[Cassandra Edgeworth (Francesca)]

The pride at having dodged her brother so neatly had evaporated rather quickly. Loosening her bonnet strings and letting it fly away had seemed like a marvellous idea at the time, especially since it had taken that unpleasant scowl off Tristan's face and sent him haring off in pursuit. It was only after Cassandra had finished congratulating herself on pulling the whole thing off so adroitly that she realised that despite the absence of an overbearing brother, one couldn't very well gallop around Hyde Park at the height of the fashionable hour. Perhaps she hadn't been quite so clever after all. No hat and no chaperon. How mortifying!

Thankfully it was not very sunny or the absence of a bonnet would undoubtedly have contributed to the freckles that her aunt was so determined to eradicate. She had been on a buttermilk and lemon juice regimen ever since she had set foot in London. The risk of being labeled a hoyden however, still remained. Cassandra was hardly a high stickler but she had no wish to draw unnecessary social censure to herself. If only she had not been so foolish!

While the best thing to do would be to stay where she was and await her brother's return, she felt a little too prominent on horseback. Ha! She had never thought she would see the day. However, it would appear that stranger things had happened. Pulling over to the side of the track, she dismounted and stared at her mare. Where to put her? Another dilemma. One couldn't very well tether her to a tree after all. Or could one? That tree over there for instance? Perhaps, but Cassandra did not have anything to do the tethering with, and even if she did, it was likely that someone would notice and shriek in disapproval. It was all most vexing.

Perhaps some kind soul would come by and offer a solution. It seemed unlikely however. This was London, after all. With her luck, some estimable old dowager would descend on her instead and pass judgment on her wrongs. She, Cassandra, would be ruined. Aunt Portia would give her that awful black look and her parents would whisk her back to Yorkshire and lock her up in the country where she would fade away slowly and pathetically of loneliness and some romantic, wasting disease. Would anyone mourn her passing?

Aided by a vivid imagination and a considerable talent for exaggeration, dire thoughts continued to unfold in her brain. The visions were deeply affecting, and interesting enough to take her mind off her current problems. Not lilies for the funeral, she decided firmly.

[Hugo Fotherington (Vikki)]

"Good afternoon, Lady Cassandra," Hugo hailed her, approaching on horseback and feeling that it might be wise to announce himself before quite being upon her. She looked in such a world of her own that suddenly appearing at her side might startle her - never a good thing when a lady was riding.

They had been introduced the evening before, at Almacks, and had danced together, but when he'd called this morning another gentleman had just arrived minutes before, and he had not wanted to impose. Instead, he had left his regards and decided to call again some other time. Now here was the lady herself, but unaccompanied, stationary, lost in her own thoughts and hatless. His best guess was that she had somehow lost her bonnet and her companion (whoever it was) had gone to retrieve it, but who knew whether that was correct?

[Cassandra Edgeworth (Francesca)]

Cassandra had finally decided on white roses for the funeral (carnations would have been lovely but sadly, were quite unperfumed) when she was aroused from her reverie. Starting slightly in surprise at the unexpected greeting, she looked up to see Major Fotherington on horseback. She had made his acquaintance the previous night at Almack's and he had seemed quite charming (military men so frequently were!), but theirs had been the last dance of the evening, and her apparently indefatigable energy had finally failed her, leaving her quite exhausted. It had all passed by in a blur.

Her vigour and spirits raisaed once again by a good night's sleep, she was happy enough to see the Major again, not least because she was convinced that he wouldn't look down his nose at her current predicament or study her hatless state with a quizzing glass, which was certainly more than could be said for many other members of the ton. Much cheered by these happy thoughts, she smiled at him widely. "Major Fotherington! Good day. How do you do? I trust that you are well?"

[Kitty Clement (Jen)]

It had been a small consolation that, when leaving the house that afternoon, Kitty found it was not raining after all. Her maid had been insistent on the black cloud now looming over the house about to burst its seams and empty the heavens down upon Kitty if she were to leave the house. Having contemplated this warning for a while, she had decided that the risk of boredom staying indoors outweighed the risk of getting wet outdoors.

Of course, as it turned out, as soon as she stepped out of the house there was no giant black thundercloud to be seen, only mild looking clouds scudding across an otherwise uneventful sky, and a chilly wind in the air. Having no other option as a chaperone but her maid Constance, she took her with her, after all it was a distinctly more pleasant prospect than being accompanied by her step-mother, who was mercifully out shopping at the moment.

After drifting rather aimlessly around Hyde Park for a while, with little conversation to be had from her maid and only a few brief greetings from acquaintances, she witnessed a curious sight. A bonnet, quite of its own accord and carried by the breeze, drifted up to her and landed at her feet. A small frown shaded her brow and she picked it up, looking questioningly at Constance who gave a wide-eyed blank stare.

Sighing (for she might as well have brought a golden retriever with her than Constance), she began searching for a lady without a hat. She spotted Cassandra, and assumed that as she was the only lady in the vicinity to appear hatless, the bonnet must be hers. Approaching her calmly but with a hint of amusement, she curtseyed.

"Please forgive the impertinent intrusion, but I believe this may belong to you?"

[Hugo Fotherington (Vikki)]

"Very well, thank you," he replied affably, and pulled up beside her. "I am glad to see you look well after last night. It was not too tiring, I hope?" She did not look as though he was interrupting some deep and meaningful reflections, at least; either that, or she had a strong grasp of diplomacy already. Just as he was about to enquire further as to whether she had become separated from her party and if she would like company until they returned, another lady approached, bonnet in hand. He wasn't acquainted with this one - an elegant looking brunette - but that meant nothing. She might have been around for the last three seasons, for all he knew. He bowed politely, and waited to see if she was known to Lady Cassandra, or if they would have to muddle through introductions on their own. Today was turning out to be quite the day for impromptu introductions, though heavens knew he probably should have refrained from them entirely, if one were to follow proper etiquette.

[Cassandra Edgeworth (Francesca)]

"Oh it was!" she said in cheerful response to Major Fotherington's probably rhetorical question. "But I was allowed to loller in be-" She checked herself before she could complete the sentence. She wasn't sure of course, but she had a vague inkling that neither Mother nor Aunt Portia could approve of talking to gentlemen about either beds or lollering. "That is, I feel quite rejuvenated after a good night's sleep", she amended. "I did miss my morning ride unfortunately, but my brother was kind enough to bring me to the park this afternoon so that I might have some exercise after all."

She was on the verge of confiding to Major Fotherington the details (judiciously edited, of course) of the minor scrape she had got herself into when they were approached by another person. Cassandra judged the lady who had addressed her to be of about her own age, or perhaps a little older. She held a bonnet of unusual hideousness in her hands while a faint flicker of amusement played on her lips.

The thought that she might be laughing at her occurred to Cassandra. She was very briefly tempted to place her hands on her hips and ask her what the devil she was smirking at, but the fancy passed almost immediately. Not only would it be most improper, but it was also entirely possible that the girl was smiling at something else, or even, quite possibly, that she was not smiling at all. Besides, she was had been attempting to do Cassandra a good deed, even though the unprepossessing hat did not belong to her.

"Good heavens, no!" she said in decided response the the girl's inquiry about whether or not the hat was hers. "How very ugly it is!" she added, examining the unattractive confection more closely. "If I were the owner, I would have thrown it away as well", she said candidly.

[Kitty Clement (Jen)]

Kitty, far from being caught off-guard by the unprecedented response that this lady gave, was actually feeling extremely entertained. She even laughed outright at Cassandra's reply, but stopped herself just in time before it became unladylike. The girl's honesty and complete lack of any affectation was incredibly refreshing and Kitty decided she liked it.

"Indeed, I am glad to hear you say so, for it is quite unattractive, as you say," she replied, perhaps with a hint of mockery in her eyes, but without meaning to be unkind. She just couldn't help it sometimes. "I am afraid I could not see another lady missing a hat in the area, so I assumed it belonged to you, how ill-judged of me." She berated herself mentally for having not used her head more, for if she'd had any sense at all she would have seen that the offense to fashion she held in her hand did not match this lady's outfit at all. Very remiss of you, Kitty.

Suddenly realizing that she had interrupted a conversation she looked to the man standing there with slightly raised eyebrows. Of course, the proper thing to do would have been to beg forgiveness and wander off, but she was simply not going to do that and risk further boredom. Instead she stood for a moment with an inquisitive yet amused expression, allowing it to become thoroughly awkward and uncomfortable before curtseying and announcing "My name is Kitty Clement..."

[Hugo Fotherington (Vikki)]

"An understandable assumption," Hugo commented as she pointed out that Lady Cassandra was the only hatless lady in the area. It was true enough; but even he could see that the hat didn't match her outfit. It would take someone of prodigious poor taste in clothes to wear that combination. On the other hand... was Mr Hopkins-Lawrence not a living testament to the fact that such poor taste existed in unexpected places?

He wasn't quite sure what to make of Miss Kitty Clement. She had a way of smirking her way through the whole conversation, as though there were some private joke. And she was apparently not blessed with a happy ability to avoid awkwardness. But she did not seem unpleasant overall, or mean-spirited.

"Major Fotherington, at your service, and the lady for whom you have attempted to perform such a kind service is Lady Cassandra Edgeworth," he offered, feeling that at least if he was the one to speak up, he could take the blame if anyone saw fit to criticise the ladies for the meeting.

[Cassandra Edgeworth (Francesca)]

She dipped a curtsy to Miss Clement as introductions were performed. Major Fotherington had really managed the whole thing rather nicely. There was not a trace of awkwardness to it all, despite the unconventional nature of their meeting. "It is a pleasure to make your acquaintance", she said politely, casting a practised eye swiftly, almost imperceptibly, over Miss Clement's person. Her garb and speech suggested that she was probably a person of good ton despite a certain awkwardness of manner. Cassandra wondered who her family was. No matter, there would be time enough to ferret the information out.

"No, pray do not discompose yourself", she said as Miss Clement apologised for her misapprehension. "How could you have known?" She was now utterly convinced that the strange glint in Miss Clement's eye was the light of amusement. Cassandra thought well enough of her own wit but really, her remark had not been droll enough to deserve such exuberant laughter. Once again, she wondered if the amusement was directed towards her predicament but dismissed the thought quickly with a mental toss on the head. Of course it isn't. Why in heaven would she be laughing at ME, after all? She glanced at her again. What a very peculiar girl.

In the mean time, there was still an explanation to be made for her sadly hatless state. She lifted a hand to her hair and smiled ruefully. "I was riding with my brother when a stray gust took it off", she said. There was no need to mention to her companions that the gust had been aided and abetted by her own slackening of the bonnet ribbons. Only the faintest blush suggested that the tale was incomplete in any way. "He has gone to look for it but I suppose the wind must have carried it quite far away for it really should not take so long otherwise."

She nodded vaguely at the rustling trees. "It is a terribly windy day of course", she observed in her brightest tone. There. Now that she had brought up that wonderfully British topic of conversation, she wagered that there would be something to talk about for a good five minutes. Surely that would be long enough for Tristan to find her bonnet and restore a modicum of respectability to her.

[Kitty Clement (Jen)]

"Well, it is a pleasure to make your acquaintances," she smiled, studying both of them in turn. Major Fotherington seemed a pleasant enough man; handsome, amiable, and really all things a gentleman should be, at least on first appearances. Lady Cassandra was vibrant, candid, and pretty. Whether she was intentionally witty or not, Kitty could not help but find her so. Of all the people to strike up a random acquaintance with in Hyde Park that afternoon, she was satisfied to have done so with these two interesting individuals. It was only a shame her good deed for the day had not turned out well. I shall have to do something else to redeem myself.. she thought wistfully.

As the conversation took a turn towards the weather, Kitty envisioned this brother of hers to be sprinting off into the horizon in pursuit of a bonnet carried by the air, and felt that she had a justifiable reason for her smirk. "Yes, it is certainly windy today. Perhaps there is a positive side to you losing your bonnet, in that it will warn other ladies to keep a tight hold of their own. I do hope your brother has not had to run too far..."

She paused for a moment, trying to focus on something else (for she really found the whole situation quite laughable, and wondered how they were both being so straight-faced about it), then added "Are you both here in London for the season?"