Mona Lisa Smiles
Taking a deep breath before the doors opened, Sophie gripped her fathers tightly and wished the sinking feeling in her stomach would vanish. As the doors slowly opening and the sound of polite applause reached her ears she heard her father whisper "everything will be fine" before they stepped into the ballroom. What came to Sophies attention straight away is that she didn't recognise most of the people who were at this party and those she did recognise were people she would not want to spend five minutes with in polite conversation.
The Jameson family had a very lucrative horse breeding business that provided horses for the British army for nearly three generations of the family. Their horses were particularly popular with the aristocracy who favoured the horses for hunting as well as pleasure mounts so due to this Sophie's father had sway with very powerful figures to the delight of his wife and despair of his two children. Sophie was not the social butterfly ladies of her age tended to be and would actively avoid going to balls and other social events if she could.
Being presented around the ballroom as she currently was being was in her mind the equivalent of torture yet she plastered on a happy smile and greeted all her guests non the less. Some of the army officers she recognised were all pleasant men but the same could not be said for most of their wives. As she made small talk with the Bell family her mother rushed up and whispered "General Cornwallis has just arrived, you must greet him immediately" before making a polite apology to Mr and Mrs Bell as she dragged her daughter to the entrance of the ball room.
It became apparent to Sophie how livestock must feel being dragged here and there and had to fight the urge to snatch her wrist from her mothers grasp. As she reached the entrance of the ballroom it also reached her attention how awash the room was with men wearing red jackets. Not having any control in her own birthday guest list also grated her as she felt like a stranger at her own party.
When she finally reached General Cornwallis she tried to let go over the anger that was building up and tried to think as pleasantly as possible. "General Cornwallis" she greeted warmly with a curtsey. "I see you have grown into a beautiful young lady whilst in America Sophie" "Thank you sir" Mrs Jameson interrupted, "the American climate seems to have done her the world of good"
As the two chattered on Sophie was grateful of the arrival of her father who greeted the General with a strong handshake. Her father had sold the General hunting horses for many years and the Jameson had spent some time at the Cornwallis summer home some years previous. With her mother distracted by the General Sophie made her escape out of one of the ballroom glass doors that had been left open. The evening air was cool and as night began to fall she could see the stable lanterns in the distance to her left. Spending some time with the horses seemed a better way to spend some of her evening, even if it was for a short break.
The stable yard was abuzz with the carraige horses being stabled for the evening and the carraiges being put away behind the barn. "Had too much of the ball already Miss Sophie?" laughed Mr. Thomas, the Broadfields stable manager, as he carried tack to the second tack room. "I just needed a little break" she sighed as she followed behind him, " Well just dont let the madam find you out here, I'm sure she would rather you be mixing with all those fancy folk in there" "I'll keep out of the way" she promised. "your fathers carraige horses are in that block over yonder" he indicated with his thumb. "thank you" she smiled before hurrying out of the way of the stable boys bringing new horses into the yard.
As she entered the stables she could see her fathers two greys, Drago and Frost at the very end of the stalls, two horses she was very happy to lay eyes on. Letting herself into Frosts stall to stay out of the way of the stable boys going about their business, she let herself fall down into the new straw that had been laid out in the stable much to the curiousity of the large grey horse that stood in front of her. Aside from the voices of the men rushing about the sound of the horses or the clatter of hooves outside was soothing compared to the noise and bustle in the ballroom. The smell of the horses was also more welcoming then the over bearing scent of perfume as well. As she sat with her back against the stable wall and Frost having a thorough sniff of her hair. Sophie became aware of how badly her corset was still crushing her chest and she tried to move around to somehow get relief.
As time passed she knew she needed to go back to the party but no part of her was in a rush to do so. She was perfectly happy to spend the rest of her evening in the stable having a perfectly pleasant social outing with all the horses. Getting back to her feet with an exasperated sigh she exited the stable with a pet for both horses and went back through the stable yard, where she found Mr. Thomas delegating more chores for the stable hands. "Braving it back out into the wilderness Miss?" he laughed playfully, "Time for me to soldier on Mr. Thomas, I'm sure I can survive a few more hours" she replied. "Well be careful young Miss with that sort tonight, I here there's some unsavory fellows up in that ballroom"that made her stop in her tracks.
"I didnt know Mrs Broadfield would associate with any unsavory fellows" she enquired walking towards him, "well my Lady might call them gentlemen but from the stories I have heard that is not a term I would use for men like that, butchers seems more fitting, but I speak out of turn. Ignore me Miss"
She knew not why but for some reason that uneasy feeling hit Sophie straight in the stomach again and she felt ill. "Excuse me Mr. Thomas I must get back" "Farewell Miss" he said, tipping his hat as he turned to go into the barn. Rushing back across the grass she could see several gentlemen in red army jackets socialising on the patio though she could barely make out any faces with the light from the lanterns.
For some reason Sophie could feel like cheeks beginning to burn which annoyed her,she wasnt going to be attending her own birthday ball like a bashful schoolgirl, why was she acting so ridiculously? She had barely set foot into the ball room when her mother grabbed her by the arm and pulled her in close, "where in God's name have you been?!" "speaking with the guests" came Sophies rather rushed excuse but it seemed to please her angry mother, "Very well, some more of General Cornwallis men have arrived, these are very distinguished officers so you should greet them immediately" "yes mother" smiled Sophie. Following her mother like a meek lamb Sophies eyes darted around the room for the face she was dreading to see. At the same time she hoped she would see those grey blue eyes again which confused her even more.
Seeing her father ahead she saw he was speaking to three officers, one of who was regaling the group with some comical story. As she came closer her attention was firmly fixed on one of the group members who looked rather bored with the whole affair and kept looking around the room, his grey blue eyes gliding over all the guests as if searching for a face.
Sophie felt that sick feeling again which was accompained by a burning sensation at her cheeks. Now she wished she had stayed in the stables for the rest of the night.