The invitation to meet at the tea place they had gone to before was a very welcome one. After the tea party, Scout had been glad to be able to kick off her shoes and sleep off the long conversations she and the ladies had had. It was nice to have someone care about her and invite her for tea and a chat. She surely could use one after what she had shared at Florina's party.

The blonde entered the cafe and smiled when she saw the woman. "Lady Bellerose, I hope you're doing well", she said, curtsying politely before sitting down at the table. "Thank you for your invitation. I'm very happy to be invited out by a nice friend such as yourself." They hadn't talked a lot yet, but she did consider the woman a friend. She had a feeling that they had a lot in common. For now she would avoid the topic of lord Ellery.

Florina rose from her seat when she saw Scout, and returned the curtsey, “I am very well, thank you,” she offered a pleasant smile, “I hope you are also doing well. I am very happy that you accepted my invitation, Lady Kane,” she gestured to the table and chairs and sat down. Florina was glad that the other woman considered the two of them friends. She herself did not have many, and it was always a joyous occasion to make a new one.

A waitress showed up with the tea and sweets that Florina had ordered, and the countess would wait until the two nobles were alone again before speaking.

“I hope you do not mind if I ordered for us,” she said, “But they told me they got in a new shipment of tea in and I was sure you would not mind sampling it with me.” another smile followed by a light, airy laugh. She’d been trying to decide how to broach the topic of Scout’s miscarriage. It was a delicate topic, and one that Florina still thought of with a certain amount of sorrow. However, she knew what a balm the ear of one who knew the kind of pain you felt could be.

“I hope you don’t think me untoward for bringing this up again,” she said carefully, “But I wanted to again offer my sympathies for your loss. I…” she looked down at her cup, “…I know how painful it can be to loose a child, even before you have a chance to get to know him or her…and I just wanted to make sure that you know that if you wanted to speak about it, I understand and am more than willing to listen.”

Scout was very pleased to hear that Florina had been doing well since they had last seen each other. She returned the smile when her friend thanked her for accepting the invitation. She joined Florina by sitting down when the other woman did.

The Lady Steward looked up when a waitress appeared next to their table, and she offered the young woman a kind smile while thanking her for bringing them the order. "Of course I don't mind", she cheerfully responded. "New tea is always a delight."

Scout lightly blew on the hot liquid in the cup before taking a small sip of it. The taste was unique, but she did not mind. She quite liked the flavour.

She wasn't too surprised when Florina brought up the miscarriage. She had noticed during the event, and by the tone of the letter, that the woman felt for her. As a result, she also wasn't completely surprised when Florina revealed that she knew what it was like to loose a child. "Thank you, Lady Bellerose", Scout responded softly, and she even smiled, but there was some sadness in her smile. "It's still difficult to talk about, but I appreciate your words and willingness to listen. It was so unexpected, because the baby was fine and from one day to the next, it had died." She fiddled a bit with her wedding ring, unsure where to look. "I'm also sorry for your loss. Thank you for sharing it with me. It's indeed very difficult to deal with, or to talk to with people who haven't gone through the same thing." She sighed and rubbed her forehead before looking back at her friend with a small smile. "I'm mostly afraid for the future. Astor and I want to try again, but what if it happens again?"

Florina was relieved that the subject of Scout’s loss did not put the other woman off. She sipped from her own cup as she listened to Scout speak of her experience as well as her feelings and fears for the future. Sad as it was to have lost a child, she was glad that the circumstances of the loss were different from her own. Offering Scout an encouraging smile, she’d reach over and pat Scouts hand if the lady steward allowed it, “I understand your feelings,” she said, pulling her hand back so she could fiddle with her cup, “My own was also rather sudden,” her hand touched her belly without her realizing that she’d done it. A habit that she’d yet to break, “All was well, I was far enough along that I was starting to feel my baby kick, but then…” she shut her eyes and tried not to think about what had happened to make her lose her child. Stars above, it had been a year, yet the memory was fresh enough it was like it had happened yesterday. Her biggest failure. But she would not share those details. Not today, “He was gone.”

She didn’t know what to say about another miscarriage in the future, but she did understand. The experience was traumatic, and pregnancies could be uncertain things. So she nodded her head, “It is a frightening thought, isn’t it? To go through that sort of pain again. It’s tempting to never want to try again…but what if you don’t have that loss again? Imagine your joy as you hold your child for the first time, the first time you see your child smile, or hear his or her laugh…That is what I think about anyways when the thought of moving on frightens me,” she let out a humorless laugh, “And thoughts of the future often frighten me.”

It was relieving to be able to talk about her loss with someone who could actually understand just how painful and difficult it was. It was beyond kind that Florina would share her own loss in order to help Scout through her grief. She smiled when Florina patter her hand. It was a small gesture, but it meant the world to her. Scout had never been good at making female friends. The one she had gotten closer to had been Annabeth, but she could barely remember the last time the two of them had spoken, let alone the last time it had been a pleasant conversation. The woman had royally screwed up by getting involved with Remiel while she eas married. "That's even more horrible", the blonde said compassionately. Florina was far enough along to feel the baby kick. Scout had barely been pregnant long enough to be sure she was in fact pregnant.

Scout was glad to have a cup of tea in front of her. Something about warm liquid was just so comforting. She took another sip and listened to lady Bellerose. The prospect of holding her first born made her smile, a spark appearing in her eyes. "That would be wonderful." But Florina made another good point, one that Scout could fully understand. "The future is indeed frightening. Not only family-wise." She sighed softly. "Sometimes I wonder if it's a good idea to bring a child into this world. Neither Astor nor I are Gifted, so the chances of our child being Gifted are small, but that doesn't mean I don't feel for all the Gifted babies that are born in Lorendale." It wasn't often that Scout shared this sentiment with others in a way like this. Normally she was more political, speaking about reuniting Lorendale and not suppressing the Gifted population, but the way she spoke now was more vulnerable and free. Perhaps it was a good idea to not linger too long.

"I heard Lord Ellery hasn't been seen in a while. I was meaning to ask you about him, and about you. It got rather heated at the tea party when he was brought up, and I hope you're feeling okay. Such big revelations about a man you've been seeing mustn't have been pleasant to hear."

If only Scout knew just how horrible the circumstances of her miscarriage was. It was on the tip of Florina’s tongue to elaborate…she’d not even told her aunt or Sri just how awful that time had been, but she kept silent on the matter. She wasn’t sure if she could speak of it just yet.

Her words had the effect she’d hoped for, and Florina could not help but allow a small smile of her own appear. Just for a little bit, “I’ve wondered about such things too,” she admitted, “But then again, the world has always had something ugly in the works,” she thought of her childhood friend and how her whole family had been killed. How powerless she’d felt when she’d heard the news so many years ago. Then she thought of how she’d recently reunited with that friend, and the joy she’d felt, “I’ve come to realize that no matter how ugly the world gets, it shouldn’t stop us from trying to create beautiful things, whether that beautiful thing is a work of art, or starting a family.

Florina was touched that Scout was checking in on her regarding the conversation during the tea party, “Yes, well…the tea didn’t quite go as I had planned!” A light, humorless laugh escaped, “I am doing well since then, thank you for asking me. It was…quite a revelation. I had no idea that Count Ellery was such a man, although—“ she bit her tongue as she realized she had been about to mention his ring to Scout. Stars, she’d gotten so comfortable speaking with the lady steward that she’d nearly forgotten herself! She couldn’t let the sentence die the way she’d left it, so she scrambled to redirect, “Although, he could be very difficult to be around at times.”

I’ve come to realize that no matter how ugly the world gets, it shouldn’t stop us from trying to create beautiful things.

Florina's words touched Scout more than her friend would probably ever realise. "You're ab-so-lutely right", she responded after a moment in which she had to recollect herself because she had felt herself getting emotional.

Scout then asked about Florina's situation, about which they had talked during the tea party. "Difficult is an understatement", she said and she laughed a bit. "I do respect his manners, and I've stepped on his ties before. It was quite the revelation to hear he is anti-Gifted. I hope he hasn't bothered too many Gifted. But oh well, no need to dwell on such topics, right?" She smiled softly. Lately, all the anti-Gifted conversations were making her sad. Somehow she couldn't resolve the issues, which weren't solely her task, but she had wished she could do more.

"I've said it already but I'm so glad you invited me, lady Bellerose. I feel like we're starting to get along rather well, so please feel free to call me Scout going forward."