I had successfully snuck back into the mansion, and made my way to the garden just in time to see Clarissa trimming the hedges with Dorian. When I arrived, Clarissa smiled at me and put down her clippers.
“Good afternoon, Miss,” she greeted, wiping at her brow. “We missed you for afternoon tea.” After Dorian had stopped purposefully ignoring me, I had learned that they usually had these group activities which mostly involved food and drinks—from having breakfast together, to lunch, to afternoon tea in the garden, dinner, and another half-hour for hot chocolate by the fireplace before bedtime. I had noticed that no matter how busy any of them were—even if Mary had a date or Dorian had an errand to run—they would always make time for those small rituals to spend time with each other. I had
