01-17-2026, 12:14 PM
(This post was last modified: 01-17-2026, 12:27 PM by Catherine Ennington.)
Catherine looked around for Lady Selby, but the dowager had already seen her and was coming over. There was a little flutter in Catherine’s breast when her eyes landed on the guest who accompanied her: a dark skinned young man, very well dressed and groomed. This had to be the mysterious Mr. Du Pont that everybody had been talking about for the past few weeks – much to Catherine’s chagrin, for she herself was yet to be introduced to this apparent ‘phenomenon’. She eyed him with curiosity and blushed ever so slightly. After tonight, she would be able to join in the conversation and hopefully have plenty of interesting things to say.
She bowed her head in deference to Lady Selby. “I am very well, Your Ladyship. Thank you. And thank you for the invitation.” Every word and movement was weighed. Her heart was beating fast under the dowager’s scrutiny. It was a very great honour to be invited, at last, to one of Lady Selby’s exclusive dinner parties. She had dreamed of being noticed by Lady Selby ever since she was a little girl. The idea that she might rise in the dowager’s esteem if she got this right, was enough to make her dizzy. The fact that she had probably only been invited because her mother was away, only added to the pressure. In absence of her mother and older sister, she represented the Enningtons in social engagements. Suddenly everybody paid attention to her. It was delightful. It was nerve-wrecking. One mistake and her mother would never recover from the humiliation and Catherine’s prospects would surely be ruined.
She turned to Mr. Du Pont. “How do you do, Mr. Du Pont?” she greeted him. He was not the first black man she had ever seen, but certainly the first to enter her own circle of acquaintances. She marvelled at the fact that he had made such a smooth entrance in Whitby’s high society. But then again, she reminded herself, they were British. They didn’t abide by backward, unchristian laws and ideas like the Americans (if the news reports were to be believed). Britain was a beacon of civilisation, she thought to herself, blissfully ignoring that little thing called ‘Empire’, and she was eager to show him how civil and progressive people this side of the Atlantic were.
She bowed her head in deference to Lady Selby. “I am very well, Your Ladyship. Thank you. And thank you for the invitation.” Every word and movement was weighed. Her heart was beating fast under the dowager’s scrutiny. It was a very great honour to be invited, at last, to one of Lady Selby’s exclusive dinner parties. She had dreamed of being noticed by Lady Selby ever since she was a little girl. The idea that she might rise in the dowager’s esteem if she got this right, was enough to make her dizzy. The fact that she had probably only been invited because her mother was away, only added to the pressure. In absence of her mother and older sister, she represented the Enningtons in social engagements. Suddenly everybody paid attention to her. It was delightful. It was nerve-wrecking. One mistake and her mother would never recover from the humiliation and Catherine’s prospects would surely be ruined.
She turned to Mr. Du Pont. “How do you do, Mr. Du Pont?” she greeted him. He was not the first black man she had ever seen, but certainly the first to enter her own circle of acquaintances. She marvelled at the fact that he had made such a smooth entrance in Whitby’s high society. But then again, she reminded herself, they were British. They didn’t abide by backward, unchristian laws and ideas like the Americans (if the news reports were to be believed). Britain was a beacon of civilisation, she thought to herself, blissfully ignoring that little thing called ‘Empire’, and she was eager to show him how civil and progressive people this side of the Atlantic were.
