Dance 1: Bridget Beckham
It was that time of year again. The social season had commenced. There was excitement again in the Ridlington household this year as Juliet, the baby of the family, was preparing to make her debut. Only a year had passed since Finch had made his own debut, the shortest gap between any of the Ridlington siblings’ debuts but both Juliet and their parents had deemed her ready for her debut. It did take some pressure off of him as the marriage of their youngest daughter was more important to them than that of their third son. This was something Finch had grown accustomed to. There would always be something more important to his parents than he was.
The first event of the season was the presentation of all the young ladies making their debut to the Queen. Juliet, naturally, was being presented by their mother, Countess Edith Ridlington. Her presentation went as perfectly as possible but she hadn’t been named the diamond, a title she had confessed she didn’t want to Finch the night before.
Then came the first ball of the season. There was a different feeling to it than the previous season. There was no exciting anticipation. Having gone through the prior season had stripped the first ball of its spectacle, now it was just an obligation. Juliet, however, was in the spectacle mindset and entered the ball with a wide smile on her face. Seeing the pure joy in his baby sister’s face made Finch smile. Once they had made their entrance, the family dispersed, with his mother going off with Juliet to find her someone to dance with and his father immediately finding a colleague to engage in conversation with. Finch ventured off on his own, hoping to find his own friend to converse with. He hadn’t gotten very far before he found himself colliding with another person.
“My sincerest apologies.” He said as he faced the person, who turned out to be a young, and quite beautiful, woman. She was wearing a loose blue dress that looked like something out of a painting. She looked like something out of a painting. He gently helped her off of the floor. “I can promise you that I didn’t mean to knock you over.” He added. He wasn’t entirely sure who was at fault for their abrupt meeting but he wanted to seem like a gentleman, especially when he didn’t know this woman.
@Bluecookies - Bridget