By Royal Decree

Prologue

GIVR

The Lord Chamberlain is commanded by

The King to invite

Lady Daphne Daughter of the Marquee of Halverson

to spend July 18th at the palace of the Duke of Argyll in the County of Scotland at Castle as the guest of the Duke for the celebration of His Royal Highness Royal visit to Scotland, Lady Halverson will partake in the pageantry and social festivities related to the Kings visit. Her time at Inveraray will be spent being taught the protocol of this major social event. Passage to the Dukes ancestral home will depart on Thursday, 18th July 1822 at Eleven in the morning at the Prince's half-tide Dock.

State Proclamation Secretary, Lord Chamberlain's office

Buckingham Palace, London, S.W. 1A. 1AA

Daphne wasn't sure what to do after getting the invitation from the king. She would have to talk with Tory and Valerie at the ball next week. Val was a year younger but less adventurous than Tory, asking both would give her a balanced view of what to do. Even if she didn't go to Scotland just the thought of being invited was thrilling. Her parents were letting her decide what she wanted to do. After all this was going to be her first season and she had been looking forward to it, but if she went to Scotland her season would be cut short which seemed silly to start a season and not finish it.

A week later her and her parents had arrived at New Cross where her cousin the Duke of New Cross lived with his wife and newborn son Dominic. The first chance Daphne got to talk to Val was when they were alone in Val's room talking about what men would be in attendance this year at the annual Valentine Family ball the one where the females of the Valentine family were presented for the first time their inaugural season. This year would be Daphne's first time to attend the Valentine ball her mother Charlotte was a Valentine by birth and she had made this the first ball of her first season where she had met her husband Andrew.

Daphne showed Val the invitation, and when she heard the reserved one of the Valentines children squeal with excitement she knew Val would think she should go. When Tory got to New Cross she was sure she should go. Tory explained before she settled down she needed to have an adventure. With the help of Val and Tory she had made her decision she would go to Scotland.

That night at the Valentine's ball Daphne was presented,

But she didn't feel anything with any of the gentlemen she had danced with. Maybe only a few people met and fell in love at the first ball they attended like her parents had done. This further convinced Daphne she should experience the summer in Scotland.