An opportunity

The morning was calm, although a bit dull. Amelia had gotten so used to her daily lectures that she did not know what to do with her newfound sparetime.

Still, it was nice beeing able to relax knowing the challange she had ahead of her. There was no telling when the next opportunity would come.

A short while after lunch Olivia had been called to help with the cleaning of the kitchen so Amelia resorted to work on her embrodering. Though leaving the duchy was currently no longer in the picture, she thought that it would still be a good security for her future. Besides, she was making improvements and had even started to find the activity enjoyable.

After trying a new design on a few pieces of spare cloth she began working on making a proper handerchief. She hoped that it could be a fine late gift for the duke since she hadn't had the funds to purchase anything for his celebration.

It was a simple design of a shield surrounded by thorns, similar to the Beaumont duchy's crest.

Except for the occational crooked stitching it was turning out fairly good.

Being wrapped up in the sewing the sudden knock on the door caught her off guard.

"Miss Ainsworth, this is Gordon. May I enter?" the butlers voice sounded from the corridor.

"Yes of course, please come in."

The first thing that struck her when she saw him was that he looked tired, way more so than usual, with a pale complexion and dark circles beneath his eyes.

'It must've been stressful preparing for the banquet'

Not wanting to be rude by pointing it out she decided to not ask about his well being.

"We just recieved a letter adressed to you, miss."

"For me? Do you know who from?"

"It doesn't say" Gordon stated and handed the envelope towards her. "I think you ought to open it."

Perplexed she stared at her name written in neat handwriting on the envelope.

'Who would send me a letter?' she pondered and clumsingly broke the seal.

Miss Ainsworth, I hope this letter finds you well.

My apologies for the short notice. I waited to write you because I feared it might have been rude to contact you before you made your debut. Though I have not yet had the chance to introduce myself I believe that you might have met my father at yesterday's banquet. I'm writing because I would like to invite you to the tea party that I am hosting this weekend. My sincerest hopes that you will be able to attend, though I understand that this might be too sudden.

With best regards

Rosemary Bogarte

Amelia stared blankly at the paper.

"Is something wrong, miss?" Gordon asked, seemingly not even attempting to hide his curiosity.

"I'm invited to a tea party..."

His face lit up.

"You must have made a very good impression with the nobles yesterday then, don't you think?"

"Could it be so?"

Though Amelia appriciated his words they were also troubling since she knew that there was no way that it could be. For a lady to invite an illegitimate mistress who was the daughter of a traitor; obviously it had to be some kind of scheme to emberass her. Or perhaps the aim was to use her to curry favor with the duke?

'But since I need information right now it might not be such a bad idea to attend.'

"It's from someone called Rosemary Bogarte. Do you happen know anything about her?"

"If it's Bogarte it must be the Earl's new wife. I believe she is the daughter of a Baron who owns a small bit of land up north. She should be only a few years older than you I believe."

A faint image came to mind as Amelia tried to recall the guests from yesterday's fiest.

"Earl Bogarte... Doesn't he have son's that are approaching adulthood?"

"That is correct. It isn't uncommon for widowed Lords to take a young bride however."

"I see..."

She had thought that it was only illegitimate daughters like her that ended up in such a position, having to marry men twice their age. She felt a bit sorry for this lady whom she had never met.

"I will ask the Lord for permission to attend. Could you make an appointment for me to meet him? " She put the invitation back into its envelope and placed it on the sidetable.

"An appointment? There's no need for you to do that. He's in his office so you should just go greet him."