She found a pretty little room done in blue silk and sat down heavily on a little chair. She wondered when the next meal was.
“Harry run off with another woman?”
Claire looked up to see her little sister standing in the doorway.
“Why aren’t you having lessons?”
“I gave her a headache. What’s wrong with you?”
“Nothing that about half a pound of roast beef wouldn’t cure.”
“That’s easily solved. I’ll get you a sandwich.”
Claire wasn’t fooled by the brat’s offer to help. “You can’t. They won’t allow you in the kitchen.”
Brat just smiled, then smiled more broadly when Claire’s stomach growled loudly.
“How much?” Claire asked. She knew all too well that Brat would never consider doing something for someone without payment.
“Tell Mother I’m too old for lessons.”
Claire just looked at her.
“I want my ears pierced and you can give me your pearl and diamond earrings.”
Claire continued to look at her sister.
“All right, then. Twenty bucks.”
“I don’t have any money with me.”
Brat smiled. “I know where you have it hidden. I’ll have you a meal in no time.”
Within minutes, Brat was back with a fat roast beef sandwich slathered with a mild horseradish sauce, a bowlful of sliced tomatoes, and a large glass of milk. All this was carried on a big silver tray by a very handsome young footman.
“Put it there,” Brat said to the man.
“But Her Grace doesn’t allow eating in this room,” the man said with a bit of fear in his voice.
“She does now,” Brat said and winked at the man. He turned and left them.
“However did you manage this?” Claire asked, her mouth full. “There are so many rules.”
Brat looked astonished. “You don’t have to obey rules.”
After that Claire tried her best to learn all the rules before she broke them. Her brat of a sister might be able to break the rules and get away with it, but she wasn’t trying to make a good impression. In fact, Brat’s philosophy of life seemed to be that people should try to impress her, not
the other way around.
For tea Claire wore what Miss Rogers suggested and she was in the gold drawing room promptly and she sat where she was told to sit. The women around her spoke in hushed tones about people she didn’t know; they didn’t so much as acknowledge Claire’s presence. Claire sat with her hands on her lap and her eyes downcast. Once she looked across the table to see the plain-faced woman of the morning smiling at her, and Claire smiled back.
Claire changed dresses again for dinner. At this meal it seemed that people were allowed to talk—but the talk consisted only of dogs and horses, neither of which interested Claire, so again she was silent.
After dinner the men and women separated and went to different drawing rooms, and from there they went to bed.
Only by accident did she see Harry before she went to bed. He was yawning and looked as though he were already half asleep.
“Don’t the men and women ever get together?” she asked between his yawns.