VIVIENNE SELF-CONSCIOUSLY drank the last sip of her tea. She was aware of the dowager countess' dark eyes on her—as they had been for the last few minutes. The lady didn't say anything, she merely observed, and Vivienne didn't know what to make of it. At the head of the table, the duke seemed unruffled as his gaze filtered rapidly through the morning newspaper.

"I think it's time to begin your lessons," Lady Torrington said suddenly, breaking the silence between them.

She watched as the duke momentarily paused whatever he was reading to exchange a silent look with his aunt. She didn't know what passed between them, but he suddenly shut the newspaper and stood up, "And I believe that is my cue to take exit now. I'll be in my study if you require anything."

The last few words were said in a way that made Vivienne feel that the duke would be sorely annoyed if anyone did bother him. She watched his disappearing figure before the dowager caught her attention with a little ahem.

"What lessons are you speaking about, my lady?"

Lady Torrington's face remained severe as she saw a muscle in her brow twitch in response. She didn't seem particularly pleased about the question. Suddenly, she stood up, her dark green gown falling elegantly to her sides, "follow me," she said.

The dowager countess didn't glance back once to see if Vivienne was following her. Even with her cane, she moved with utmost efficiency that had Vivienne struggling to keep up with her. She didn't make the foolish decision of asking her where they were going. A floor below, they reached the kitchens. The chef and the other maids were settled around a table seemingly eating some sort of porridge for their breakfast. They immediately stood when the two of them entered.

In a hurry, Mrs. Shrine edged towards them. "Lady Torrington, how may we assist you?"

Lady Torrington's gaze moved pass the housekeeper to land on the French cook. He was still eating his meal, unbothered by the dowager countess.

"Cook, if I could see the list of recipes?"

The cook looked up and his mouth formed into a thin line, "of course, my lady."

He got up from the table before bringing a dusty book and settled it onto the countertop. The rest of the servants edged away, and a pang of guilt crept into Vivienne as she wondered why exactly they were disturbing the servant's meals. Before she could say anything else, Lady Torrington beckoned her forward.

"Look through the book and select tonight's dinner menu."

Vivienne's eyes scanned through the book. The cook had meticulously written out description of various soups, meats, desserts, and everything in between. She felt overwhelmed with all the choices and tried selected items she thought might pair well together.

"Have you decided?"

Vivienne nodded and opened her mouth to explain her choices, but Lady Torrington raised a hand to stop her. "I don't want to know what it is. As a lady, once you are married you will be required to host dinners and the menu planning will fall on your hands. Tell the cook what you want and where you want it. Once you are done, join me in the parlour."

Vivienne watched as the dowager retreated. Vivienne turned to the cook and then reiterated her choices for the menu. His eyebrows rose at her suggestions, and it made her feel uncomfortable, but he didn't say anything else to indicate his feelings about her choices. She took that as a good sign and exited the kitchen.

She made her way to the sitting room and was surprised to see Lady Torrington seated on the bench in front of the pianoforte.

"I trust that you made your selections?" she asked just as Vivienne entered the parlour.

"Yes, my lady."

Lady Torrington pointed to the bench beside her, "sit."

Vivienne did as she was commanded taking extra time to ensure that the new gown didn't bunch and wrinkle. It was a pale peach colour made from fine muslin. Madame Joselyn had hemmed it before she departed the estate finally allowing Vivian to stop wearing the dowager duchess' old dresses.

"A debutante might be asked by the other ladies to play an instrument before dinner," Lady Torrington began, "It is supposed to be a time for her to display her musical skills in hopes of snatching a gentleman."

Vivienne's eyes widened with curiosity. "And does this technique work?" Although Agatha had tutored her greatly about society and what she would expect upon her own coming out, much of her education had been vague. It made sense that Lady Torrington had such knowledge of the tons inner workings since she had been in the middle of it for quite sometime.

A small unladylike snort broke out, "Most often it does not. However, being a good musician can lead to being looked favourably by the patronesses of Almack's."

"Almack's," Vivienne tested the words on her lips. "I've heard of it before, but I must say, I don't remember much expect that it was some sort of social club."

Lady Torrington turned to her sharply, "It is the social club for debutants. Do not underestimate the power of the patronesses. An approval of a debutant by them can increase a persons social ranking among the ton. It is where gentlemen generally begin their search for a wife but very few people are given vouchers to attend."

Almack's seemed like quite the daunting place however, Vivienne did not voice her opinions out loud for fear of Lady Torrington's harsh words. "Will I be required to attend such an event?"

The dowager countess nodded. "I shall try and secure you a voucher for the first Wednesday of the season. It is undoubtedly the perfect place to launch you into society."

"How will you get the voucher, Lady Torrington? It seems like quite a difficult process."

Lady Torrington's grey eyes twinkled the lines becoming more prominent. "I've been in society for quite some time. Some of the patronesses are old friends of mine that may possibly owe me a favour here and there."

"I see," Vivienne commented. She saw parts of the plan that the dowager countess had in her mind. She was doing her best to turn Vivienne into a lady that would be accepted by the patronesses of Almack's, thereby helping her launch into society quite successfully.

"Now, where were we before we got sidetracked with all this Almack's nonsense."

Vivienne turned her body so that it was facing the pianoforte once more. "You were speaking about a lady's musical ability."

There was a slight nod from Lady Torrington. "Good, you've been paying attention instead of woolgathering." Her thin fingers brushed the keys of the pianoforte. "I'm going to play you a piece to let you hear what it should sound like."

Vivienne watched in fascination as Lady Torrington's fingers flew across the pianoforte. A light airy melody filled the room making Vivienne imagine grassy green hills and her running barefoot in them, laughing, and enjoying herself under the sun. The last notes echoed within the room as Lady Torrington ended the piece and lifted her fingers.

Waking up from her daze, Vivienne gave the elderly lady a timid smile, "That was quite beautiful."

Lady Torrington accepted the compliment with a nod. "Now, I don't expect you to be able to play that well. It took years of practice and a strict instructor to hone my musical ability. Unfortunately, we neither have an instructor nor the time. I am going to teach you the basics so that you may be able to play a piece—should anyone ask that of you."

Vivienne nodded and sat up straighter, excited to begin. She did not have many memories of her childhood before Agatha, but she liked to believe that her mother might have played her a piece from time to time in order to soothe her. Lady Torrington slid to the left of the bench and beckoned Vivienne forward.

"Keep your back straight, arms relaxed, and elbows slightly higher than the keys," Lady Torrington instructed.

It took Vivienne quite some time to get into the correct position as the dowager countess wouldn't let her begin before her position was immaculate. Exhausted from keeping her back as straight as a rod, Vivienne knew it was not going to be as easy to learn the pianoforte as she had once thought.

***

"Martin, do you know what is taking the ladies so long?"

The butler's face didn't move except for a small twitch in his eyebrows which would have been easy for most to miss. "No, Your Grace. I can however send a maid to check in on them."

"That won't be necessary Martin," his great-aunt cut in as she came down the stairs, trailed by Vivienne in an ivory-coloured gown.

"I thought you might never arrive," James commented dryly, standing up and pulling the chair to his right for his aunt, while the footman did the same for the one on his left.

He raised his fingers to the footmen indicating that they should begin serving dinner.

"It is often seen as fashionable to arrive late, my dear." Aunt Esme said in a tone that indicated that she was teasing him.

"Well, any later and you might have missed dinner entirely," he replied, his voice warmer than usual.

His great-aunt's mouth turned slightly but didn't morph quite into a smile. James took that as a victory. The footman placed a pea-coloured soup in front of him as his aunt spoke with Vivienne.

"I sent a maid to help you dress, how was she?"

He saw Vivienne's smile slip for a moment before her face turned neutral. "It was fine."

James' didn't believe it for a second and by the narrowing of Aunt Esme's brows, neither did she. "We shall get you a proper lady's maid when we settle in London."

He swiftly cut in his gaze flipping between the two ladies, "I heard someone playing the pianoforte earlier, I assume it wasn't you, my dear Aunt."

The dowager countess took a sip of her soup to avoid answering but he saw her lips purse tightly.

"That would be me Your Grace. Lady Torrington was teaching me how to play."

James took a sip of his own soup before nearly gagging. His eyes filled with tears and he grabbed the wine glass taking a healthy sip.

"What the bloody hell is this?"

"Language," his aunt chided but James ignored her and turned to the footman by his side.

"Ask the cook what he placed in this."

"That is not needed," Vivienne's voice softly interrupted him.

He gave her an irritated look that she didn't exactly shrink away from, but he saw the worry lighting her green eyes, "and why exactly is that?"

"It is I who decided tonight's menu with the cook. Lady Torrington believed it might be a good practice for my future."

He turned his glare onto his aunt, but she did not look bothered. Instead, she continued taking small sips of the thick soup. He didn't know how she was able to get the vile thing down her throat.

"James, it isn't quite as bad. I'm sure you don't like the peas, but I have seen you eating fish sometimes."

James' stomach churned. He wasn't exactly the most sensitive eater but even he knew peas and fish were not a good combination. Suddenly, he was not feeling so hungry. However, he saw tears forming in the corner of Vivienne's eyes so he merely sighed—he would indulge his aunt and the lady in this dinner for the first and last time. Hopefully, she would learn a valuable lesson at the end of it.

"Bring out all the dishes at once," he commanded the footmen.

The footmen faltered for a second before Martin spoke softly to them and then they were making their way to the kitchen rather hastily. James would rather take a small bite of every dish quickly then have a prolonged affair with whatever food Vivienne planned to serve them.

The table was quickly filled with dishes that James could not identify. He took a bite of the first meat that was presented to him and nearly choked. It was charred beyond belief. Under the watchful gaze of the two ladies, he tasted everything, and it was amazing that he was unable to enjoy a single dish.

In that moment, he was more than a tad bit annoyed with his aunt for handing over the menu to Vivienne. She was clearly not ready for this task, and it seemed like his aunt had thrown her in the Thames, letting her arrive at the shore herself. James was hungry but the food presented to him was not edible.

Vivienne's expression fell when James' didn't reach for another bite. "You don't like it, do you?"

James' gaze landed firmly on her green eyes, and he didn't hold back. "It's quite vile. Not a single dish is cohesive with the other. I despise peas and I prefer my meat to be tender rather than overcooked."

He thought that her chin might have wobbled with his harsh words but she nodded. James' didn't feel an ounce of grief for laying it on her. If she had served this dish at a dinner party, the results would have been much more devastating. Vivienne would have been the laughingstock of London's society.

"It was a good effort," his aunt said.

James looked at her as if she had lost her mind.

Ignoring the look James gave her she continued on. "This will serve as a valuable lesson for you. Always learn what dishes the master of the house enjoys and serve those. Not everything will pair well together but it is about getting the dishes right with their taste and flavours going well with each other. When in doubt, refer to the advice of the cooks—they usually know what they are doing."

He watched with a satisfied look as Vivienne seemed to absorb the knowledge. Her green eyes still didn't have the sparkle they usually had but he ignored it. It was better for her to make mistakes at the Chalcott manor instead of at a lord's table who was ready to offer his hand in marriage.

James stood up and nodded towards the ladies. "I'll be going to the town tavern for a while for business. No need to wait up."

He didn't wait for their responses as Martin helped him into his coat. At least in the tavern he would be able to feed himself with food the was edible—the same could not be said for Chalcott manor tonight. 

--------------

Seems like Vivienne learned quite the lesson.