Joseph, Daniel, and Harriet watched as several carriages made their way up the drive. Harriet heard Daniel emit a small gasp as the last carriage turned, allowing us to see the family crest on the side. Harriet and Joseph both turned to look at him. "What?" he asked when he realized their attention.
Harriet smiled. "I am guessing that a special guest has arrived. Am I right? I assume that it is a certain Miss Harvey."
Daniel held up his hands in surrender. "Yes, it is," he sighed. Then he looked back out the window and watched as his beautiful angel ascended the steps.
While he was distracted, Harriet slipped away. She made her way down the stairs to the entrance hall, arriving just in time to meet with Miss Harvey before she made her way up to her room.
"Miss Harvey." Harriet gave a polite curtsy.
Miss Harvey turned, and seeing Harriet, returned the greeting. "Miss Gryffin! It is a pleasure to see you again!"
"The pleasure is mine," Harriet said with a smile. "I am so glad that you have come. I have been wanting to talk with you. Do you mind if I accompany you to your chambers so that we may chat while you remove the dust of travel?"
Miss Harvey pinked slightly, but nodded. "Of course you may. I would be glad of the company. I have a feeling I know what you want to talk about, and I would rather talk about it in the privacy of my room."
The two ladies linked arms and traversed the steps. As soon as they arrived at Miss Harvey's chambers, Harriet spoke. "Now, Miss Harvey. Might I ask the real reason you decided to come to this little house party?"
"Miss Gryffin, please, call me Sophia. I want very much to be your friend." Then, answering through the slightly open bedchamber door, she said, "I must confess that I am not here to see Joseph. He is a dear friend, but not for me. I do not think that my not liking him will be distasteful to his mother, which lightens my burden."
Harriet laughed. "She cannot expect every young lady to fall in love with her son."
There was a smile in Sophia's voice when she replied, "True enough. No. The real reason I came here was your brother." She exited the bedchamber and sat down next to Harriet who was seated on one of the settees. "I hope you approve of me for your brother, should he feel the same way. I care a great deal for him…" She seemed hesitant to go on. She glanced up at Harriet, hoping for a favorable reaction.
Harriet smiled. "Sophia! Of course I approve of you! How could I not? Especially after seeing how much you my brother happy! I have not seen him this happy in, well...every I suppose."
All hesitancy disappeared from Sophia's face. "Truly? I make him happy?"
"Harriet nodded. "You make him very happy."
Sophia let out a happy sigh. "That is so relieving. I was afraid to talk to you, I admit. I did not want to place myself in your family without your consent… I can see now that I should not have worried. I know that you are a kind-hearted person. If anyone could accept someone like me, it would be you."
Harriet snorted. "Kind-hearted? That is not exactly an apt description of myself. And I cannot take the credit here. You are the kind-hearted one here. One would have to be so evil in order to not accept you. You are angelic. I do not know how you manage it."
Sophia pinked at the praise. "I am not as angelic as you think I am. I have faults enough."
Harriet laughed. "Everyone has faults, Sophia. When choosing your spouse, you pick the faults that you can live with. Just make sure my brother sees them before you both commit to each other. Both of you deserve someone who is unafraid to be themselves, and who you can be yourself around."
Sophia smiled. "Miss Harriet, You are wise beyond your years."
Harriet gave a gentle scowl. "Now, Miss Harvey, call me Harriet. We are friends."
The two of them laughed then stood and linked arms as they made their way down to dinner.
They arrived just in time. The butler announced that dinner was ready the same second that they stepped through the door. Daniel immediately crossed to Sophia and led her into dinner. The look on her face was one of complete contentment. Harriet smiled for them as she looked around and hoped that she would not travel alone into dinner.
The room was emptying. She decided that if she did not have someone to escort her into dinner that she would just have food sent to her room. She nearly left when a tall handsome gentleman approached her. He gave her his arm.
"Would you do me the honor, my lady, of escorting me into dinner?" She watched as a smile played on his lips.
She raised an eyebrow, curious. "It would be my pleasure, kind sir."
Everyone was seated and the meal was being served. The chatter was tremendous. The spirit of the gaiety influencing her, she turned to her dinner partner. "Might I have the pleasure of knowing who escorted me into dinner?"
He smiled. "Forgive me for not seeking a proper introduction. Bad manner on my part. You just happened to catch my eye and it was a little too late to find out who would be able to introduce me to you. My name is Samuel Bentwir."
"It is an honor to make your acquaintance, Mr. Bentwir. I am Harriet Gryffin."
He nodded, as if to bow in his seat. "Miss Gryffin, an honor." Then he smiled. "Now that we know each other, is their any particular reason you addressed me? Or shall I think of a topic of conversation. I admit that I am curious about you and would like to get to know you better."
She smiled. "No, sir, I just felt like conversing. The chatter spurred me to action. Is there something in particular that you would like to discuss?"
He nodded, giving him time to swallow. "This food is amazing." After Harriet agreed with a nod, he answered her question. "I was wondering about your interests, particularly books. I feel like you can know someone better just by knowing what types of books interest them."
She nodded her understanding. "I love encyclopedias, romances, mysteries, languages, that sort of thing."
He smiled. "So, from that I gathered that you are a very intelligent young lady with a thirst for adventure. You wish to be swept off your feet and would like to travel as much as you can in this life."
"Very good, Mr. Bentwir. Now, it is your turn."
"Very well, I enjoy poetry, biographies, atlases, and art. Can you tell anything about me, Miss Gryffin?"
She paused to think, and also to try another bite. "Let me think… You are sensitive, romantic, and a boring know-it-all," she said with a smile."
He sighed dramatically. "I fear that you have hit the nail right on the head. I do know everything."
Harriet gave a slight laugh, appropriate enough for the dining room. "Your sensitivity balances the boring, you do not need to worry on that count."
"Thank goodness for that, Miss Gryffin. I was afraid that I would go about the rest of my life being, well, lifeless."
They tucked into their meal after that. She scanned the table, looking for her brother and Sophia. She spotted them sitting next to Joseph. They were conversing quietly, Sophia joining in every now and then. Harriet continued to watch them, hoping that everything was alright.
Dinner adjourned and the ladies made their way into the sitting room. Knowing that it would be a moment before the men arrived, Harriet made her way to Sophia and, pulling her aside a little, said, "Is there something wrong?"
Sophia blinked. "Pardon?"
"I saw you, Daniel, and Joseph whispering. It seemed like a tense conversation."
Understanding dawned. "Oh, yes. There is. I promised that I would not say anything to you. Your brother wanted to talk to you about it."
Harriet frowned. "Am I doing things wrong? I have never really been to a house party. I am not sure how to act."
Sophia laughed quietly. "No, dear. That is not it at all. It is just a warning about someone here. There may be more than one, from the sound of it."
Harriet breathed a sigh of relief. "Is that all? Well, that is relieving. I do not wish to terribly embarrass my brother, so I am glad that I am not behaving too badly. I have not yet had a season. I was thinking of having one in about a year."
Sophia shook her head, amused. "You are more afraid of doing something wrong than of what your brother has to tell you. Are you not at all curious?"
"Of course I am curious, but I know my brother. I'll figure out what he wants to tell me eventually. Let us just hope that he tells me sooner rather than later."
Sophia nodded. "Yes. If he does not tell you by the end of the day tomorrow, come with me after dinner and I will tell you. There is not much time to waste."
Shortly thereafter, the gentlemen arrived. Mr. Bentwir took a seat beside Harriet and continued asking her questions. After a few moments, she felt a gaze on her. She looked around to find Joseph Potter glaring at her.