Grace nodded sympathetically, understanding how it was to be a younger sibling. It had its perks—her brothers expected more from Verity than they did her—but at the same time she was always treated like a child compared to her sister, who was only a year her senior.

"May of last year," she said, her smile faltering slightly as she explained, "but my Papa had died the previous December, so I spent the Season in mourning. I was finally able to debut this year, though." And altogether it was going pretty well, she thought. She had not publicly ruined herself, hadn't spilled a drink on one of the Season's Most Eligible and doomed herself to a life of spinsterhood, and she'd managed to talk to one man—this man—without stumbling over every other world.

She'd call that a success!

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August didn't know what to say in condolences re: someone having died over a year ago, and was relieved that Miss Greengrass seemed to move past it. Still — he had to say something, right? Mostly tactfully, he said, "I'm sorry about your father." He did not allow much time to pass before adding: "And I suppose I ought to apologize for my having poked fun at Society your very first season."

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set by Bree

Grace laughed, but she hastily covered her mouth and regained her composure before she could get any any louder. "It is alright, Mr. Echelon-Arnost," she said, lowering her hand to reveal the smile that her mother had made her practice. It was not proper to smile so widely, she'd said, and certainly not at a gentleman. "I confess I share your opinions, whether or not a girl in my position is meant to." She was not meant to, and she could almost hear Mother's scolding voice repeating the sentiment. She was supposed to be demure and elegant, not withdrawn and too honest for her own good. Luckily, she did not think Mr. Echelon-Arnost would think less of her.

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Her laugh, and her slightly-too-wide smile, were both charming. August smiled back at her, genuine. "I don't think debutantes are meant to agree with me," he said in an undertone, "But I'm relieved to hear that you won't hold my opinions against me, and I won't hold yours against you."

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set by Bree

Grace felt a jolt through her. Excitement, maybe—no, panic. Maybe both. Grace thought debutantes were supposed to be agreeable, and yet Mr. Echelon-Arnost had suggested otherwise. She tried to reassure herself. Maybe it was just another one of his opinions that were contrary to society. Maybe he preferred the company of more combative debutantes (but why, then, would he agree to her company?). Or maybe he was teasing her, an option that she would have preferred to assume but didn't have enough self-confidence to think that any man would be teasing her.

Or maybe, just maybe, he was alluding to some shortcoming of his, but Grace thought him too friendly and kind to think there could be anything wrong with him.

But she pushed all contemplative thoughts from her mind. Another thought was just another second of silence on her end, and debutantes were supposed to be able to carry a conversation. Merlin help her.

"That is a relief to hear," she finally responded, peeking up at him shyly, unsure of what else she could say to him. She had thought too hard to come up with anything light and witty, and now she was second-guessing herself.

She nearly tripped over one of the exhibit's decorations that lined the walkway, and she gave a nervous giggle as she caught herself.

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Her lengthy pause had August briefly nervous, but she finally said something, and she seemed more shy than she was irritated. August couldn't help but smile, kind but nervous, when she tripped and caught herself. "Don't let me distract you too much," he said, and was left immediately thinking that that had been an awkward thing for him to say. Hm.

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set by Bree

Blushing came naturally to Grace. Her face turned red at the slightest physical exertion, when she was in pain, or when she was angry. Unfortunately, her blushing tended to express what she was thinking even when she decided to keep her mouth shut, and that's exactly what happened when Mr. Echelon-Arnost insinuated that she was paying too close attention to him.

Her mouth opened to insist that he wasn't distracting, but—wasn't he? He was a gentleman, and he treated her nicely, and being in his presence felt... easy. (Easier, at least, than being with Mr. Rosier or any of the other gentleman she'd spent time around this Season.)

But Merlin, was it that easy to see it? Did he think of her as some silly girl who smiled too much and never shut up? Oh, she was never going to be able to look him in the eyes again!

Except she did, and she was sure the embarrassment was visible on her face because she was doing a terrible job of hiding it. "No, I—" She cut herself off, knowing she would only say something stupid, and then decided on the only thing she could think of. "I think I see my brother up ahead. I would hate for him to think I'd run off," she said.

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The following 1 user Likes Grace Greengrass's post:1 user Likes Grace Greengrass's post
   August Echelon-Arnost

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Oh, dear. He hadn't meant to embarrass her, but it seemed horribly obvious from her expression that he had. August flushed a faint pink color and tried to come up with some excuse for himself — there had to be something he could say that would reduce at least some of Miss Greengrass' embarrassment — but he could not conjure anything before Miss Greengrass was making her excuses to depart.

"Oh," August said, instead, "I'll see you around, Miss Greengrass."

Well, maybe.

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set by Bree