The Prince's Snuffbox, George and Susannah

[George Hackett (Rose)]

((OOC: Hope you don't mind I've started this thread, Amy. I'd be very interested to see how George and Sukey get on!))

Although Lady May-Lin's company was very interesting considering her background, George's thoughts had wandered more than once to Mr. Hutchinson's sister during the course of the dance. He had only exchanged a few words with her but thought her a sweet and pretty thing and her apparently genuine lack of worldly sophistication was almost as charming as Lady Julianne's attempts to appear sophisticated. The fact that she was his banker's sister only added to the slight quicky oddity that surrounded her.

After he had left Lady May-Lin he scanned the ballroom and soon caught sight of her standing with her brother.

He bowed. "Mr. Hutchinson, Miss Hutchinson. I believe this is our dance?"

He addressed himself mostly to the young lady, still not quite sure how to behave towards her brother.

[Susannah Hutchinson (Amy)]

If Lord Selwyn hardly knew how to behave towards his banker, his banker’s sister knew even less how to behave towards a peer. She was sensible again of the honor he paid her by asking her to dance and anticipated with trepidation her performance. This was the first time she had stood up with anybody but a “Mister.”

“Indeed it is, Lord Selwyn,” she responded, practicing saying his name without a hint of fear. In fact, she could scarcely distinguish her own feelings—whether fear, or excitement, or a mixture of the two filled her breast, she could not tell. Ben had assured her that Lord Selwyn was not only a worthy gentleman, but a very interesting one, yet there was nonetheless something intimidating about his patrician countenance and his considerable height. How serious he was! Neither Mr. Stapleton nor Mr. Devenish had been really serious. Sukey viewed this dance as the first true test of her abilities and felt willing to assume the challenge. She lifted her chin a fraction of an inch and took Lord Selwyn’s arm.

[George Hackett (Rose)]

George walked with her slowly towards the set. She seemed very nervous- her hand under his arm was very light and almost trembling- but he might be mistaken on that point.

He glanced down at her and his eyes hit the much maligned head-dress. And yet he thought he had seen such a style when he was in Italy.

So, instead of asking her if this was her first season, he said in what he hoped was a reassuring variation on "grave", "Your courage as a trendsetter is to be commended, Miss Hutchinson. I have never seen anything quite like it in England, but such decorations were popular in Florence when I was there."

[Susannah Hutchinson (Amy)]

Had she heard him correctly? Such headwear as hers had been popular in Italy! She hardly knew how to respond to such praise—particularly when it was directed towards a fanciful design that she had created herself after two hours’ staring in the mirror, pins strewn over a ten foot radius and arms aching from the apparently Sisyphean task. The result, she regarded with complete satisfaction, although she was just now beginning to recognize the strain it placed on her neck. Still, she hoped her partner would not examine it too closely, lest he recognize its inferiority to what he had seen before. The courage he spoke of all too often melted away the longer she reflected on it.

“Oh!” she exclaimed, mildly embarrassed, “I am flattered, Lord Selwyn. But I do not think I can be a trend setter—my mother has always said I possess the most singular taste.” She paused for a moment, torn between the pleasure of feeling admired and the shame of feeling that she did not deserve it. “Were you very long in Italy?” she inquired at length.

[George Hackett (Rose)]

((OOC: I really hope George actually does have something other than Italy to talk about- he's such a one trick pony! ))

George hid a smile at the girl's honesty. Singular taste? Well, maybe a little.

He was starting to get a little tired of talking about Italy. It seemed to be the only thing people were interested in, though he could not blame Miss Hutchinson for seizing on the most interesting part of his comment. He would have done the same in her position. It was just a shame that the single most important part of his stay abroad was the one thing he could never talk about.

"I was there for five years." He paused then added, "I travelled for some time and then lived for four years near Florence."

While they each danced with the partner diagonally opposite them, George pondered what to say next. It would be unlikely if Miss Hutchinson had been abroad (the obvious question), so eventually he settled on the vague, "Have you travelled at all, Miss Hutchinson?"

[Susannah Hutchinson (Amy)]

“I regret to report that I have never been farther afield than London,” Sukey informed him. “Everything I know of the broader world, I have learned from my brother’s library. I confess that I am no great reader, but I grow so restless over my sewing that I must occupy myself with a variety of tasks. Ben has purchased a number of volumes for my benefit, and I hope I have acquired a passable understanding of their contents. I am hardly the student he would like me to be.” She paused a moment and pressed her lips together grimly. She hated to disappoint her brother, but why should she forgo the pleasures of London and the inclination of her own personality?

Enough—it was impolite to talk only of herself and her brother. How might she gently guide the conversation back to Lord Selwyn? “Ben is a great admirer of the classical civilizations,” continued Sukey. “I wonder, did you choose to reside in Italy because of a similar scholarly interest?”

[George Hackett (Rose)]

Miss Hutchinson did amuse him! He had no idea of being particularly patronising towards her, but her answers showed her to be more earnest and sweetly unsophisticated than most other young ladies he had danced with.

He smiled kindly at her. "If you have read any at all, you must be more dedicated than most young ladies in this room!"

They turned in the dance and then George nodded. "Yes, I got the impression that he had such an interest when we met before." For his own sake as well as his own he did not draw attention to where that meeting had been. "It was certainly a strong motive for my extended stay in Italy. It is impossible to really see everything that one has read about in just a short trip."

[Susannah Hutchinson (Amy)]

There again! It was a rare thing for anybody to suggest dedication to reading as one of Sukey’s admirable traits. However, she mused, it had always been impossible at home not to be compared unfavorably with her brother in this respect. Recalling her pleasant visit with Lady Louth earlier in the day, she began to wonder if she was not so ignorant after all beside London’s cultured ladies. Perhaps they were merely better adapted to concealment when they knew nothing. Sukey’s one great advantage over other country misses was Ben, who shared so much of the learning of his social superiors without having the luxury to squander it.

“And it seems such a beautiful language, Italian,” she continued, not feeling quite equal to a discussion of Italy’s classical merits. “Italy must be a great pleasure not only for the eyes—all those temples and gardens and villas—but for the ears as well. I cannot understand very much Italian and never know what anybody is singing about, but it scarcely matters as it is so expressive a tongue and gentle on the ear. With all apologies to the ancestry of our House of Hanover, I do not like to sing in German, nor hear others do so. Were you able to visit the theatre and the opera much in Italy?”

[George Hackett (Rose)]

George was really impressed by Miss Hutchinson's acumen. He did not suppose that what she was saying was very original perhaps, and yet it was intelligent for a country educated Miss- or at least what George assumed a country educated Miss would be like. Of course, he should know better than anyone that education and birth had little to do with native intelligence after his relationship with an opera singer!

"Italian is a beautiful language: una bellissima lingua!" He smiled at her with real enthusiasm. "And I completely agree with you- I would much rather listen without comprehension to Italian than German." As George was relatively fluent in both, this was not to be, but he could imagine not understanding them. His spoken German was not as good as his written since he had principally learned it to read scholarly texts, but he understood it very well.

"Yes, I did hear a great deal of singing in Italy, most of it Italian of course," he continued without a trace of irony, and immediately carried on, "Do you enjoy singing, Miss Hutchinson?"

[Susannah Hutchinson (Amy)]

"Oh, yes!" owned Sukey enthusiastically. "It is the one accomplishment I am not at pains to acquire, which no doubt has been a relief to my family, and especially to my brother. He is very musical. We sing together, you know, when we can--purely for our own amusement. Of course," she added with a laugh, "we still contrive to disagree. He delights in German pieces and seems to think that because Mozart trod the earth, his own life has been comparatively worthless. But I am sure you have learnt how serious Ben is. He has great dreams and feels inadequate to pursue them. Yet, I sometimes think perhaps he is never happier than when surrounded by music."

Was it inappropriate to speak so freely of her brother's aspirations? she wondered. To Lord Selwyn, Ben was merely a humble, if gentlemanly, banker. Ben would not wish his hopes and weaknesses to be known, surely. Not, at least, to a wealthy and influential client. Regretful, but trusting in her partner's discretion, she checked herself and returned to the broader subject of music. "Do you sing as well, Lord Selwyn?"