The Proletarian of Mayfair

Chapter Fourteen

"It is never simply about how one feels."
The Romantic Writings of O.P.B.S.

"Olivia, do explain why you are absolutely soaked to the bone in a wonderful dress like that or I will tell mama and she will ask you about it." She knew she was busted. Olivia should have seen it coming.

She could come up with no lie that would explain it. Especially when Anne was still dry. What good would it do her to lie anyway? Eventually, everyone would find out in the event they married. She so desperately wished that would be how her story of this season would end.

"I was out walking," she said. It was not a lie, even if it was not the full truth.

"You left a long time ago. I woke up early because I had not slept well all night and heard you leave." There was no escaping that fate anymore.

"I met with a gentleman, then spent some time in the rain. I do not often get to do so when I am home." Caroline was surprised to hear it. Olivia was a rebel, but no one in this world would imagine how far deep the roots went.

She was raised by Eloise Bridgerton-Sharpe, the reigning queen of rebellion.

What did the ton expect from her?

"Olivia, that is—you continue to surprise me every day. I cannot believe you some days, but I am still rooting for you." Caroline gave a smile that inspired hope in Olivia. Now, all she had to do was find out whether it would end with a ring. "You should get warm, but I do not plan to let this go anytime in the near future."

"Of course. I would never dare to assume you would let it go. All I ask is that you please do not tell your mama," Olivia begged. She knew her cousin, but this was out of the realm of things she knew.

Caroline grinned slyly. "Do you think my mama knows even half of what my siblings and I do to one another? Do not worry about that. I will make sure she does not find out from me."

She shivered from the soaking wet dress and hair and decided then to walk to the bath and warm up again. The likelihood she would end up sick was not zero. Chills crept through her skin to her bones. Even a bath could not change that.

Her dress and underclothing took some time to come off because it stuck to every part of her skin. All of her was cold enough that the warm water burned her skin. She braved through because she needed to. She had to rid herself of the cold that had spread through her body in order to prevent extreme sickness.

It was worth staying in the rain as long as she did, but it did not come without its complications.

"Here is your food. Do you need any assistance with anything?" Anne asked. Olivia often bathed by herself—which included washing herself—but that day was different. She wished for the company of someone who understood her station in life. No one would ever truly understand her situation completely, but there were some who could understand her heritage and why she made some decisions she did.

It wasn't as if she could do what every other young miss was doing—no one would give her a second glance if she blended in with the crowd.

"I would love some help with washing myself. I'm afraid I'm a bit cold and tired." Olivia was modest in ways the women of the ton would never understand.

"Absolutely. I would be happy to help," Anne said with a smile.

Olivia ate a few grapes and a piece of toast as Anne washed her hair. It felt nice being attended to while she was shivering with cold and hunger, but she would not do it every day. That would be too awkward for her, especially when there was still a high chance she did not end up married to any gentleman she had met during these few weeks of her first and only season.