Strange

twenty-nine

"Mr. Everleigh, I must say that we are all blessed to finally enjoy your company. You are such a lively young man." Vanessa watched on as Kate spoke to Henry in the drawing room of Aubrey Hall. They were currently attending a house party hosted by Lady Bridgerton after the London season.

"I'm very glad to be done with my studies. I'm still young, but I do enjoy socializing. I hope to be present during the entirety of the next season." Henry replied to the Viscountess.

"Well, there's certainly many young ladies who will be eager to be acquainted with you." Kate chuckled.

"Splendid." Henry smirked. Mary shifted in her seat and he stole a glance at her. 

Vanessa wasn't surprised that he couldn't keep his eyes off of her. Mary looked so lovely in her dark blue evening gown. Mary had always been pretty, but when she debuted, Kate allowed her more control over her wardrobe and appearance. As someone who was always interested in laces and ribbons, Mary was quite happy about it. She enjoyed dressing herself up, and even more so, she wanted to experiment with dressing others, too. 

At one point in the past year during her time with Mary, the young girl had asked Vanessa if she could give Bridget a few pointers on what may look good on Vanessa. And Vanessa, thinking it was about time Bridget had something different to do when dressing her, relented and agreed. Mary wasted no time in working with Bridget to improve Vanessa's fashion and hair. 

The youngest Bridgerton was quite talented at it, too. Vanessa learned so much from her, and for once in her life, started to look like a lady. Surprisingly, Vanessa enjoyed not looking so plain. There was a part of her that knew the late Lady Everleigh would have been delighted to see her dressed as she should be.

That evening, Bridget had dressed Vanessa in a light grey evening gown, which pleasantly complimented her complexion.

"I'm afraid Henry is still far too young and reckless to be considering marriage. I pity any young lady who will have to tolerate his immaturity." Vanessa rolled her eyes when she saw the smirk on Henry's face. She could see Mary intent in staring at the floor in the corner of her eye. "But I will applaud any girl who manages keep him restrained."

Baron Leigh, who stood next to the chair Vanessa was sitting in, raised an eyebrow. "Let us all hope such a woman exists." 

Everyone seemed to be shocked that the formidable baron had made a joke, but eventually Henry laughed. "My father and Vanessa wound me, I am not so wild."

"Says the person who was wounded by a tree.." Mary murmured, smiling to herself. Vanessa almost let out a snort.

Henry scoffed, yet couldn't help but smile. "My my, Miss Bridgerton. I'm afraid you've been spending too much time with my sister." 

"Cousin." His father corrected him. "You must get rid of that habit when in the company of others, you will cause confusion." 

"Father, people are already confused. It is much more amusing to fuel that confusion rather than diminish it." Henry was unfazed by the scolding. "Maybe I'll have a bit more fun and start calling you uncle. People will be so befuddled that they'll start to question everything they know about us Everleighs." 

"Purely inappropriate." Richard muttered under his breathe, knowing there was no much he could say to make Henry shut his mouth. He was obviously determined to be jesting that evening, possibly to impress a certain Miss Bridgerton who was trying her best not to giggle at everything he said. 

"Just imagine it, the know-it-alls doubting themselves." Henry gestured and began to speak in a mocking voice, "Now— who was it that was the child of the baron? The boy or the girl? What were their names again? Henry and Vanessa? Henrietta and Vincent? Were they siblings or cousins?"