy to receive an invite. And overall there were more ladies partaking in these events than men, which often resulted in an embarrassing dearth of dance partners resulting in many young women sitting red-faced on the side lines. Therefore it was the job of a good host to try his hardest to make sure there were suitable partners for all.

The women were handed a dance card, on which the different kinds of dances were printed in order of the program. Next to each dance there was a little line, on which a man could pencil down his name to claim that particular dance with a woman. A dance card ensures a few things. First, that a woman could keep track of who would like to partner with her. As if we could possibly forget! Second, it also guarantees that a lady does not ask a man to dance with her, since that would stand for inappropriate behaviour. So, when a dance card was full that meant that that particular lady was very popular.

But before I have my scoop on the dancefloor, we are bound to see the lady of the house, who my mother already spotted. Lord and Lady Mornington are talking to the Bettingtons, far distant relatives. As soon as Lady Mornington sees us, she excuses herself and greets my mother fondly with three kisses. After exchanging pleasantries, she couldn't help but pinpoint that three of her daughters are already dancing. I give the dancefloor one quick look and see Mary-Ann beaming with pride and joy, while she dances with her partner, the Marquess of Winchester. Also, Mary-Ann's eldest sister, Diana, is dancing with a haughty look in her eyes.

'Let's get you dancing as well, dear,' Lady Mornington suddenly says to me.

'I have time to spare, madam.' I show her my dance card, which is quite full actually. Still, she doesn't seem satisfied and takes me to her other guests, where she introduces me fondly. I know it is etiquette for the lady of the house to make introductions, but still it feels kind of humbling to be introduced as a girl nobody wants to dance with.

Luckily, at that moment my brother enters forming my rescue for once instead of my eternal nuisance. Not minding etiquette at all he meets us amidst one of Lady Mornington's many introductions. She forgives his rudeness momentarily though, since Elias has brought the Duke as well. Lady Mornington introduces herself to him and bids him welcome at Hillcrest. This gives me the time to examine the most desirable bachelor of London for the first time in real life.