Jealous tea party

"Don't you dare!" Lacey shouted as she swatted Evelyn's hand away.

"Please," she pleaded.

"These are for the party. You can have some then."

"I just wanted to sample them," Evelyn smiled bashfully as she eyed the small cakes that were being arranged in front of her.

"No, these need to be perfect. I can't serve those," Lacey directed one of the bakers that was preparing the various desserts. She turned her attention back to Evelyn and sighed. "Fine, you can have one if you can go check on the tables for me. I told them to use the light blue tablecloths with lace and these dishes," she pointed to a set of white China dishes that were rimmed with gold. 

"Okay!" Evelyn smiled and took the small cake before she dragged Peggy out of the kitchen.

"Why do I always get dragged into these things?" Peggy complained.

"Come on, it won't take us very long and we should still have plenty of time to get ready."

"Fine," Peggy sighed.

"Eww, I should have known that she was going to do this," Evelyn wrinkled her nose.

"What's wrong with it?"

Evelyn frowned, "it's rose."

"Well, you should have seen that coming. The whole kitchen smelled of flowers."

"I know, but I was hoping my nose was being overly sensitive," Evelyn whined. 

"Come on, let's get this over with. She will not be happy if they are still making changes when the guests arrive."

As they approached the pergola both girls stopped dead in their tracks. What was supposed to be a small gathering was far from that. Four large tables were being arranged with baby blue lace tablecloths that easily seated over two dozen guests.

"You've got to be kidding me," Peggy grumbled.

"Well, at least they are following her directions," Evelyn pointed out.

"I had a feeling that she was hiding something after seeing all the guests last night."

"Let's just get ready. We will need to choose better dresses for this," Evelyn sighed.

***

"Miss Evelyn, what would you like to wear?" Mary, the maid that would be helping her while she was there, asked.

"I'm not sure. Why don't you pick?" Evelyn suggested not moving from her spot on the bed.

Mary rummaged through the various gowns before settling on a blush-colored gown that was adorned with dainty flowers that cascaded and gathered at the hem. "I think this will be perfect! Did you bring any gloves or a parasol with you?"

"I think the gloves are already on the vanity and my parasol might still be in the trunk" Evelyn sighed.

"We should hurry up, Miss. There is a lot to do before you need to head down," Mary gently grabbed her hands and pulled her up from the bed.

"Okay, you're right."

Evelyn hissed as Mary tightened the laces of her corset, "I'm sorry miss," Mary apologized. 

"It's fine," she sighed. She always wore her corsets a little loose, but she knew that this was not a day to do so. 

"You look gorgeous!" Mary exclaimed as she stepped back to inspect her work. "Let's see," she hummed as she scanned over the jewelry. "I think these will look perfect!" She placed a matching set of waterfall emerald earrings, a simple necklace, and a single row tennis bracelet on a small velvet pad. Evelyn smiled politely at her in the mirror. She watched Mary braid her hair and before she placed small gold and emerald pins into her dark locks. 

"That dress looks nice on you," Peggy complemented her sister as she stood behind her.

"Thanks," Evelyn looked back at her in the mirror and smiled.

She was about to stand up when Mary placed her hands on Evelyn's shoulders to keep her placed in her seat. "Not yet, miss…hmm… I think you need a little color," she grabbed a small sheet of red paper and instructed Evelyn to place it between her lips. She then lightly patted a bit of rouge on her cheeks. "All done," she beamed as she admired her work. Evelyn sighed as Mary handed her a pair of white lace gloves.

"Do try not to ruin this pair," Peggy teased as she watched Evelyn slip on her gloves.

"I will try," Evelyn mumbled as she secured her tennis bracelet over her gloves before she grabbed her parasol.

***

"I should warn you," Evelyn stopped on the staircase.

"What?" Peggy looked over her shoulder.

"Well, it's just," she paused until they were finally outside and away from the servants and any other guests.  "I don't think I'll be able to cast a sound barrier during this," she stated in a hushed tone.

"What?" Peggy snapped her head to look at Evelyn. "What do you mean?"

"Calm down and lower your voice," Evelyn held her finger up to Peggy's lips. She gave her a puzzled look and after she thought Peggy had calmed back down, she questioned her: "Do you mean that you have never noticed or sensed that I cast one around us whenever we are at these things?"

"Of course not!" Peggy exclaimed.

"Lower your voice," Evelyn pulled her closer as they made their way through the maze. 

"What do you expect? I didn't even know that was something you could do!"

"Wait, are you telling me that you don't know how to cast a sound barrier?"

"No," Peggy replied sheepishly.

Evelyn sighed and rolled her eyes, "I can't believe they haven't taught you how to do this yet. Haven't you noticed that no one ever hears us or better yet, they never hear you when you are out at the clinics?"

"Well, no."

Evelyn shifted her gaze to see if anyone was around them. She slowed down a little when she noticed three gentlemen in front of them. Once they had acquired what she felt was adequate distance she continued, "okay. I can cast a sound barrier with my wind magic, and it has become second nature by now. Whenever we are at these types of things, I cast it, and no one ever hears our little remarks. But when we are seated this close to other people, it is hard to hide the fact that something is going on. They will see our lips move but won't hear us and that could cause all sorts of problems and I'd really like to avoid that."

Peggy thought for a moment, "what do you mean by second nature?"

"Well, it's just that, sometimes I don't even know that I'm doing it. I don't notice until I realize that no one has heard me."

"Wow," Peggy stared at her sister. "How did you even learn how to do that?"

Evelyn giggled, "I saw Aunt Carol do it one time and I thought it could be useful. I admit, it was quite tricky to learn on my own! At first, I tested it out on Charlotte, and it was very funny to see her frustration whenever she couldn't hear me. After a while, I tried to see how long I could sustain it by slipping into different rooms and talking to myself and seeing if anyone could hear me. Now, I can sustain it for about thirty minutes at a time," she smiled.

"I can't believe it," Peggy thought aloud.

"Woohoo!" Evelyn shouted and startled Peggy.

When the gentlemen in front of them paid no notice to them, Peggy stared back at her sister with her mouth open.

"See, I told you that no one could hear us!"

"That's just incredible!" Peggy exclaimed loudly.

Evelyn looked up at her and just laughed before she frantically scanned the small place cards, "Quick! Pass me your card!" Evelyn exclaimed and pointed to the card at the opposite side of the table.

"What?"

"Just do it!" Evelyn shouted. "She placed me next to some Jenny, whoever that is!"

"She's going to notice," Peggy sighed and exchanged the cards.

"She probably will, but she can't say anything if we are already seated when she gets her."

"Haha," a deep chuckle came from one of the gentlemen as they watched the girls scramble to move their cards around.

Peggy blushed, "I'm so sorry. I hope we did not offend you."

"Oh, no need to worry about that," Max winked. "We are guilty of doing the same thing."

"I wasn't aware that you gentlemen would be attending this afternoon," Evelyn smiled politely.

"It was a last-minute decision," Carl flatly replied back. "Lacey was not aware of when we would be returning."

"I didn't mean anything by it. I hope you will not take offense," Evelyn apologized sheepishly now that she had become aware of how her tone might have come across.

"We took no offense. I know that it isn't often that gentlemen attend these types of things, but I do hope that we will all have a good time."

"Oh, yes, I'm sure it will be nice to get acquainted with everyone," she lied behind her polite smile.

"Where are my manners?  I'm Carl, and this is my brother Quincy and our friend Max," Carl introduced them.

"It's a pleasure to meet you. I'm Peggy Valentia and this is my sister Evelyn," Peggy lightly curtsied and as the girls made their way to their seats.

"Well, this should be interesting," Evelyn muttered as she noticed several ladies making their way to their table.

"Oh no," Peggy sighed as she noticed that the seat next to her was reserved for Max. "I was hoping that we would be able to avoid any drama."

"What?" Evelyn quickly looked at the place card next to her which happened to be for Carl and sighed.

"Humph," the girl that pulled the chair out from the place that they had made for 'Jenny', and she quickly sized the two girls up. Her lips twisted when she saw the three gentlemen that had made their way to the table were seated on either side of the sisters. "It's a pleasure to meet you. My name is Jenny Crawn," she introduced herself. "This is Anne Mead and this is Georgia Blanche," Jenny gestured to the two girls sitting on either side of her. "I don't believe I've seen you ladies before." She lightly snickered from behind the fan she had placed in front of her lower face.

"It's a pleasure to meet you ladies. This is only our second time attending an event in this area. I'm Evelyn Valentia and this is my older sister, Peggy." 

Jenny, who already had her eyes set on the boys across the table, batted her eyelashes and closed her fan, "it's so nice to see that you gentlemen were able to join us this afternoon." 

"Yes, we just arrived back from Onslow late last evening," Carl replied.

"I am looking forward to seeing more of you while you are here," Jenny smiled.

"Unfortunately, we won't be able to stay away from our studies for too long. We will be returning in a fortnight," Carl sipped his tea, dismissing Jenny's advances.

Evelyn chuckled behind her teacup, "take a hint," she whispered.

"I doubt she is going to give up anytime soon," Peggy mumbled.

Max raised his eyebrows and glanced at the girls before giving Carl a look.

Carl, having sensed Evelyn's magic, turned to Max.

"And this is why I detest these events," Peggy complained as she took a sip of her tea.

"My thoughts exactly," Evelyn replied a bit too loudly.

"Shh," Peggy shushed her.

"Don't worry, there's no way she heard us," Evelyn winked.

Max, having heard Evelyn's comment, snuck a glance at the girls.

"I thought you said that you couldn't cast while we are this close," Peggy whispered.

"I didn't mean to; like I said, it's become a reflex," Evelyn shrugged her shoulders, hiding her face behind one of the small cakes.

"Why does she keep looking at us like that? It's not like we are doing anything to her," Peggy complained.

"How do you know Lacey," Jenny asked as she eyed the girls.

Evelyn dispelled her barrier and politely smiled, "our families have actually known each other for quite some time."

"Oh, really?" Jenny smirked, "is that so? It's interesting then that we have never seen you before."

"Our father tends to be rather busy managing the duchy, so it's rare that we are able to make it this far out," Evelyn flatly replied.

"That's a shame," Jenny sipped her tea, not bothering to hide her smug look.

"It's my understanding that your father has done great work for your people over the years," Max smiled at Peggy. "In fact, we have all heard at Onslow about the various programs he has placed to nurture equality and provide for his citizens."

"Yes. Over the years father has worked hard to create a balance between the various classes," Peggy smiled. "We are all very proud of how he has managed to close the wage gap and ensured that the price of goods allows most to live in relative comfort," she boasted.

"I have not heard of such things happening," Jenny scoffed. "It is a shame that some people take advantage of those types of changes and then begin to want too much."

Evelyn felt her patience wearing thin and instinctively cast her burier. "What is her deal?"

This time, Peggy felt Evelyn's magic now that she knew what it felt like and hid her face as she dabbed her lips with her napkin. "Some people still believe that inherited wealth and status makes them better than everyone else," Peggy replied, her face full of disgust. "Look at her. I'd love to knock her off her high horse. It isn't even like her family is all that wealthy."

"It's a pity that the poor are angry with us just because we have managed so secure wealth. If they tried harder, they would be able to rise up," Jenny shrugged with a smug smile.

Peggy's knuckles turned white as she gripped her teacup. Evelyn, having her enough of her comments, glared at Jenny. Peggy could feel Evelyn's magic begin to unsettle, and reached for hand under the table, but she was too late. A strong gust of wind suddenly blew right at Jenny's face. Her hat flew clear off her head, which ruined her perfectly laid curls. 

Jenny streaked and Anne scrambled up from her seat to retrieve the hat. "It seems that my maid neglected her duty to properly do my hair," Jenny angrily stood up from her chair.

Peggy shot Evelyn a knowing look. "Oh dear, what a mess! If you hurry inside, my maid Mary can quickly fix your hair," Evelyn suggested as she tried her best to hold back her laughter.

"Humph," Jenny glared at Evelyn. "If that is the case, I better go ask her to fix this mess. If you'll excuse me, I'll go find her. I hope she does a better job than my incompetent maid did." Jenny turned and stormed off, while Anne and Georgia hurried to catch up to her.

Max, who felt the strong flux of magic and knew exactly what had happened, chuckled quietly as he quickly exchanged a look with Carl. "It's unfortunate that the wind picked up when it's been such a lovely day," he commented.

Evelyn tried not to giggle, "indeed; I do hope that the weather doesn't take a turn and ruin the party."