25 September, 1891 — Sanditon Season Close
Henrietta had rather wanted to be engaged by now. Not that she'd had any reason to suppose she would be, of course. Helga Scamander was everything a bride ought to be, and she was still unmarried after a frankly dizzying number of social season. Octavia Rose Fawley had been all but declared the diamond of the season when she'd debuted, and she was approaching the end of her second season without so much as an offer. All of the evidence before her pointed to the notion that only the most exceptional of women married in their first season, and no one who'd ever met her would have described Henrietta Cartwright as exceptional. Still, it would have been nice to have been done with this ordeal of the social season and switched to married life, which seemed to be a little less chaotic from her outsider's perspective. It would have been nicer still to have been able to see her mother's shock if Henri had managed to make a good match in record time.
Of course, it wasn't to be. This event may not have been the absolute last of the season, but since it marked the end of the resort's season it did certainly feel like it. Henri was feeling more pensive than usual, and after dancing a handful of mediocre dances with mediocre men she took the opportunity to steal away to the refreshment table — and then to steal a little farther away, until the noise of the party faded slightly and was replaced by the noise of the sea. She found a bench and took a seat, momentarily lost in thought.
A noise startled her. She looked up, heart skipping a beat as she immediately thought of all the worst things that could happen to her away from any of her chaperones, but relaxed when she realized she recognized the man walking by. "Oh. It's you," she said simply. Truth be told, she felt more than a little embarrassed that she still didn't know his name, but it wasn't a problem she could address at the moment.
Of course, it wasn't to be. This event may not have been the absolute last of the season, but since it marked the end of the resort's season it did certainly feel like it. Henri was feeling more pensive than usual, and after dancing a handful of mediocre dances with mediocre men she took the opportunity to steal away to the refreshment table — and then to steal a little farther away, until the noise of the party faded slightly and was replaced by the noise of the sea. She found a bench and took a seat, momentarily lost in thought.
A noise startled her. She looked up, heart skipping a beat as she immediately thought of all the worst things that could happen to her away from any of her chaperones, but relaxed when she realized she recognized the man walking by. "Oh. It's you," she said simply. Truth be told, she felt more than a little embarrassed that she still didn't know his name, but it wasn't a problem she could address at the moment.
