Regency house party

[triskellian]

F, R and I arrived at K's house yesterday afternoon, and hurried to change into our evening clothes before our taxi arrived. I was surprised to see Z there - she was too young last year - but it was to be her first dance (M formally presented her at the beginning).

There was a shocking lack of gentlemen - only four to go around, and two of those married already. The other unmarried ladies complained to our host, and he promised to find some more eligible gentlemen next time. Apparently he had also promised them that a year of harp lessons would guarantee them a husband, and none of them are even engaged yet, and one of them has been learning for years. And of course, I am engaged, having never had one harp lesson! At next year's dance, R and I will be married, and able to kiss in public!*

None of us were able to fill our dance cards, but when we were not dancing with gentlemen, we danced with each other, and took it in turns to play the gentleman. It made it rather difficult when we were learning new dances, trying to remember which ladies were actually gentlemen, and once, I had to run across the circle to join another unattached lady on the other side, when we all got confused.

After the dance, we went back to K's, where we were staying, and sat up for a long time, talking and drinking wine, before we finally went to bed.

This morning, we were brought breakfast in bed: tea and pastries. When we got up properly, we decided to wear our evening clothes for lunch, and had a very elegant morning, sitting in the conservatory in our best frocks, while M entertained us, first by playing to us on the harp, and then by giving R a singing lesson.

Some of the people from the dance came to K's for lunch, and we had a fine buffet, made by K's brother. There was lots of mingling, and conversation, and children and dogs running around entertaining us all.

We left not long after lunch - we were tired and eager to be home. The cats were pleased to see us, and had caught a mouse as a welcome home present. It's hiding somewhere in the drawing room as I write, and Cobweb is lurking outside its hiding place, waiting to pounce if she gets the chance.

* Actually, it surprised me to notice the extent to which the Regency setting affected our manners and behaviour to each other (at the dance, not otherwise), especially between men and women. It's not something I noticed last year; maybe the fact that marriage is on my mind made the differences in behaviour between married and unmarried people more obvious. Of course, I'm probably reading more into this than there is there ;-)