It had become the custom at Grayson Manor to have a regularly scheduled Sunday afternoon “at home” when gentlemen callers were invited to stop by to meet or court the three most eligible daughters. Ann was an uncomfortable five and twenty years old. She was on the verge of not being seriously considered any longer, and the poor Duchess was becoming desperate. She began sending invitations further afield than she initially thought would be necessary. Young gentlemen from as far away as Bournemouth were being summoned, and were being put up to stay the night, as it was nearly a day’s journey from Grayson back to the coast.

Charlotte, at three and twenty, had outgrown her spots and poor posture and was still considered the handsomest of the three daughters. Anticipating the imminent arrival of the gentlemen, Charlotte had stationed herself at the spinet, prepared to show off her musical skills. And it did not hurt that the light from the window fell on her face in such a way as to show off her best facial qualities and highlighting the various hues of her auburn hair.

Betsy, however, found this mating ritual to be a monumental bore and spent the afternoon with her face in a book, even though often scolded by her mother. But, after all, she was only one and twenty, and there was still plenty of time for her to find a husband.

Betsy might be considered by some to be even more attractive than her sister, Charlotte. Many of the young visitors would gather to converse with the lovely youngest daughter—much to her dismay, as it distracted from her reading.

The Duchess always placed herself in her comfortable chair, with Isabell in her lap, in a location where she could survey all the guests and make mental notes as to their behavior and attractiveness. In her little notebook, which she always carried with her, she would jot down the name of each gentleman, his family’s social position, his order of birth, and the family’s estimated worth. Many of the names had been crossed out after further examination and research—unless they showed any preference for Ann. At this point, almost anyone would do.

But the Duchess, although she would not admit it publically, knew—without a doubt—that the most exceptional beauty of all was Lucy. She made every effort to exclude Miss Lucy from the Sunday afternoon get-togethers—often sending her on long errands or urging her to visit her friend, Isabell. She could not risk the bright sun of Lucy eclipsing the pale moons of her daughters. However, that did leave her without Lucy’s assistance, and she had to make do with Flossy who was fidgety, impatient, and surly at these afternoons—which were supposed to be her afternoons off.

The first to arrive this afternoon were the Hanson twins—two rather plain farmer’s sons. However, their father was an extensive land owner, and although untitled, was well respected as an upstanding family in the eastern part of the county.

Judith noted in her notebook that Tom attached himself to Ann. That earned him a star. And Richard headed to sit with Charlotte at the spinet and turned the pages for her as she played a Chopin waltz.

Next to arrive was Sir Benjamin Hasting-Fitzwallace. Titled yes, but with a seedy house in Shaftsbury—shopping for a wife who might come with a substantial living. Add to that, the fact that he was long in the tooth, was on the far side of forty with thinning hair, a considerable paunch, and such small eyes one was never certain where he was looking.

He headed directly to the tea table. Accepted a cup of tea and loaded his plate with finger food. He then stood by the window and surveyed the room deciding what to do next.

Betsy, in the meantime, stood up and headed for the door before being stopped by her mother.

“Where are you going?” Judith hissed.

“I am bored. No one very interesting ever comes, and it is a complete waste of my time.”

“Oh, no. You stay right where you are, Miss Betsy. You never know when the perfect man will appear.”

“But not today, I doubt.”

“Nonetheless, you are to remain here.”

“But I need to relieve myself.”

The Duchess could not deny that. “Very well then but make it snappy and hurry back.”

“Yes, mother,” she said with a world-weariness way beyond her age.

But, just as she was about to leave the room, her good friend, Tussie Crandall, came in with her brother, Tolliver. Betsy and Tussie shrieked when they saw each other, as it had been ever so long since they had been together, and they headed to the French doors that were open to the outside, and they locked arms and left together.

That left Tolliver standing alone and at loose ends. He looked around, and seeing all the available young ladies were engaged, went to the tea table and was served tea and a plate of sandwiches.

The Duchess did not approve of Betsy and Tussie being outside, especially when there was a free gentleman standing around looking for company. She raised her fan to Flossy who leaned in for instruction.

“Fetch Betsy. Tell her she should be inside to greet the guests.”

“Yes, Your Grace.”

Just as Flossy trundled off, two young officers presented themselves in their off-duty uniforms. Only recently had a regiment of Dragoons established themselves near Grayson Manor.

They looked around the room, saw her Grace, and immediately went to present themselves.

“Captain Earnest Dunstable, at your service, Your Grace.”

“Lieutenant Leonard Wallace, Ma’am.”

Judith beamed. News of several handsome Dragoons attending her At Home would probably circulate around the community and make her afternoons even more attractive.

It certainly attracted attention now. Charlotte left the piano, abandoning Richard to stare at the sheets of music. She went directly to her mother and said, “Mother dear, have you seen my shawl. I suddenly felt a draft.” She pretended to just now notice the officers and turned to them as if surprised. “Oh, hello, I am Charlotte Grayson. Did you just arrive?”

The officers smiled, each one taking her hand and kissing it.

“We have,” the Captain said. “And how delightful it is to be here.”

Charlotte smiled shyly and answered. “You are most welcome. Might I interest you in some tea?” she asked the Captain.

The Lieutenant, seeing that Charlotte was occupied with his friend, nodded and turned away to begin scouting elsewhere.

Meanwhile, Flossy returned with a grumpy looking Betsy, followed by Tussie. But as soon as the Lieutenant saw Betsy, he crossed over to her and introduced himself.

At first, Betsy seemed surprised to see him, but then she frowned slightly and, after greeting the officer, took Tussie by the hand and left the room with her. The poor Lieutenant looked confounded by the snub.

That left only two sisters and six gentlemen. And while the men might not be thrilled with this situation, it did not disturb her Grace. More competition for her daughters was to be celebrated.

It was clear the two officers were the center of her daughters’ attention, but she knew nothing about these two gentlemen, although she jotted down their names in her notebook for further examination at a later time.

However, with her daughters’ attention only on the officers, the other gentlemen began to look restless, and she saw Sir Benjamin preparing to leave.

Judith did not mind him leaving, as she had already ruled him out as a suitor, but then the Hanson twins looked like they were contemplating departing as well. And as Tom had shown an interest in Ann, she could not afford to have him abandon the party this early.

Contrary to her usual habit of sitting and watching, the Duchess stood, clutching Isabell in her arms, and went over to engage the Hanson twins in conversation.

“Gentlemen,” she began, “you know we can offer you some spirited refreshment stronger than just tea.”

“Oh?” Tom exclaimed. “And how spirited might that be?”

“We have some single malt Scotch in the sideboard, reserved for special guests.”

Richard took hold of his brother’s arm. “Thank you, Your Grace, however, I think we need to be heading home. We have a cow about to birth and Father would like us to be there in case there are complications.”

“Oh,” Judith said, surprised at their mundane excuse and insistent departure.

However, just at that moment, the door opened, and Lucy appeared, dressed plainly, but radiant in her simplicity. All of the gentlemen’s heads turned to her, and all conversation stopped. Not a single person moved.

Lucy came directly over to the Duchess and asked, “Cook would like to know if any of the guests will be staying for supper this evening?”

All eyes were trained on Lucy, although she took no notice of the stares. The Duchess, however, was acutely aware of the effect Lucy was having on the men and wanted to get her out of the room as quickly as possible.

“Tell Cook we are not expecting any guests for supper other than family. You may leave now.”

Lucy’s attention was drawn to the gentlemen ogling her, and she smiled at them politely before turning to leave—much to Judith’s relief.

“Was that your sister?” Captain Dunstable asked Charlotte.

Charlotte appeared not to be pleased with that question and answered, “Oh, no. She is one of our servants.”

“Pity,” was all the Captain said wistfully.

The Duchess could see the damage had already been done, and the gentlemen were rapidly losing interest in her daughters. Even Charlotte was no longer the center of the Captain’s attention. The Duchess returned to her chair, sat, and reached for her Laudanum but found the bottle empty. However, she dared not call for Lucy, and she could not rely upon Flossy to administer the proper dose, as the poor girl was all flighty fingers and had dropped several bottles previously, spilling their contents.

The twins were the first to depart, soon after Lucy left the room. Perhaps they did have a birthing cow, the Duchess surmised. In any case, Ann did not seem all that interested in Tom. She appeared, instead, to have her interest peeked by one of the officers—however, Judith concluded that for Ann, either one of them would do.

Presently Sir Benjamin bowed to the Duchess and excused himself, not having had the opportunity to chat with a single lady.

Tolliver and the officers were all the guests that were left, and the young Tolliver came to ask the Duchess where his sister and Betsy had gone. It was clear he wanted to leave now, as well. Fortunately, at that moment Betsy and Tussie returned and seemed to be surprised to see so few gentlemen remaining.

As Betsy came to her mother, Judith took the opportunity to bring Betsy and Tolliver together, as she cast a newly appreciative eye on the young man. He might do in a pinch, she thought.

“Betsy, my precious, have you had an opportunity to visit with Mr. Crandall this afternoon?”

What the Duchess did not know was that Betsy and Tolliver had been acquainted since they were children—Tussie and Betsy played together since they were five. However, Tolliver had been a bully and teased his sister and Betsy relentlessly, so Betsy had no fondness for the young man. He was a lost cause as far as she was concerned, and they just stared at each other until Tussie grabbed hold of her brother’s arm and insisted they leave.

And almost immediately after, the officers approached the Duchess, thanked her for the afternoon, and said they must return to the regiment.

“Then might we expect to see you next Sunday? We should so love to have you.”

The officers looked at each other, and the Captain answered, “Perhaps. However, there is always the chance we might be on duty.”

They bowed and left.

It was a forlorn group that remained. Only Betsy seemed unaffected by the gentlemen’s departures. And she went to the tea table, picked up a salmon paste sandwich, and headed outside with her book.

The Duchess turned to Flossy and said with agitation, “Fetch Lucy.”

The girl immediately left and returned shortly—Lucy trailing behind her.

Judith glared at Lucy. “Fix my drops immediately,” she demanded.

“Of course.”

“And where were you all afternoon when I needed you?”

“You told me to stay in the kitchen unless I was called for.”

Of course, she had said that but had forgotten, and she fussed with the dog—picking it up and bestowing a series of kisses. “You should just know when I need you. Silly girl.”

Lucy sighed and prepared the drops.