9 Chapter 7: The Invitation

Following her instinct and sharp memory, she followed the path she thought was the right one until she finds herself standing in the front door of the family's tea store.

"Here she is, mother. Young lovely Francesca took a stroll around," Uncle Bastien shouted in enthusiasm towards the opposite side where old Lady Margaret was.

For the short time her granddaughter's disappearance, she was worried. Since Lady Francesca's arrival at her home, she felt something was off, given that she didn't gave a prior notice of her arrival like she used to do before to give enough time for the granny to prepare the room for her. This time was abrupt and sudden. There must a reason behind it. And she ought to wait for her granddaughter to take her time to open up for her.

"Oh, thank goodness!" Lady Margaret had sighed in relief and immediately approached her newly arrived granddaughter.

"I felt like you took half years of my life for disappearing just so suddenly.," she retorted once she got near Lady Francesca.

Feeling guilty of the trouble she caused, the young maiden lightly hugs the old granny. "My deepest apology, grandma for being such a trouble maker when I just had arrived not long ago," she admitted and released the old lady in her arms.

"Nevertheless, I wish nothing but to put your mind at ease with me. When I disappeared the next time, try not to worry as I am already a grown-up lady who can most definitely find her way back home," Francesca added to ease up old Lady Margaret's concern now and in the coming future when inevitable things might happen.

"Silly! Of course, I will always will. It's part of the human nature when it comes to someone related to one's own flesh and blood. Worry was just normal reaction." Her grandmother was taking the time to share the bit of wisdom she learned for living about six decades of worldly existence.

"Not of course, when you practiced proper procedure when leaving. You gotta inform us or the butler, house matron or anyone available in the house about your whereabouts for precautionary purposes," she even added.

Lady Francesca just couldn't help but to nod her head as a sign of accepting the teaching of her predecessor. Nothing beats wisdom culminated on experience than simply learned from thick books.

After few more moments, Lady Margaret and Lady Francesca headed home to take an afternoon respite after an eventful and tiring morning especially for the former. Margaret wasn't getting any younger; and her bones was already weakened by time and ages she lived for.

Just when the sun was about to set to the west, a messenger coming from the earl's castle had dropped a letter of invitation for a ball held once after four months in the earldom to break from the day to day pattern of work to have fun and improve the morale of the citizens.

This was the same time where the biggest and most glamorous castle in the earldom was to be opened for everyone in the place to come and stay the night. To have fun and be gay, celebrating the joyful vigor of life notwithstanding what social standing one belongs to.

The only requirement was to at least wear an appropriate formal wear and a decent pair of dancing shoes, which was rather an easy task for the Verindale folks to achieve given the abundant and wide variety of silk and cotton farms they raised.

From the given resources, they were able to make something of class and elegance with diligent work of their hands. In the case of some, who were far better off than the rest and not able to do it, would avail services of the craftsmen in the market.

Once the two ladies of the house had woken up from an afternoon nap, the head matron handed the invitation to the mistress of the house, Lady Margaret.

Upon seeing the familiar scented paper with rose sigil on the center part, the old lady already knew what was inside. And she was not bit wrong about it. Breaking the hardened rose sigil gluing the scented paper's tip to the center part of the paper, she unfolded it and confirmed her guess.

Just then, Lady Francesca had made her appearance from upstairs. She was currently descending the long and wide Georgian designed grand staircase. She just had finished taking a pampering rose petal bathtub shower and was descending for dinner when her grandma asked for her immediate attention.

"Good thing you are there, young maiden! I have a very interesting news for you," Lady Margaret said with a bright smile written all over her face. This quarterly ball had been a tradition since the19th Earl of the Verindale succeeded his father, who tragically hanged himself for some strange uncovered reason.

"What good news are you exactly talking about that made my ever-classy grandma feel superbly excited just now?" the young maiden countered back with the same intensity of shining bright smile even got more highlighted with her perfectly aligned teeth. She was sure groomed with finest care on her physical appearance.

Lady Francesca hasten her pace while still observing safety while descending a stair. She sauntered straight to the opposite sofa where her grandma was currently seated at with crossed legs.

"Lord Dynirho Syford, the Earl of Verindale, had sent an invitation for a ball at his castle," she started, obviously grabbing the attention of a party-deprived heiress before and after the death of his duke father.

Even with a free ticket, Lady Francesca hadn't tried to attend any more social gathering after the burial. Broken and sad, she couldn't possibly have had the guts and stamina to have fun and be merry like she used to do.

Not even the favorite opera house she used to visit had not receive any visit from her too. It would be now where she will be attending a party after such storm in her life. The party should be worth the title of being her first after hiatus months.

"I would love to go, but I don't think my legs would withstand to push through the swarm crowd of people and dance in the center floor. My bones aren't with me, sadly." Lady Margaret looked down at her legs. Flashes of old gold memories when she was young and strong played in her memory. Those good old days that can never come again.

"Then, I can be your aide for the whole night," Francesca offered once she noticed the glimpse of sadness in her grandma's eyes. But Lady Margaret wasn't an accomplished woman despite being a widow if she would easily stumble on feeble life regret that is.

She chuckled lightly, and get back on her usual happy facial expression. "Much appreciated regard, young maiden but you do not exactly expect me to hinder my lovely, sweet granddaughter in her night of love pursuit. Youth are meant to be enjoyed and celebrated. That's the beauty of being young," Lady Margaret tried to put sense on her argument.

"So, I want you, young maiden, to attend in my behalf and the Anderson's. You know your Uncle Bastien's son was still barely a lad to even represent the family in such social gathering. Worry not, I have already arranged for a temporary handmaid for you while you are staying here in Verindale. She will be escorting you in every parties you go too."

Lady Francesca was left with no choice but to simply say yes and nods her head in compliance even the ecstatic expectations of her grandma. Plus, her argument wasn't groundless at all. It would also be a good time for the Feledencian heiress to finally start getting back in track after being lost for many months of grieving.

And most importantly, she got something wicked and viscous scheme up her sleeves that would effectively counter her stepmother's evil plan about marrying her off probably to one of her relatives. To ensure that the next successor of the dukedom will be one coming from the August bloodline. And Lady Francesca was more than thrilled and fired up to ruin such grand plan set by Duchess regent Carlotta.

Young Francesca wouldn't let herself go down without giving up a good fight. If her intuition was right, there was some sort of legal agreement signed by her father about that engagement matter her stepmother was talking about, given how confident she says it will succeed.

Accordingly, engagements between underage individuals would need at least two approval of legal guardians or else it won't be binding. If Duchess Carlotta had successfully got his father under her hands and convinced him to secretly engage her to man hand-picked by the duchess, then her intuition would really be a bad news.

To make it worse, the Lord Chancellor, to whom the power to dissolve engagement under sound and justifiable reasons, was needlessly say at her stepmom's side. It was a common knowledge among the tone how the Lord Chancellor and the duke and second duchess of Feledencia were old good friends. Francesca could even remember the times when great feast was often served at the manor whenever the Lord Chancellor would pay a visit at the dukedom for some important matter.

Duke Landon's second wife was more wicked and clever than expected. She could have envisioned about something like this in the future, where Francesca would reach legal age, and have the right to speak for herself including but not limited about her refusal about the engagement and worst, she would automatically inherit the dukedom and its wealth.

But before that would happen, Duchess Carlotta planned to ship her off for marriage in order to put her under the custody of her husband, which will be one of the August's. That's why she sowed the fruit of friendship in the beginning.