Early June of 1800, Covent Garden near the flower sellers, sometime mid-morning. @thexreluctantxviscount
The flower sellers were a riot of colors and smells, and while not one of Kate’s usual haunts, she was greatly enjoying her time walking amongst the stalls this morning. Her fingers twitched every now and again, clearly itching for her sketchbook as she examined this bloom or that one. There were so many she couldn’t even identify; here was a flower that looked very much like a daisy, but with darker petals and streaks of black near the center, and an abundance of stunningly large blooms in various colors, from the softest pink to the most flamboyant sunset orange. Her head tilted, and she inhaled slowly, taking in all the mingling scents of the blooms. It was nearly enough to make her dizzy.
Ostensibly, Kate was here to gather up a bouquet for their drawing room, and perhaps a posy for Jacqueline, to apologize for her presumptuous behavior during the picnic auction. In actuality, she was looking for any excuse to spend some time away from home –– not that she and her mother had fought, but her lack of callers had begun to distress her mother just enough that Kate could not focus on her book due to her mother’s constant drawn out sighs. Had she any amount of forethought, she’d have slipped her book into the folds of her skirts and found a park bench to spend her morning in peace. Instead, here she was, lamenting that she had not at least grabbed her sketchbook and a handful of conté crayons, and wondering if Jac would prefer hyacinths or jasmine flowers.
After a quick perusal –– and realization that the heady scent of jasmine was making the edges of her temples start to ache –– Kate decided to return to the unusual flowers that had initially caught her gaze, only to nearly collide into a gentleman who was approaching the same stall.
“Oh!” She gasped, skidding to a quick halt and pressing a gloved hand to her chest as if to calm her racing heart. “My apologies, sir –– I did not see you.”