June 21, 2022 – 3:41 PM
June 17th, 1892 — Dashwood Hall, Surrey
Hadn't Miss Dashwood done a wonderful job, although Suki didn't expect any less from a young lady who had so impressed her with her spirit and force of personality. So much so that even this strange arrangement, seemed like another rather interesting quirk in her personality. It was Poppy's debut and yet it was Suki who was here to meet a man. The ladies had spent a good deal of time in conversation and talked of many things - including the mysterious older cousin of Miss Dashwood, a man she had described as the best of men, who deserved only the best of wives, which explained her desire to 'vet' the ladies who might get close to him.
With such a sea of white flowers many of the guests had gone with bold shades to stand out, or muted pastels to compliment, Suki's dress for was a very crisp, unnatural white, because of course it was. Another garment made of the enchanted silks from her dress maker in Osaka. This one patterned in a bright gold, as sweeping flames snaked over the shoulder, back and arms, emanating from the phoenix which was rousant affronté across the back of the dress, it's wings spread, as though in flight, the magical flames shimmering across the fabric, and although the silhouette of the dress was typical of the fashion, the neck and sleeves spoke to it's decidedly foreign origin and a trick of the modiste, gave the garment a fluidity when moving that belied it's style, it shimmered and moved like tulle rather than silk and added to the affect of the flames, her jet black hair done in a hybrid of the English style, so that it tousled softly over her shoulders but also had form and shape, so that instead of the English pins and tiara's it could bear Japanese ornaments of gold and clean white pearls to compliment the look.
It was Miss Dashwood who had arranged the dance, marking a waltz on her card for her cousin and telling Natsuko that he would find her when the dance came around, before being dragged off to attend to her other guests - she was the woman of the hour after all, and tonight was to signal her availability on the marriage market, it would hardly to do be a wall flower. Suki supposed it wouldn't be hard for the mysterious cousin to spot her, she was the only Japanese woman in the room after all. So as she finished the dance with the last gentleman on her dance card she moved off the dance floor and as subtly as she could behind her fan, surveilled the dance floor for a gent who might be her next dance.
------------------------