Carol was out, so Cecily let Mrs. Lloyd in and ushered her into the living room, where Arianna was busy making ribbons for the next Votes for Women rally. Cecily hadn’t seen much of Mrs. Lloyd lately and noted that her once vibrant red hair had almost completely faded to silver-white.

“I’ve come to see the house,” Regina said regally. “It’s coming along nicely, I see.” She took a cursory glance around the living room but seemed neither interested nor impressed.

“Mrs. Lloyd, do come in,” Arianna said, rising from her table of ribbons. “Cecily, dear, would you bring us some tea?”

“Is your maid ill?” Regina asked once Cecily had gone. She settled herself daintily on the exotic couch Mayhew had convinced Harry to purchase.

“No, she’s out running errands,” Arianna said, sitting down next to Regina. “And Cecily has been learning to keep house, as all young women must do.”

“Not if they have maids to do it for them,” Regina said, nodding curtly. “My Josephine won’t have to lift a finger once she’s married.”

“Oh?” Arianna asked as Cecily entered the room bearing the tea tray. “Is she getting married already?”

“She has several suitors –” Regina continued smugly, “— all of them quite well-off. Including one of the Haddaway boys.”

The teapot Cecily was holding landed with a loud clatter upon the tray, causing Mrs. Lloyd to wince. Without further clumsiness, Cecily finished pouring the tea and excused herself from the room.

“Perhaps you should hire another servant if your current one is too busy.”

Arianna wanted to sigh in exasperation, but she remained poised. “We don’t need another servant. Carol may be busy, but she’s always kept the household in perfect order.” Arianna was lying, of course, but she didn’t want to give Regina any satisfaction. “I’ve never had trouble with her.”

Regina set her tea down on the table next to the couch and turned to Arianna with a grave expression. “Do you mean to say her going downtown every day doesn’t bother you?” She gave the word ‘downtown’ special emphasis.

“Why should it bother me? I know I’ve been keeping her busy with errands, but her work doesn’t suffer for it.”

“Her work doesn’t suffer, perhaps,” said Mrs. Lloyd with a meaningful look. “But her reputation does.”

Arianna simply stared at Regina. “What on earth are you talking about?”

“Oh, come, Arianna, you must know what she does down there. She’s been seen leaving the Granville often enough. Don’t your Votes for Women ladies let you know the latest gossip?”

Arianna managed to keep her composure. “My friends don’t gossip about such things. We have more important things to do.”

“I don’t think I appreciate your implication,” Regina said, narrowing her eyes. “I didn’t come here to gossip, but to help you. If your maid and your cousin continue to see each other without getting married, it will irrevocably tarnish the Brayton name. You cannot allow that to happen!”

“I don’t appreciate your implication,” Arianna rejoined. “You only care about the Brayton name insofar as it reflects upon yours. If you weren’t connected to the Braytons, you wouldn’t even be speaking to me.”

An angry spark leapt in Regina’s eyes. “Why should I speak to you I when you refuse to listen?” With that, she stood up, bid Arianna good-bye, and hurried gracefully out of the room.

Arianna let out a deep sigh as she reached for her tea.

NOTE: This is only half of the update I planned to post today, but since it took me literally all day just to write this much, I figured I’d better split the update in two. I don’t know why it takes me so long to write these updates — I think it’s because I putz around and look up historical stuff and take extra pictures. Yeah, I’m silly. Silly and slow. Anyway, stay tuned for Part II, which focuses more on Cecily and her love life (or lack thereof).