C13 Marriage Headline

The next morning Lady Francesca woke up early than expected. Even her grandmother, Lady Margaret was quite surprised upon seeing her lovely granddaughter descends the grand staircase early in the morning to join her for a morning tea.

“What a great surprised you are early today, young maiden? And specially blooming too. Hmmm...” Lady Margaret put aside the newsletter she was reading to throw a questioning look toward Francesca, making the latter slightly blush in embarrassment.

“Was there anything eventful about last night’s party worth sharing for, my dear?” the old Mrs. Anderson nagged again with a teasing smile on her face.

Feeling more pressured to speak than ever, she had a deep sigh and took the opposite sofa facing her ever chirpy and youthful grandma, always seeking for something interesting and worth gossiping.

“We danced,” she honestly started.

“With whom?” Lady Margaret teasingly asked even though she already got a firsthand guess on who was it. There could only be one man in the earldom worth taking pride in dancing for especially to a woman at her teenage years of late seventeen.

“Lord D-Dynirho,” Lady Francesca answered, still feeling strangely light upon the sound of his name, until she remembered people were not that familiar on such first name basis. “I mean, Lord Syford!” she immediately restated to clear out any sense of confusion on her grandma’s mind.

“Whoa! That was beyond my expectation, young lady. But you really did well yesterday,” she applauded and gestured at the newsletter placed above the mini table between them.

Fascinated with curiosity, Lady Francesca picked up the said newsletter and glanced at it. Her eyes literally widens at the big picture imprinted at the upper frontal part of the printed media.

‘The Earl of Verindale’s New Muse- a Feledencian Duke’s Daughter

Was a marriage to be anticipated?’

The tag line goes that way. Bold, hopeful and very recklessly futuristic. Too reckless on making groundless speculations.

Below the big headline was a photograph of them two dancing in such a very intimate position. The one where she was leaning her back toward Dynirho’s chest as his strong arms encased her in his front. For an onlooker who didn’t know about the context of the photos, it appears voluntary, romantic, and intimate.

And that was the most probably the goal of the writer of the publications as the photograph was intentionally cropped out to exclude the other dancers at the back. Jeez! How can she still be so shock on how much tabloids and news providers often exaggerate their content to increase their marketability.

“This was groundless, grandma. How can they possibly decide about my future plans just yet when we barely just met not long ago?” Francesca frantically complained.

Plus, the very fact she had a pressing marriage issue with Duchess Carlotta’s choice of a man, it was near as impossible to even anticipate for such without clearing her name on the prior problem first. Not that she was very into turning the newsletter's claim into reality nor was she had anything against it either way.

Lady Margaret secretly smiled brightly at the back her head with the playing reaction on the young maiden’s face. She knew something was up inside. And her granddaughter was only in an in denial stage

‘Oh love! Oh sweet teenage love!’

The atmosphere was suddenly changed when the matron entered the sitting room, where the two was currently seated at, informing them that the breakfast was already set on the table.

The morning meal routine went well. For good relief! Lady Margaret had kept her mouth shut throughout the course of the food, giving Francesca a good space to breathe and eat without any pressure about the alleged connection with the earl.

Most definitely, there is not a single nation in the world which beats London in terms of gossips and intrigues.

Right after the meal, Lady Francesca had proceeded upstairs, back into her room to do her usual morning routine; and prepare for today’s arrangement. Fun trek in the mountains at a horse. And speaking of which, she sent for Lady Margaret’s footman to ask her Uncle Bastien to lend her a horse to use.

Lady Margaret was surprisingly not fond of raising any goose and cattle, and neither of putting up stables for horses. Working with herbal and organic substance for tea requires an excellent hygiene as it was dealing for food. As per her mandate and beliefs, having poultry and stables would increase the risk of contamination for the tea. That’s why there were no horses around the house.

It was a good thing, Lord Bastien didn’t follow after the exaggeratedly hygienic practices of his mother and still keep up in raising stocks and other variety of animals including but not limited to Lady Francesca’s favorite- the horses.

Glancing back at the Georgian full body length mirror with molten gold frame mimicking a vine of plants with few blooming flowers in it, Lady Francesca but to be at awe on her reflection. She was wearing a white plain blouse with puffing sleeves reaching the end of her wrists; topped with a sleeveless brown leather corset cut in an M shape neckline, and bounded together with a crisscrossed leather lace of the same color.

Her underpants were long black plain pantaloon designed for women. And to beautify her undergarments, a knee length brown leather boots were worn with lots of fashionable raffles on it’s hem, flowing freely down by about an inch length.

Finally, a cowgirl brown leather hat was worn over her head, having a single side adorned with a single white feather, complementing with the color of her blouse. Her hair was tied in a neat braid starting from the crown of her head up until the end of the strands of her hair into the side, having the end tail resting on her shoulder blade.

She looks regal and casual on her get ups for today. It’s been a while since she actually stepped out from her luxurious silk gown to wear pantaloons and leg hugging undergarments.