The Ladies Rewrite the Rules by Suzanne Allain

Author:Suzanne Allain [Allain, Suzanne]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: Penguin Publishing Group
Published: 2024-01-09T00:00:00+00:00

10

The day of the Vauxhall excursion finally arrived, and Diana couldn’t remember feeling this much excitement since she was a child anticipating her father’s return from sea. She was even more excited about this excursion than she had been about the ball, as she’d been far too nervous that evening to truly enjoy herself, although there had been moments of joy interspersed with periods of terror. This would be Diana’s first time visiting the famous pleasure gardens and, surprisingly enough, Lady Regina had never been there before, either. While Vauxhall had been popular with Londoners from all facets of society since the first half of the previous century, it was not considered the most proper of entertainments for unmarried young ladies. But since most of their group were past their teen years, and some were widows of unsullied reputation, this seemed a perfect opportunity to go; especially when they had gentlemen accompanying them to protect them from any nefarious characters who might be present.

In preparation for their visit, Diana and Regina had diligently studied the novels of Frances Burney, in which poor Evelina was attacked by libertines on one of the dark walks, and a drunken acquaintance of Cecilia’s shot himself near the supper boxes. They both felt that, having done such meticulous research, they could avoid the absolute worst dangers that might exist in the gardens: the dramatic scenarios invented by a lady author.

Their group was too large to travel together; fourteen of the ladies were coming, accompanied by fifteen gentlemen. (There was one extra gentleman because Miss Ballard had insisted upon two escorts.) They had therefore planned to travel to Vauxhall in smaller groups and meet at the Orchestra at eight o’clock. Diana’s group was composed of her five favorite people: Lady Gordon and Regina, with their escorts Monsieur de la Tour and Lord Jerome, and Diana’s escort, Mr. Dean.

While it was possible to travel there by coach (and with the completion of the Vauxhall Bridge last year, that was the most convenient method), they decided to take a boat across the Thames. Even though Diana lived on the river, she found the prospect of crossing it by wherry on an excursion to the pleasure gardens in the company of three handsome gentlemen very thrilling, as did Lady Regina. And Lady Gordon was pleased to observe the excitement of the younger ladies. (Though she’d arranged for her coachman to be waiting for them at the Coach Gate on Kennington Lane later that evening when it was time to leave.)

When Diana asked Monsieur de la Tour to accompany them to provide an escort for Lady Gordon, she explained to him that Lady Gordon had last visited Vauxhall with her late husband and that she may be saddened by her memories of him.

“Poor lady,” Monsieur de la Tour said sympathetically. “It is no easy matter to go on living when those you love are gone.” And Diana realized that he must have experienced much loss in his own life, surviving a revolution in France and escaping to England alone.

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