This is a fan made story. I don't own the rights to SHIELD, any of its characters or any characters within the MCU… Much to my disappointment. This is a Regency Era based AU and I will be pulling characters from all over the MCU. Fair warning. Constructive criticism is welcome but if you don't like it simply because you don't like the line of thinking, please don't attack me for it.
Chapter 7: The Beginning of the Season
After the excitement of Christmas morning and the gift of her exquisite horse, things settled down. Boxing day went off without a hitch, the servants receiving simple gifts. Natasha's parents did easily convince Leo and Jemma into taking Natasha under their care for the remainder of the season, much to Lord Carter's amusement. Natasha was pleased as it meant she could actually have an opportunity to learn the martial arts forms that Daisy used and Daisy the kinds that Natasha utilized.
Thus, when they all returned to London, it was without Mr. and Mrs. Romanoff. They left St. Agnes just after twelfth night and were immediately bombarded with invitations. The first was from Lord Carter for Peggy's engagement ball. Lord Wilson had apparently proposed as soon as Peggy returned and Peggy's sister-in-law rushed to prepare for the ball in so short a time period. There were also several dinners with various friends of Leo, Jemma, Lady Victoria and Lady Justine, all of whom wanted some sort of connection to Daisy for superficial reasons like her connection to the Chinese Emperor.
In addition to all this, the ball being held for Daisy by her Aunt was just two weeks after their return to London. Much of the preparation had been done in advance but Ladies Justine and Victoria embraced the chaos that organizing a ball entailed. Daisy soon decided that she might attend them, but she wouldn't be inclined to host any herself in the near future.
This thought was solidified when, just a week after returning to London she, along with her family and Natasha, attended Lady Peggy's engagement ball, which was organized by her elder brother's wife. The lady in question had been quite frazzled but seemed to thrive on the chaos. However, Daisy encountered her first experience of what she would distain about English society as well. Two days before the ball, Col. Ward called and when he learnt that Daisy would be attending, requested the first set.
Daisy agreed only because society demanded that if she didn't she would have to not dance at all while at the ball, an absolutely moronic principle in her opinion but not something she could alter. Fortunately, he only thought to ask for the one set.
One the day of the ball, Daisy was shocked at how excited about it that Jemma was. The older woman acted as if Daisy would meet her soulmate at the ball and not simply have a pleasant time. By the time they actually reached the home of Lady Peggy, Daisy was ready to point out that Jemma was being a tad ridiculous.
The greeting line was long and boring, the only thing keeping Daisy entertained was Natasha pointing out various notables of society that were undoubtedly going to do something ridiculous at some point in the evening. When they got to the head of the line, Daisy finally met Peggy's eldest brother and his wife. The brother seemed as sensible as the rest of Peggy's family but his wife was a seemingly air headed individual.
Natasha assured Daisy that she was nice enough, simply more interested in fashion and being a hostess rather than actually contributing to a sensible conversation. Daisy suppressed a giggle at this and they went about the first part of the ball, before the dancing began, finding Stephanie and once all the guests arrived, Peggy herself. The lady had requested that Daisy do away with the title at this point because they were friends and such things weren't necessary among true friends.
"Miss Coulson, Miss Romanoff, might I introduce you to my betrothed, The Most Honorable Marquis Col. Samuel Wilson of Fury and his Uncle, His Grace, the Duke of Fury?" Peggy used the formal address for her betrothed due to the formal setting they were in. "Your Grace, Lord Col. Wilson, this is Miss Coulson, daughter of Sir Coulson and Miss Romanoff."
Daisy curtsied deeply to the two extremely high ranking nobles. The Duke had no children of his own as he never married, thus his nephew via his only sister was his heir. Duke Fury gave a brief bow to them before leaving. Peggy's betrothed bowed as well but he was much easier in posture, "Honestly, I hate being referred to as My Lord. Up until two years ago, I wasn't even supposed to inherit. Then, my elder brother died and I got stuck with this ridiculous title. If we are in informal settings, please call me Col. Wilson."
"Of course, Lord Wilson," Natasha was easy with her response, as none of them had really followed typical English protocol anyways.
"If that is your wish," Daisy nodded as well.
"Very well, I have the first set with Lady Margret, and the fourth with Miss Rogers however, I was hoping to engage you two for the second and third sets respectively if you are available," Lord Wilson was extremely affable in his behavior which brought smiles to Daisy and Natasha.
"Miss Rogers, who are you dancing the first, second and third sets that Lord Wilson is delegated to the fourth set?" Natasha asked with a knowing sparkle in her eye.
"Captain Barnes is in attendance and asked for the first. Lord Carter the second, and Mr. Coulson the third. They all asked first so it was my duty to accept them first," Stephanie blushed at the first name she had listed and Daisy's eyebrow rose.
"Would Captain Barnes happen to have recently sailed the HMS Persephone?" Daisy enquired, her curiosity genuine.
"Indeed, I am," Captain Barnes responded as the appeared near the ladies and Lord Wilson. "Miss Coulson, Miss Romanoff, Lord Wilson, it is lovely to see you all again. Miss Coulson, might I inquire what your next available set is and if you would be willing to dance it with me?"
Daisy curtseyed gently to the Captain before responding, "Certainly, Captain Barnes. My next available set is the third."
The Captain smiled and nodded before turning to Natasha, "And you Miss Romanoff?"
"I have the second set available," Natasha smiled.
"Wonderful. Let none say I was impolite by not dancing every set. Lady Margret are you available for the fourth?" Captain Barnes seemed determined to secure as many sets as possible now because at Peggy's agreeing nod he turned to Stephanie and his smile turned softer. "I know I have already claimed your first set but might I claim the supper set as well Miss Rogers?"
Stephanie blushed before stammering out, "Cer-certainly, Captain Barnes. I-I would be delighted."
"Wonderful," The smile he had now showed that he was overly pleased and he excused himself to greet Lord Carter properly.
Not even with enough time for conversation to pick up again, they were once more interrupted with Col. Ward and Major Triplett each invited to the ball for different reasons. They also went through the process of asking each of the ladies for a set. However, before Col. Ward had an opportunity to ask Daisy for a second set, Mr. Koenig appeared and asked her for the supper set. Daisy felt a great deal of relief at not having to worry about spending more enforced time with Col. Ward who had already set her on edge through his behavior towards her interest in caring for her own estate. She happily accepted Mr. Koenig, who in turn, showed his pleasure at being able to extend their acquaintance.
As the conversation for dancing finished, Lady Margret's father announced that the dancing would soon commence. Col. Ward, with barely a cursory nod to the rest of the people from the circle, insisted they move to the dance floor. Daisy reluctantly did so. Col. Ward's commanding attitude towards her was only further irritating Daisy.
His conversation during the dance only added to Daisy's offence. He chose to ask her about the difference in fashions between England and China and any time Daisy attempted to move it to a more interesting topic, the Colonel switched it to something as equally insulting to her intelligence. The topics he covered in the half hour that Daisy was forced to dance with him included fashion, accessories, her understanding of different languages, music and finally her great uncle, the Emperor of China.
By this last point, Daisy was barely containing her anger and frustration for the man. She had attempted to turn the conversation to politics and the situation with France and he instead had completely ignored her attempt and started in on her relations as if those were far more important to him. When the music finished, Daisy gave him the barest of courtesies before escaping, with no little difficultly.
She finally resorted to immediately joining Lady Margret and Lord Wilson as Lord Wilson was her next dance partner. Col. Ward left only after securing the dance after supper which Daisy, once again, only reluctantly agreed to since she hoped to dance the entire night since it was her first real English Ball.
"I must admit; we were fairly close to you in the dance. You looked ready to do something entirely rude to Col. Ward. What was he saying?" Lady Margret, as Daisy had to call her in such a public setting.
"Nothing of substance. That man seemed more interested in the worth of me as an unmarried female than as a human being. Any attempt I made at a real conversation was diverted to some idiotic airhead banality as if I were incapable of focusing on anything more serious than the latest fashions," Daisy was careful to keep her voice controlled so that none could over hear the conversation.
"Well, I assure you, I will do no such things. A woman incapable of thinking about serious things is boring. I had thought the Colonel was more sensible than that. I must admit, he has changed quite a bit since he came under Gen. Garret though. He used to have more substance to him. I believe the next dance is about to start," Lord Wilson pointed out the last as Lord Carter appeared to collect his daughter for the second set of the evening. Before they moved to the dance floor, Lord Carter secured Daisy's 7th set, by this point only Daisy's final set was free and she was content to say that she had no objections to this save that she would have to dance with Col. Ward again.
Lord Wilson proved true to his word, maintaining a happy conversation of substance. He seemed very interested in getting better acquainted with his betrothed's friends and his inquiries showed it. This conversation put Daisy in a much better mood.
Her third set also proved to be rather easy on her. Captain Barnes and she had built an easy acquaintance on the HMS Persephone. It didn't surprise Daisy in the slightest that the majority of their conversation was actually focused on the Captain's connection to Miss Rogers and Lady Margret. As it so happened, his father was Lord Carter's steward and the noble, being fond of the Captain, had sponsored his career in the Navy. As such, he was childhood friends with Lady Margret's brothers and well known to family.
Daisy enjoyed the set and began putting the pieces together about Stephanie's disinterest in being courted by the general populous of the Ton and the Captain's easy but distant treatment of her on the trip from China to England. The two were clearly interested in only each other, something that Daisy would tease her friend about later.
When the third ended, Captain Barnes carefully escorted Daisy back to her group of friends. The amount of blushing between him and Stephanie forced not only Daisy but Natasha to resist the urge to laugh over the ridiculousness.
The fourth set was enjoyable as the others before, Major Triplett and she had formed a friendly acquaintance by this point. Having spent over a month around the man on a daily basis had given Daisy a better understanding of his serious at some times but teasing most of the time temperament. As they were already comfortably familiar with each other, Daisy felt perfectly safe talking about her plans for St. Agnes. Major Triplett in turn also seemed pleased by their ease as well.
However, it was the supper set that ended up intriguing Daisy the most. Mr. Koenig was a good friend of Daisy's cousin Lord Charles and as a result was of a similar personality. Although he was quite wealthy, it surprised Daisy to learn that his wealth had come from trade. He had made a great deal of effort to expand his father's import and export business with the investments of both Lord Charles and Lord Carter. The efforts had left him with an extensive wealth of his own. He made a great deal of effort to be honest and open with Daisy as well as to actually show a great deal of interest about Daisy.
As such, when they sat down for dinner, Daisy was more than pleased to continue the conversation about his investments and how they were necessary in this day and age to ensure that estates thrived. Daisy found his difference in perspective interesting since he didn't come from a landed family but rather gained his own wealth. Daisy was sorry that the conversation was forced to end with the supper but not before Mr. Koenig was able to secure Daisy's hand for the final set of the evening.
Col. Ward, whom Daisy had been making a good deal of effort to avoid between dances, wasted no time when the meal was finished. He escorted her to the dance floor once more and again focused on the dullest of topics, embroidery. Daisy humored him for less than five minutes before turning the conversation to her plans on updating the appearances of her estate. To her surprise, the Colonel actually took interest in this topic and inquired to what comforts the estate offered. However, it quickly became clear that the man was more interested in the apparent wealth that it represented than her care for it since when Daisy tried to speak of her tenets he immediately focused it back on the manor instead.
Once again, by the end of the sixth set, Daisy was resisting the urge to show her displeasure with the man and happily escaped to the company of Lord Carter which forced Col. Ward to bid her good night and, to all appearances, leave the Ball. Daisy felt a great deal of relief at his departure and enjoyed the simplicity of talking with Lord Carter during the seventh set. He seemed to focus on inquiries about her new horse and since Daisy knew that he simply didn't know what else to talk to a young lady about, she was happy to elaborate on how she was getting on with Mulan.
When the final set was announced and Mr. Koenig claimed her for it, she found herself drawn back into conversation about the differences of growing up in a family from trade verses a family of the gentry. For a man knowing so little of Daisy before this ball, having shared only one dinner with her, Mr. Koenig showed a happy interest in Daisy's intellect. He intrigued Daisy and she decided that she would speak to Natasha to learn more of the man if he continued to show an interest in her.
Despite the fact that Mr. Eric Koenig was much shorter than Miss Coulson, he felt drawn to her. He had instantly decided at their first meeting at Lord Hand's dinner that she was far too superior to him to even show the slightest interest in him. He still felt that was probably true, however, she had also been extremely kind and shown a level of intelligence that he didn't often see among women who focused on the society of the Ton.
He had been delighted that Miss Coulson had agreed to dancing the Fifth Set, aka the Coveted Supper Set, with him. Her intelligent conversation was an absolute pleasure and by the end of the meal, he was nearly half in love with the young lady, despite still believing her to be far above him. His brother Billy, who was also his former business partner, had all married well and kept pushing him to do the same. Now, Eric felt sorely tempted to do as his brother was suggesting.
Miss Coulson had even gone so far as to agree to dance the last set with him, even though she had to be exhausted by that point in the evening. The young lady had danced every set and had had very little chance to rest. He decided after the last set that he would make an attempt. If she showed him a real interest beyond this evening, he would pursue her. If not, he would accept that she is merely a very nice lady who is well aware of her station and maintain a friendly acquaintance.
AN: To avoid any confusion, I looked up the proper address for a Duke's heir, in being introduced they are given their formal title, ergo in Sam's case it would be Most Honorable Marquis Col. Samuel Wilson of Fury. After introduction he is addressed as Lord Samuel, Lord Wilson or my lord. Complicated, yes, annoying, yes, necessary since this is set in 1812, yes. Peggy is only referred to as Lady Margret since she is the daughter of an Earl and thus her title is honorary rather than one that would be given if she was already married to Sam, as that would make her Lady Wilson and when he inherits his uncle's title, Duchess of Fury.