Dizzy Dilemmas Read Online Free Page B

grin, knowing his sister had already had her fill of shopping trips and ‘at homes’.
    “Oh you can smirk!” she replied. “You know very well I hate dress fittings. It is the feel of the new material on my skin, it just feels so odd and having to stand to be poked and prodded and fitted; how can anyone enjoy that?”
    “Most girls seem to enjoy it and quite a few men too if you look at the dandy set!” Gideon remarked.
    “Well not this girl!” she shuddered at the thought. “As for ‘at homes’! They are totally false. You go; you sit for fifteen minutes listening to mundane chatter; you leave.”
    “You just go to the wrong ones because you go with Grandmamma. What you need to do , my girl is branch out on your own a bit more. You are twenty you know and in your second season and therefore not expected to stay quite so tied to the apron strings as the very young girls are,” her brother informed her. “You need to cultivate friendships with people who share your interests.”
    “Yes, I think you are right. No! I know you are right! Otherwise I am in danger of bringing shame down on the family name by doing something totally shocking in front of the ladies of the ton,” she told him.
    “ Such as?” he asked.
    “Oh I don’t know! Tell Lady Periwinkle one of your rude jokes perhaps,” she replied.
    “You don ’t know any of my rude jokes!” he was quick to point out.
    “That is what you think!” she answered with a little smile. “You tell them to Gab riel over the port after dinner and the footmen are not deaf you know! They pass them on to the maids and we bribe the maids to pass them onto us!” she shrugged. “I am not sure we get to hear the really rude ones but definitely ones risqué enough for Mrs Periwinkle to have palpitations!”
    “Is there nothing sacred? A man should be able to have a private conversation with his fellow males without it reaching the ears of his sisters!” Gideon exclaimed.
    “And g randmothers!” Dizzy added.
    “No!”
    “Yes!”
    Gideon placed his head in his hands. “What is the world coming to?”
    “I wouldn’t worry. Grandmamma has a repertoire of jokes as course as yours, probably worse,” she informed him.
    “Surely she doesn’t tell them to you?” Gideon asked incredulously.
    “Oh no of course not; she tells them mainly to Colonel Thwaites but never remembers to lower her voice.  She is a bit like you and the footmen in that respect. She thinks we cannot hear her.”   
     
    Dizzy laughed as he raised his eyes to heaven and a companionable silence then followed for a few moments while Gideon tucked into a second helping of breakfast. Then glancing at his sister he said, “Going back to my original question before we became side-tracked, what are your plans for today?”
    “ Actually I have been meaning to talk to you about that. Mrs Honey Dew is accompanying us to the British Museum this afternoon and then we are off to Gunter’s for ices. We think you should come along,” Dizzy stated.
    “Who do you mean ‘we’?”
    “Gabriel and Genevieve,” Dizzy named the twins who were two years her senior. “Georgiana is coming over to join us as well,” she continued.
    Georgiana came between Gideon and the twins and being a wealthy, young widow had her own residence across the square. This suited her perfectly as she had her independence , but family support was just a short stroll across the gated garden which was reserved for the use of the residents,
    “Oh and Mrs Honey Dew obviously. It is to be a real family outing so please say you will come,”
    She concluded.
    Gideon looked sceptical. “The thing is…” he began but Dizzy jumped in, pleading.
    “Oh go on Gideon. It will be fun all of us together, you’ll see! It has been an age since we had a family outing, all of us together.”
    Sighing in resignation, Gideon said, “Very well. I can forgo my trip to Gentleman Jackson’s just this once for the sake of continued family