Free Like a Flower in Bloom by Siri Mitchell

had earlier thought. My skirts looked like a wilted flower compared to those of the other women. Although most of them had bared their shoulders, I was glad of my long sleeves and covered bosom. I was quite thankful as well for the mantle I had refused to surrender, since the windows had been thrown open to the night.
    By the time we crossed the room, Mr. Bickwith was conversing about dogs and their keeping with quite a number of those gentlemen who had come from London for the hunt. I had just determined to speak to one of them about the possibility of their taking more care with the flora in the area when the Admiral took me by the arm and introduced me to Mrs. Bickwith.
    “ Miss Withersby?”
    I had never thought my name difficult to pronounce . . . although her difficulty might be explained if she were hard of hearing. I raised my voice when I answered. “That is correct.”
    “I don’t believe I have ever met anyone so secure in their expectations that they can afford to flout convention.”
    I smiled. “Thank you.”
    She sniffed and walked away, leaving me quite pleased with the encounter.

6
    T he Admiral led me over toward an older man and a girl. As we approached, he identified them as Sir Templeton and his daughter, Miss Templeton. With no little trepidation, I understood somehow that she was the ideal specimen by which the rest of us in the room must be judged. What was a generally accepted practice in botany suddenly seemed most unfair.
    The blond hair that had not been twisted into a profusion of curls above her ears had been gathered at the back of her head into a knot and then covered in a mass of ribbons. She was wearing a dress in a shade of pink that was common to hollyhocks but the fabric was embroidered with all manner of strawberry blossoms and strawberry fruit attached to twining vines. As I peered more closely at the pattern, however, I began to suspect that the depiction of the flower petals was faulty. If only she would stop moving, I would be able to tell.
    She smiled while the Admiral made the introductions. As he embarked upon a conversation with her father, she turned to me. “It’s very nice to meet you, Miss Withersby. I must confess that I feel quite certain I’ve seen you before.”
    “Perhaps out in the field.”
    “The field? What field would that be?”
    “It’s difficult to say exactly. I’ve visited so many of them.” It looked as if some of her strawberry flowers had five petals and some of them had six! I could see it quite clearly now. “I take a ramble every morning to look for specimens.”
    “I do as well! That is, not every morning. And if truth be told, not very often, but I have done. Once or twice. Botany is all the rage at the moment, you know, and I do so like to keep up with rages!”
    I heard myself sigh. “My rambles are finished though. At least for the time being. My father has decided I should marry. He’s afraid I’ve nearly become too old to do so.”
    “Mine too. But . . . how old are you, then?”
    “I just turned twenty-two.”
    Her brow crimped in concern. “You are old! However did you manage to stay out of society for so long?”
    “No one ever seemed to notice that I wasn’t in it.” And it hadn’t ever mattered before.
    “I wish no one would notice me sometimes!”
    “It’s the Admiral’s fault. He convinced my father that it’s my duty to marry.”
    “My father says the very same thing. Duty is rather a heavy responsibility, isn’t it?”
    “I’m not against marriage in the case of other people. I might not even be against it for myself one day, but I’ve got papers to proof and books to write and bills to pay and . . . and what no one seems to understand is, if I’m not there, then none of the work will get done.”
    She was nodding as if she understood exactly. “Someone is bound to realize soon enough.”
    “That is my hope. My father took on someone to replace me. But the man knows nothing about nearly