Through the Grapevine [ BRIDGERTON]

Yikes.

          Dearest Readers,

    It is my greatest pleasure to report that the Diamond of the Season Miss. Daphne Bridgerton appears to have caught the eye of the incredibly eligible and elusive Duke of Hastings. However, with rumors of a certain prince to arrive to English shores... my dear readers we shall see. For now I have nothing else of importance to report, and may we see how bright the Diamond can truly shine and in the midst of the two most elligible bachelors of the season.

  It is a shame that her sister Miss. Cassandra Bridgerton, the crown jewel, appears to not have as bright of a shine as her younger sister. This calls into question the Queen's blessing--- is Miss. Bridgerton a jewel or a gem? We shall see.

      Yours truly,

  Lady Whistledown.

----

    With a huff, Cassandra irritatingly set the newest gossip sheet on the side table. " Lady Whistledown shall piss off, bloody gossip." she murmured. She had not realized her mother was nearby, until she hears " Cassandra Violet Bridgerton! A lady does not engage in the use of such foul language." Violet scolded her daughter. Although she could not help but manage a slight smile at her daughter's remarks.

  " Mother, I am simply a lady when I am out in society. Here, I am just Cassandra. And besides, I can not help but have those words be a part of my vocabulary. I could not help my upbringing with three irritatingly vulgar brothers. I blame you and father."  She chuckled and Violet could not help but laugh along with her daughter.

Cassandra truly was happy for her younger sister, when sitting in the drawing room with the rest of the Bridgerton clan and watching her younger sister be called upon as if she was some sort of goddess was all that Cassandra needed to get through the season. Daphne deserved the praise and the flowers, the gifts and the compliments. She would rather see Daphne succeed in this marriage market as opposed to herself, any of her family members' happiness takes precedent before her own.

However Cassandra did not know why Daphne entertained any of the men she did, considering her and the Duke seemed so smitten with one another. And speaking of the Duke, the Duke was supposed to accompany the Bridgerton's to the annual picnic in the park that all of the ton flocks to; each family having their own little tent putting their wealth and gluttony on display. For the Bridgerton's, the abundance of food is necessary for all eight children, but then again most of that food ends up in Colin's stomach before anyone can eat a morsel anyways.

Cassandra liked to sneak into the kitchen as a young girl to  help the staff in the kitchen for events such as this--- and still does. Violet never minded, she loved that her daughters were broadening their minds beyond the simple duties of a gently bred lady. The smell of fresh biscuits in the over filled her nose and triggered a growl in her stomach, and before she knew it her feet led her into the kitchen. The staff in the kitchen immediately greeted her with smiles, they loved the eldest Bridgerton daughter. In fact, the staff loved all the kids, however Cassandra always made it a point to treat them like family rather than people in service.

" Miss. Cassandra!" Cook beamed. She was attending to a pot of soup before the girl came in. Hair frizzed and forehead beaded with sweat, the cook fixed her appearance although it was not much of a difference before. Curtsying to the young lady before holding out a spoonful of the concoction brewing in the pot.

  With the spoon to her lips, a soft moan of content came from Cassandra as she swallowed the contents from the spoon. Licking her lips a little to keep the taste of the lemon chicken soup on her tongue. " As always, absolutely splendid Cook. I must learn from the master herself. I believe I should spend a little less time on needlework and more on my cooking skills."

The Cook blushed and shook her head, rebutting the young Bridgerton. " Miss. Cassandra, I would be delighted to teach you. But young ladies such as yourself won't need to learn how to cook as you'll have staff to do plenty of that. Don't worry your pretty little head with the thought." Cassandra and the Cook have had the same conversation many times before. Sighing defeatedly, Cassandra had asked about any necessary help and it seems like the staff had it under control. And with the bustle of the hallway and Violet calling for her daughter, Cassandra plucked a sweet from a tray before meeting her family to go to the picnic.
——-
It has been an hour into the picnic and Cassandra already wants to go home. Just about everyone in the ton is here, promenading, eating or playing games; essentially just enjoying enjoying the beautifully warm weather for a change. Looking out onto the lake, it sparkled from the sun's reflection, as if the water contained millions of sparkling little diamonds. At this point Cassandra was sitting with her sisters talking about who knows what while the boys were enjoying some games that the staff had brought with them, and Cassandra could just not get into the conversation or festivities.

Before she knew it a hand rests gently on her shoulder  in greeting and she is quickly jolted from her thoughts as she sees that the hand was the hand of a gentleman, and was not a hand that belonged to her brothers; but to the Duke. Smiling warmly, Cassandra nods her head in greeting and mumbles " Your Grace" before he starts to converse animatedly with Daphne. Violet turns towards her daughter concerned, her eyes conveying one message- Are you okay?

  With a slight nod and vacant expression, she watches her younger sister leave with her suitor. Hurriedly, Cassandra gets up to follow. But she does not follow her sister so soon, instead she heads over to the Featherington tent. With a curtsy and  lazy acknowledgment to Lady Featherington, Cassandra had turned her focus towards Penelope and queried if she desired to promenade. Lady Featherington was addressing Cassandra at the moment, however the latter had not bothered to listen to her incessant blabbering and just simply nodded before quickly ushering Penelope away from the tent and prying eyes and ears.

   " You have saved me from an afternoon full of torment, you know that? I am forever in your debt." Penelope grins and Cassandra laughs. " Why Miss. Featherington, it was an absolute pleasure to save you from the unruliest of matchmakers-- your mama."

  Penelope had not even bothered to speak and simply nodded in agreement as she knew Cassandra's statement was true. Her mother was absolutely unruly and unfiltered and would do just about anything to get Penelope and her sisters wed. Violet Bridgerton would take the next top spot, however Violet is a little more sympathetic and empathetic towards her daughters and the idea of love.

   " Let us promenade, I am sort of following Daphne and the Duke but we should also look for suitors ourselves. Fair enough?" With no argument from Penelope, the pair promenaded around the park, passing different families and their tents. Children were running around chasing one another, couples were also promenading, nothing but jovialness filled the air as society enjoyed the sunshine. The presence of Cassandra was almost magnetic and alluring, men that were on either sides of the grass couldn't help but stare at the Bridgerton girl walking by.

Cassandra knew eyes were on her and would nod in the direction to men that she had known, some of them being her brothers' friends. Despite them being decent gentlemen, none of note captured her attention. None of note captured her attention until a blurb of a being passed her by, a bark erupted from a small dog, and Cassandra knocked down to her back did she note of the suitor that was following quietly behind her.