Teaspoon of Honey

Chapter 5: Dinner at the Purcells'

At dinner, Eugene's family learned about his mode of transportation prior to that evening.

"Someone stole your horse?" Lady Purcell asked before taking another bite.

"Yes."

Lord Purcell knitted his brows, "How did you get home? You did not walk, did you?"

"No. An acquaintance did me the favor of escorting me."

No one in his family cared enough about others to ask who escorted him. Except for Alice.

"Who?"

No opportune lie came to mind, "Miss Berkeley."

"Who is this Miss Berkeley?" the father asked whilst Alice's jaw dropped.

"She's the woman who took down the beehive," Alice explained and looked to Eugene, "You should have invited her to dinner!"

"You procure her rapport with too much eagerness."

"I like to cultivate friendships," Alice argued, "Like little flowers."

"I think you like to cultivate this friendship so that you don't have to act as formal. Miss Berkeley can't judge you in her usual disarray."

"Is that so bad?"

Eugene forced himself to shake his head.

"Sometimes, I feel like I am older than you."

He scoffed with a laugh, "I am eternally more responsible than you are."

"Well, yes. But you have the emotional capacity of a child taking its first steps."

"What is that supposed to mean?"

"Children," Lady Purcell scolded, "Stop. Alice, invite this woman to dinner. We don't want the people in town to think we're ungrateful if she were to say anything."

Eugene dragged his spoon through the soup, "I wasn't ungrateful."

"I believe that you believe that, Eugene," his mom replied.

He excused himself early in the dinner to return to his work, missing how the family reasoned that May would have to come to dinner the following Thursday on her day off. Alice took the time to write her a letter with the invitation and sent it with a servant.

That following Thursday, May dressed in her best clothing, a green Sunday dress, which still wasn't enough for the Purcell family. Truthfully, May's nerves twisted in a way they had never before. Her manners were eternally ill-equipped for an event as high status as a Purcell dinner. Speaking with the two younger siblings did not require much decorum, but the parents? She had to be the definition of a young lady tonight.

At the dinner, she sat beside Alice who coincidentally sported a green dress which only served to create a bigger contrast between May and the Purcells.

The meal began with a light soup which came with steam that warmed the face. She snuck a glance at Eugene whose glasses had completely fogged. Her lips curved into a subtle smirk while he begrudgingly took off his glasses and cleaned them with a blue handkerchief.

Thankfully, Alice took hold of most of the conversation with her parents. May could speak to a wall if needed but they were simply intimidating.

After a few more courses, the main meal came. Venison. The smell had May's mouth watering as she impatiently waited for her serving of protein.

However, she floundered when it came to choosing utensils. Three forks. Three knives. The rest of the family had already begun to eat and converse comfortably. She could not tell which fork or knife they chose.