Grace in Wonderland - Chapter 36

36. The Mad Tea Party

“I’ve invited Theresius Wilford to today’s tea party,” Mary Montague remarked with a cheerful smile, initiating the conversation.

As soon as she spoke, Richard Spencer, who had made a rare appearance at breakfast, furrowed his right eyebrow in displeasure. Luckily, his head was bowed as he spread marmalade on his bread, so no one saw his expression.

“Theresius Wilford?”

Lancelot Spencer glanced toward Mary as he asked, his expression indicating disapproval.

It was understandable. Theresius Wilford was not prominent enough to warrant an invitation to a Spencer family tea party. He was a provincial nobleman, and his father had yet to make a significant impact in politics.

“Aunt, isn’t that man a bit…”

Freya Spencer grimaced, but Mary Montague cut her off with a reproachful glance.

“Freya, this is my party. As the host, it’s my prerogative to decide whom to invite.”

While Mary cared deeply for all three of her Spencer nieces and nephews, the degree and manner of her affection varied. Richard Spencer was her favorite and the one she most respected. Conversely, she was often strict with Freya, which Richard found unfortunate, as he was endlessly indulgent toward his sister.

Mary disliked Freya’s haughty demeanor. Were it not for their blood ties, she wouldn’t have paid her any attention. However, blood was thicker than water, so she made an effort to engage—though not without frequent scoldings.

For this reason, Freya didn’t particularly enjoy seeing Lady Montague. After all, no one likes a relative who constantly delivers lectures.

“But, Aunt…”

“If you only associate with people of your rank, you’ll end up mingling with a handful of families and royalty. How many people will you have left around you? Even I, sitting at the same table as you now, am nothing more than a minor Montague to the great aristocracy.”

Mary’s sarcasm made Freya’s violet eyes turn red with humiliation. Sensing the moment, the Countess of Spencer interjected.

“Freya, it’s unbecoming for a young lady to ride in an open carriage through the countryside or public spaces.[1] Yesterday, Lady Morland saw you at Royal Crescent. She told me she was so embarrassed she wanted to die. She said the pain in her body was unbearable. And open carriages stir up dust—they’re unhygienic.”

The Countess of Spencer was as strict with Freya as Mary Montague, but their concerns differed. While Mary focused on values, the Countess obsessed over proper behavior, particularly cleanliness, to an almost neurotic degree.

“Don’t think of yourself as anything other than how others perceive you. Show only what people want to see.”[2]

“Mother, I was with Lancelot…”

Freya replied in a subdued voice, but the Countess cut her off.

“Lancelot is a gentleman. It’s acceptable for men, but not for young ladies. As soon as you debut next year, we’ll discuss a match with the Winchester family. If I hear of anything like this again, I’ll send you to Lydon and keep you locked up for three days and nights.”

Freya bit her lip, tasting bitterness as if it were quinine.

The atmosphere at breakfast quickly grew tense. Eleanor d’Estrée glanced at the Countess and Freya before speaking up.

“Lady Montague, who will be attending today’s tea party?”

“Theresius Wilford, Grace, and myself. Just the three of us,” Mary replied with a benevolent smile.

Eleanor asked again, “May I join as well?”

“You, Lady d’Estrée?” Mary asked, somewhat surprised.

“I attended the play with Lord Wilford last time. I’m acquainted with him.”

“I see!”

Mary Montague’s face brightened at Eleanor’s response. Having Eleanor present would soften the atmosphere of what might otherwise seem like a blatantly matchmaking tea party.

“Then I’ll join as well.”

Lancelot raised his right hand slightly, prompting the Countess and Freya to exclaim in exasperation.

“Oh, heavens, Lancelot!”

“Lancelot!”

“Please, Lancelot, do attend.”

But when Lady Montague turned around with a gentle smile, the objections quickly subsided. The Countess of Spencer avoided confronting Mary Montague in private settings, and Freya could not counter what her mother left unspoken.

“Then Mother and I will be going out today,” Freya declared sharply. The Countess’s shoulders trembled as she followed Freya, rising from her seat.

“Richard, will you join us as well?”

When the Countess and Freya left the dining room, Mary Montague turned to Richard and began to press him to attend. Eleanor, Lancelot, and Grace also turned their gazes toward him, awaiting his answer.

Richard Spencer was still at a loss. There was no justification for barring Theresius Wilford from attending. However, he wasn’t thrilled about his presence either.

In the past, he would have naturally abstained from such gatherings. Why should he involve himself in trivial love games and marriage talks involving someone as insignificant as Grace Gurton? Moreover, the counterpart in question was none other than the vexing Theresius Wilford.

After the performance of A Midsummer Night’s Dream, Theresius Wilford had stood before Grace Gurton, smiling as if he had painted a scene straight out of an inferno. Bathed in the bluish moonlight, his open-mouthed grin resembled a possessed apparition.

Was Sebastian in his right mind to prattle on about how refined Wilford looked? Back then, Richard had thought so while repeatedly gulping down wine.

Theresius Wilford was filled with ambition. It was unthinkable that he would approach Grace Gurton, a mere commoner, out of genuine affection. Falling for a stuttering woman without ulterior motives was unimaginable.

There had to be a reason. Considering the rampant rumors of her impending adoption, it seemed clear that he had approached her with intent. With his family’s limited influence in central politics, perhaps he sought to gain the backing of Lord Anthony Montague, who had even received a medal from the Queen.

When Lady Montague had questioned him earlier, Richard had refrained from giving such an answer purely out of caution. Adding more to the conversation would have risked exposing his tumultuous emotions, so he had opted for silence instead.

Words are not the only things that escape from one’s mouth; genuine feelings slip through as well. Richard Spencer, ever wary of revealing his true self, would end conversations the moment undesirable topics arose.

This had been a remarkably effective and efficient strategy for living. Yet now, cutting off conversations brought Richard a strange, tense sense of unease, as if his insides were on fire.

“I’ll think about it.”

By now, Richard felt as though his stomach was about to explode from the roiling emotions within. When had Richard Spencer ever cared about others’ opinions? To his memory, not once in the past ten years.

Suddenly, anger surged within him. The frustration was unbearable. This wasn’t the Richard Spencer he knew.

What had Sebastian said about him? Richard Spencer does not hold back. Richard Spencer doesn’t care about others and lives selfishly. Richard Spencer is a narcissist.

Yet none of those descriptions applied to him now. Richard was holding back, overly concerned about exposing his feelings, and grappling with the wretched state he found himself in, a state he refused to accept.

The Richard Spencer of old was gone. He clenched his jaw tightly, and frustration seethed within the hollow of his dimpled chin.

People are said to go through five stages of emotional change when faced with death: denial, anger, bargaining, depression, and acceptance.

“Grace, why don’t you say something?”

Lady Montague urged Grace to speak.

Finally, as Richard Spencer floundered in the raging river of anger after traversing the barren wasteland of denial, Grace Gurton addressed him shyly.

“Y-Young Earl, if you were to join us, I-I’d be delighted.”

If she wanted it that badly…

The moment of bargaining had arrived.

Author’s Footnotes:

[1] Partially modified quotation from Mr. Allen’s dialogue in Jane Austen’s Northanger Abbey

[2] Partially modified quotation from the Duchess’s line in Chapter 9, “The Mock Turtle’s Story,” in Lewis Carroll’s Alice’s Adventures in Wonderland