Society dictates that a young debutante must join the marriage mart in order to obtain a suitable husband. Beatrice Sinclair would disagree, instead proclaiming that women should be able to gain an education and experience the wider world before bei...
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Season 1 Episode 7 - Oceans Apart
With the dawn of a new day came yet another event within London's social season. Beatrice was sure it would take her the duration between the season of 1813 and 1814 to replenish her ability to tolerate socialising within higher society. She had never partaken in so many outings in her lifetime. It seemed that during this season she would gain no reprieve as only a week after the garden party she had attended, she found herself at the queen's luncheon.
Despite having no excitement for the occasion, Beatrice was pleasantly surprised when upon entering the event with Percival, she realised that it was to take place outdoors. The lavish garden that Queen Charlotte had chosen to host her soirée in was maintained to a pristine condition, as would be expected for a venue used by royalty. Despite the garden's beauty, Beatrice found her favourite feature of it to be the entrance. Blossom trees lined the pathway into the garden, an abundance of orange silks and decorations displayed around them. She had never thought herself to be particularly fond of the colour, yet it perfectly framed the most watched part of the garden. It was no surprise that everyone in the ton would have their eyes glued to this area, for they had to be the first to greet any esteemed guests and shun any families with poor reputations.
For the first thirty minutes of the luncheon, Beatrice had only entertained the company of her brother. They had been sharing stories from their childhood - of events that they used to attend in the gardens of vast country estates. Being the adventurous children they were, Beatrice and Percival would regularly wander off, usually becoming lost in a field miles away from the event they were attending. Eventually, they would find their way back to their original location, receiving a disappointed look from their mother as they had worried her once again. Their father, however, would only chuckle to himself since he would spend the time that they were exploring assuring his wife that they were okay. Esther knew that this was likely the case, but it did not prevent the anxiety in her chest rising as she envisioned scenes of her children injuring themselves out in the middle of the woods somewhere. Yet they never did, they always returned to them safely.
As they recounted these tales, laughter escaping from both their lips, Peter made his way towards the pair. "Hello Lord Sinclair, Beatrice. I am glad to see you are both enjoying your day."
"Good afternoon, Lord Blackmore," Percy replied courteously.
Despite holding a position that meant most of society would listen to what he said, Percival found himself to be a man of few words. He simply had no desire to maintain conversations with people who he was not close to. That was not to say that he disliked Lord Blackmore; the man was Beatrice's friend and he appeared to be the perfect gentlemen. It was just that when it came to conversing with him, Percival did not know what to say. In the absence of holding a good conversation, he took to only speaking when necessary. Yet, when with his dear friends and family he was a completely different man; in fact, they all found it rather difficult to get him to quiet down.
