Widow & Widowers Dinner Party
An excellent dinner with sparkling conversation among the 10 or so of the Ton who have lately lost spouses or partners, the better to support each other’s ambitions through solidarity. And perhaps encourage toward romance.
Menu:
- White Soup served with Sauerbraten
- Djaj MQualli served with larded rabbits
- Roast Duck with Juniper Sauce
- Venison with Malay Kecap
- Ragout of Palates with Peppered Crawfish
- Mughal Yellow Curry with Prawns
- French Beans a la creme
- Cornish Saffron Cakes
- Magnolia Blossom Biscuits
- Peppered Beets with Spanish Onions
- Pickled Melon, Pickled Long Pepper, Pickled Asparagus
- Elderberry Juniper Jelly
- Whipped Saffron Syllabub with Fresh Raspberries
- Nettle Custard, Cardamom Custard
- Brandy Pudding
All served with fine Madeira, sherry, saffron tea, Indian chai, and oolong tea; to diners’ taste each course.
As for what happened?
The 11 confirmed guests arrive, including one well-dressed person in their mid-20s, whom Sophrona introduced to the party as “Earl Steele’s social and legal proxy, a country gentleperson of distant relation to the Earl”. Thankfully, nobody questions this oddity.
There is casual conversation, and a multi-course meal with plenty of drinks throughout, lending to a relaxed atmosphere of friendly conversation.
Lady Graves teases Mr. Hughes, MP, about his scandalous three dances with Lady Blankeney-Coventry at the Everbloom Debut Ball (to which he grew tight-lipped) and Lady Merriweather engages them in conversation about socio-political topics. Lady Graves and Lady Bruce-Hervey discuss dog breeding- it is, after all, puppy season and many seem to have litters available for sale.
Duchess Daniels flirts with Madame Owen the whole time (including perhaps some footsie during dinner) while Lady Merriweather flirts with a rather dense but attentive Sophrona. Lady Graves encourages post-dinner parlor games, and a game of Whist begins with her, Madame Owen, Mx. Flynn, and Sophrona, which Lady Bruce-Hervey watches. Madame Owen is a particularly skilled Whist player and tromps Mx. Flynn and Sophrona rather thoroughly. This leads to Madame Owen and Lady Bruce-Hervey debating over tarot card meanings, to the interest of many.
Eventually, the evening winds down and people start to leave. An invitation is extended to Mx. Flynn and their “valet” to stay the night to recover before setting off on the road to Monmouth, and Lady Merriweather is the last to leave- lingering as Sophrona returns her coat with many stammering thanks.
And so ends a busy month of socializing, hopes in romance, and lessons learned!
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