She glided in, dressed in a gown of aqua blue and looking as regal and elegant as ever.
The twenty-five of us stood. “Good afternoon, Your Majesty,” we said in unison.
The queen smiled. “Welcome, and good afternoon to all of you. Unfortunately, Duchess Wilhelmina is unable to join us right now, but I believe she will be roaming around later to meet you all.”
I suppressed a groan.
“Before we begin tea, why don’t each of you introduce yourselves?” Queen Cordelia said, gesturing to the table closest to her, which also happened to be the farthest from me.
Julianna went first. “It is a pleasure to meet you all. I am Julianna Alderidge.”
“I am Tessa Donahue and I am positively enchanted to be a part of this year’s Season.”
“I am Samantha Faas. Delighted to meet everyone.”
One after another, each debutante introduced themselves. Some appeared too full of themselves, some out of their comfort zone, and some as stoic as a rock. When it finally came to our table, my hands were slick with sweat. For a moment I wished that I had already gone, or made an excuse to go to the powder room.
Tori stood first and cleared her throat. “I am Victoria Strongfoot, also known as Tori if we happen to be bosom friends. Absolutely spiffingly enchanted to be here this afternoon.”
It took everything in me not to snort at her faux pompous air. Some of the debutantes looked scandalized, while a few had suppressed smiles.
Genevieve went next and executed her introduction with perfect dignity and grace. After the other debutante at our table, Rachel Estelle, did the same, I realized it was down to me and Olivia. The poor girl looked petrified. I took it as a sign to go next.
“Hello. I’m Amarante Flora,” I said, opting for a quick curtsy. “Lovely to be here.”
As I sat, Olivia stood shakily, tucking a braid behind her ear.
“I-I-I’m Bolivia...um, Olivia Sternfeld. H-happy to m-m...”
The rest of her sentence faded into a whisper. I couldn’t help but feel sorry for the girl as she sat and sunk into her high-necked dress.
The queen gave a warm smile Olivia certainly didn’t see six inches into her collar.
“And that concludes introductions,” the queen said, bringing the attention back to her. “It is truly a pleasure to have you all here today. I hope this afternoon you will familiarize yourself with the palace and your fellow debutantes, as you will be spending the next two months in each other’s company. Now. Let us have some tea.”
Waiters streamed in, bringing cakes and sandwiches piled on layered tiers. They poured the tea and set out bowls of sugar cubes. It wasn’t long before I was chewing on a pastry. Genevieve quietly sipped her tea. Tori shoveled cucumber sandwiches into her mouth. Rachel was looking off somewhere, and Olivia had shrunken in on herself, hunched over so low that she was face to face with the tablecloth. She gave the softest, high pitched whine. I paused my chewing.
Rachel inched away uncomfortably. Tori was munching too loudly to notice and Genevieve seemed to be daydreaming about something.
I cleared my throat. “Olivia? Are you alright?” I asked in a low voice.
She looked up. Tears, among other fluids, were rolling down her face and gathering to the tip of her pointy chin. A large drop plopped into her tea.
“N-n-no,” she sniveled. “I-I’m always...l-like this.”
“You didn’t do so bad,” I said.
Olivia shook her head so violently that her braids whipped her cheeks.
“I-it’s...I can’t,” she said. The rest of her words drowned into another high-pitched whine. This finally drew Genevieve and Tori’s attention.
“Hey now, what are you crying for?” Tori said, setting down a half-eaten sandwich. “Embarrassed about your introduction?”
Her words, though blunt, were not unkind. Olivia stopped crying and looked at Tori with a quivering lower lip. She nodded.
Tori shrugged. “I was like you once. Terrified of people. But being a blacksmith’s daughter toughened me up a few notches. My Pa always says fear holds everyone back. The way to get over it is not to become fearless, no, but to decide once and for all that you don’t give a blooming crap about what anybody thinks of you. Makes life a lot easier, you know?”
Genevieve coughed delicately.
“B-but it’s so hard to m-make friends and Mummy...Mummy wants me to marry.”
My eyebrows raised at the thought of marrying Olivia off. I could hardly imagine the girl surviving a short stroll without a chaperone, much less being courted by a young man.
“You don’t have to worry about the first part,” Genevieve said warmly. “We’re already your friends, Olivia.”
Olivia stared at us, large eyes widening. “Really? B-but I barely talk to you.”
“It’s not too late to start,” I said.
The girl looked like she was going to cry again.
“So, what brings you to the Season?” I asked quickly.
Olivia, thankfully, blinked back her tears. “My mother says I should marry soon so Cedric wouldn’t have to worry about me.”
Tori raised a brow. “Either way you’re still leeching off a man. Does it matter which one?”
“I wish Cedric was attending too,” Olivia said with a sigh. “He’ll have to eventually, when he inherits grandpa’s fortune.”
“He’s not chaperoning you today?” Genevieve asked.
“No. I wanted to do this myself,” Olivia said. She gave us a small grin. “And I’m glad I did.”
Tea went on in peace. The queen was seated in the far table with Narcissa and Julianna who behaved much more amiably than I had ever seen them before. Tori, Genevieve, Olivia, and I conversed. After an hour or so, we were allowed to leave the gazebo and wander about the Queen’s Garden. The four of us took a stroll amongst the hydrangea bushes.
Unfortunately, we came up behind Julianna, flanked by Samantha and Tessa. None of them noticed us.
“Have you heard that Prince Ash is attending the Season on behalf of Crown Prince Bennett?” Samantha said.
Julianna scoffed. “Don’t tell me you fancy him, Samantha. That’s ridiculous.”
“Absolutely ridiculous,” Tessa said.
Samantha’s face grew red. “Of course not,” she said,
