Chris tried to hide her wince. It was such a pity. She liked Endy, and mother was sure to be distressed by his sudden and mysterious disappearance.

She found it odd that the idea of it bothered her so much. That Mister Daphnel might have been given some terrible account of her and thought less of her as a result. Chris has been about to open her mouth to retort, some pithy response designed to undermine whatever other odious comments her darling brother might have made about her. When the door opened and her mother entered - Lowri Dempsey, with perfect timing as always.

'Mother!' Chris exclaimed, standing rather abruptly trying not to feel or look guilty - despite the fact that they were not, in fact, doing anything wrong! Except perhaps sitting side by side - which was hardly a cardinal sin. 'Mister Daphnel has come by for a visit.' She gave her mother a pleading look, trying not to look too frantic or off balance

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I am my mother's savage daughter, The one who runs barefoot cursing sharp stones

I am my mother's savage daughter, I will not cut my hair, I will not lower my voice
MJ made glory

After leaving her eldest and youngest children in the other room (a recipe for disaster if she knew her children well enough), Lowri put one hand to the door of the sitting room and pushed. She only half expected to see her lady's maid there. Sure enough, when she opened the room, she only saw her daughter and her beau, as Lycoris had put it. Her eyes immediately peered over her spectacles at the position both had been in — next to each other as opposed to a more appropriate distance on the couch.

Though Lowri was hardly one for propriety, it gave her a special thrill to move her gaze towards the Mr. Daphnel and blink at him wordlessly, opting for silence before moving her (much warmer) gaze back to her daughter. "So I see, darling," She responded, before taking her glasses off once more. "Has Mr. Daphnel been offered any refreshments of any kind?" Her question, though mentioning the male in the room, was obviously for Christabel more than anything.

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The interruption saw Victor sitting up straighter. He followed Miss Dempsey to his feet, though he (hopefully) managed to look a little less caught in the act than she had. True, he wouldn't have chosen to sit there had her mother already been present in the room, but it wasn't as though they'd been doing anything wrong. Today, anyway.

"Mrs. Dempsey, a pleasure to meet you," he said, deciding to forge ahead with an greeting though she had not bothered to address him yet. "Your daughter has been an irreproachable host."

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Fabulous set by Lady!

She had been about to respond to her mother, to rather defensively explain that of course she had ordered refreshments and was doing her job as hostess. Mister Daphnel, at least, was more in control than she felt, and managed to recover himself well, and she flashed a grateful smile first at him, and then at her mother. More appreciative than she could say for his attestation that she had not been totally overcome by his visit and had remembered to treat him with all due consideration.

Their recent conversation loomed large between her and her mother. A conversation brought about by Mister Daphnel. Her mothers sudden appearance told her that her siblings were now entirely aware of her caller and were no doubt straining to hear every last detail of what was passing between them. She gave her mother a look, her eyes flicking to the wall of adjoining room, seeking some sort of affirmation of what she suspected. Hoping it was Don Juan and Shallot, who she guessed might take less interest in her doings than some of the others.

They hadn't actually been doing anything wrong - her brain kept repeating- there was a limited amount they could have heard that they could have held over her head. She had no words but to plead with her mother with her eyes to be 'chill' and not make her any more uncomfortable -she already felt rather out of her depth.

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I am my mother's savage daughter, The one who runs barefoot cursing sharp stones

I am my mother's savage daughter, I will not cut my hair, I will not lower my voice
MJ made glory

Having momentarily lapsed in her duties as a mother and chaperone, Lowri wasn't in much of a position to frown upon any figure in the room except perhaps herself. Her stubbornness refused to acknowledge that, however, and she merely settled on directing her mild vexation upon Mr. Daphnel — because of course she couldn't direct it at Chris, much less her other two children who weren't in the room.

As she looked between her daughter and the young man, she pondered what they had been talking about before and what she seemed to have missed. There were moments when she wasn't the most perceptive woman in the room, but when it came to her children, there were times when a little more than perception was needed.

Judging by Christabel's sheepish expression, they'd likely been engaging in some flirtatious conversation of some sort, but she had a hard time thinking her daughter would brazenly engage in anything more than that. Allowing her smile to soften a bit more, she looked to her daughter fondly. Of course, any compliment to Christabel was a compliment to her. "I wouldn't expect anything less, Mr. Daphnel." She responded, strolling about the room as if she had been there all this time and had merely decided to get up and take a turn about the room.

"Forgive me for the intrusion, I was just chatting with a few of my other children when I was notified of your visit. Do forgive my tardiness." This was likely enough confirmation for Chris that they were certainly not the only ones privy to the conversations happening in the room.

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Chris gave a slightly strained smile in response to her mothers tone. 'You didn't miss much Mama, we were merely discussing the Wildsmith party the other night, I left early, and was wondering what I may have missed.' she managed, trying to read her mothers face, to see if she was in for a lambasting when Mister Daphnel left.

'Tea?' she asked, cursing internally at just how strained her voice sounded, it was definitely more high pitch than she normally spoke. But without waiting for her mothers response she poured her a cup, and set it on a side table - to highlight the fact that she had anticipated a third person and 3 cups had been brought. In truth, she hadn't explicitly asked for a third cup, but rather the butler- the sainted man that had was had anticipated the need and sent provisions for Christabel and her caller and a chaperone. She would need to make a point of thanking him alter. She topped up her and Victor's tea while she was at it.

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I am my mother's savage daughter, The one who runs barefoot cursing sharp stones

I am my mother's savage daughter, I will not cut my hair, I will not lower my voice
MJ made glory