Do you like flowers, Lady Eleanor?"
It was him speaking. Lord Blunt. Asking her opinion on something, of all things.
It was unexpected.
And everyone was waiting for her answer. Or so it seemed.
"I do, thank you." Why did his simple question make her want to shout, or scream, or say something in Italian?
A language that she'd learned that seemed to hold all the emotion she wasn't allowed to have. So she loved it all the more.
"They are... bellissimi fiori," she said, feeling daring as she spoke.
"Speak so that everyone can understand, Eleanor," her mother said reprovingly.
"Of course, Mother," Eleanor replied, lowering her eyes so nobody would see the spark of defiance she knew was there.