Reyna made sure to dress with particular care. She wanted to look her best because today was the day she would finally tell Jason how she felt about him. They were to travel to the cliffs at Elysium that afternoon, which were an appropriately dramatic and romantic place for someone to confess their feelings. Reyna imagined strolling a long the beach with Jason and telling him that she loved him. Whether or not he felt the same, she was yet to find out. She had to stop being a coward and learn where things stood between them.
The gown she chose was a lavender zone front with lilac trimmings, worn with a small matching hat which perched on the side of her head and a white fichu made from Spanish lace.

Purple was her favorite color and it suited her the best. Looking into the mirror, she smiled, pleased with how she had arranged her dark hair in loose curls.

She said a special prayer to the statue of Santa Maria, Madre de Dios, on her nightstand that she would make the right impression at breakfast. The statue was carved from wood and colorfully painted in the Mexican style.

Her mother had brought it with her from Mexico City, where she had been born, when she was sent to join the royal court in Madrid, where she met and married Reyna's father. She passed it on to Reyna before she died. Mamá had prayed to it everyday for release from the brain cancer that was slowly killing her and Reyna imagined that she had seen her death as an answered prayer. At the end, Mamá needed nearly a whole jar of opium just to be comfortable enough to asleep. The statue even resembled Bellona Ramirez-Arellano: a soft, oval face, a sallow, light olive skin tone, dark hair and dark eyes, and a solemn expression.
Reyna dreamed of traveling to Mexico in New Spain and visiting the hacienda where her mother had grown up. Her hope was to go there with Jason on their honeymoon. She scolded herself for planning a wedding when she was not sure if the gentleman would even propose to her.

A/N I know a lot of people are going to jump on me that Reyna's family is from Puerto Rico and not Mexico but I mentioned in an earlier chapter that in this au, Reyna's family are Spanish nobility who made their fortune from sugarcane and coffee plantations in Puerto Rico, a Spanish colony at the time. I decided that her mother Bellona is from Mexico, which would have also been a Spanish colony.

To reach the dinning room, Reyna had to pass by the library, where she and Jason had spent many hours together, translating and studying ancient texts, admiring prints of mosaics, frescoes, and ruins, and consulting globes and maps. They had translated histories written by the ancient Greeks and Romans, mapped out their conquests, and dreamt of visiting their once grand ruins.
The door to the library had been left open and Reyna could hear voices coming from inside, who she recognized as belonging to Jason and Lieutenant Jackson. Reyna hovered around the narrow doorway to listen in on the conversation.
"I tell you, Jackson," Jason began, "I'm in love."
"Might I asked who the lucky young lady is?" Lieutenant Jackson replied.
"Isn't it obvious."
Reyna's stomach dropped and her heart skipped a beat. She both dreaded and anticipated what he was going to say next.
"Do you think Miss McLean feels the same?"
Miss McLean? Reyna asked herself, That silly little creature who hasn't even two words to say for herself? What could he possibly see in her?
"...she's so reserved and modest, I cannot tell what she's thinking or feeling. Perhaps I haven't made myself clear enough?"
Jason, like most English gentlemen Reyna had come across, had a tendency to be stiff and formal, even with those who were closest to him. This had been the reason why Reyna had been left wondering about his feelings for her.
"Miss Chase says that her friend is a girl of sensibility and is moved by novels, poetry, and nature. Try a grand romantic gesture to let her know how you feel."
"Like what?"
Jason's face took on that serious expression it had when he was confused.
"I'm sure you'll think of something. Now, I have some news of my own... I'm in love too."
"Who is she?"
"Miss Chase is most unmercifully handsome. She is certainly a little sorceress and has bewitched me."
Reyna had flirted with Lieutenant Jackson a little, but mostly to see if she could make Jason jealous. She had failed at both objectives: to make Jason envious and to make Jackson interested in her. She liked Miss Chase, and unlike with Miss McLean, Reyna could see why Lieutenant Jackson was so smitten.
"Oh, so that's why you were up so early this morning," Jason teased Lieutenant Jackson, "to stroll past a certain window in hopes of seeing your mistress."
"She sits by her window as she is brushing her hair and sings to herself," Lieutenant Jackson sighed, "Her voice isn't as sweet as your lady's but there isn't a sound in the world that I'd rather hear. This morning, she even favored me with a smile."
"And she flirts with you at every opportunity."
"If you love Miss McLean, then don't be afraid to let her know. Take my advice, do something to show her how you feel."

A/N I imagine Percy and Jason breaking into a rendition of "Agony" from Into the Woods and trying to out do each other with who's crushing harder, complete with ripping open their shirts.

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Reyna walked away from the library, skirts rustling as she moved.  She could not bare to hear any more.
So Jason was in love with Miss McLean. Why, he had only spoken a handful of words with her, that being all the stupid girl could manage.
In a perverse way, Reyna was thankful that she had stopped by the library and listened in on the conversation between Jason and Lieutenant Jackson. Now she would not have to humiliate herself by confessing her love to a man her cared nothing for her.

"Good morning, Miss Ramirez-Arellano," Miss McLean greeted her as she entered the dinning room.
A curt nod was the only acknowledgment Reyna could give to her rival. Miss McLean wore a printed yellow muslin round-gown with a black lace fichu.

She might be very pretty, Reyna sniffed, but she dresses like a country bumpkin.
Breakfast consisted of deviled kidneys and herring, caraway seed cake, a melon salad, and fried eggs.

To drink, there was finely ground coffee from Turkey, oolong tea from China, and thick Spanish style hot chocolate.

"You know," Reyna began, "The custom of drinking hot chocolate was brought over from the New World. The Indians in Mexico used to flavor it with crushed chili peppers."
"Really?" Miss Levesque inquired, taking a sip of her coffee.
"Spanish nuns were the ones who first added milk and sugar. My mother used to put a little bit of ground chili pepper in her hot chocolate and she said the two flavors really complimented each other."
"I'd be willing to try it," Miss McLean added, "I love tasting new things."
"We have chili peppers in the kitchen," Jason cut in, "I could have some sent up."
A footman returned a few minutes later with a dish of ground chili peppers. Reyna and Miss McLean were the only ones brave enough to put some in their hot chocolate.
After sprinkling a pinch of ground chili into her chocolate and stirring it in, Reyna took a dainty sip. She breathed in its aroma, which had always reminded her of her mother. Miss McLean put in a spoonful, like she would have done with sugar, and gulped down the mixture. She spat it out and panted like her mouth was on fire.
"Here, this will help," Jason handed her a glass of milk.
"Thank you," she replied.
Her eyes met his as she accepted the drink. She blushed and turned away. Jason was left wondering what this coyness meant: Was I too forward? Did I offend her modesty?
It's so unfair, Reyna thought, She goes and makes an ass of herself and still he fawns all over her.
Maybe it was the young lady's own vapidity, but Reyna read Miss McLean's reserve as a sign that she was uninterested.
What a mess they were all in: loving someone who did not love them back.

The cliffs at Elysium were about a twenty mile ride from Skye Castle, a journey of two hours. Lord Skye had the coachman park the carriage in a field of corn marigolds, silver ragwort, and tall grasses which overlooked the English Channel.
The weather was perfect for such an outing: cool with a strong, bracing wind and large, dramatic grey clouds in the sky. Lord Skye had described the sound of the wind blowing through the grass on the cliffs at Elysium as being like people laughing, but Annabeth though it sounded indistinguishable from the waves crashing on the beach below them.
"What do you think?" she asked Lieutenant Jackson, "Does it sound like laughter to you?"
"Sounds more like the flapping of sails," he replied.
The group walked through the field to where they could enjoy the view of the limestone cliffs which slopes down to a crescent moon shaped beach. At the mouth of the cove was a natural stone arch.

"Ah, it's breathtaking," gushed Miss Levesque, who had brought a long her drawing pencils and sketchbook, "I'll stay here to commit it to paper, if you don't mind."
"We don't mind," Lord Skye added, "I expect to see a remarkable work of art when you're finished."
Miss Levesque blushed.
"I'll stay up here with her," Mr. Di Angelo cut in.
"We'll join you down there when I'm done."

Annabeth lifted up the hem of her chemise à la reine so she would not trip over it as she descended the steps carved into the rocky face of the cliffs which brought you down to the beach. The chemise à la reine was a light, airy garment made from diaphanous white muslin. It's sleeves had draw strings which puffed them out and a light blue sash tied around the waist. A matching blue sash was tied around her straw hat.

"Lieutenant Jackson," she called to the naval officer, "Help me down."
She still had about five steps to go until she reached the beach and jumping into Lieutenant Jackson's arms seemed more fun than walking. He reached up to put his hands on her waist; she reached down to put her hands on his shoulders.
It felt like flying when she jumped. A whoosh of air passed through her stomach and made her light-headed and giddy. Her feet, clad in light blue half boots tied with yellow laces, hit the gravelly beige sand with a thud.

Lieutenant Jackson helped her to her feet.
"Enjoy your flight, Miss Chase?" He asked her with a wry smile on his face.
In her white dress with its full skirts, she must have looked like a large white bird falling to the ground after being shot.
Lord Skye approached them.
"Jackson," he shouted over the crashing waves, the squawking and screeching of the gulls, and the howling of the wind, "Might I borrow Miss Chase for a moment?"
He offered Annabeth his arm, which she accepted. They strolled down the beach together. The English Channel was a bluish-grey slate color and dotted with whitecaps and tufts of spray as waves hit the rocks. Annabeth felt cold and stupid for wearing such a thin dress and not bringing a shawl.
"I wish to tell Miss McLean how I feel about her," Lord Skye finally confided in her. He looked over to where Piper was standing with Dona Reyna and Lieutenant Jackson, who were getting a closer look at the natural stone arch.
"Lieutenant Jackson says that I need a grand romantic gesture to confess my love with," Lord Skye continued, "Do you have any suggestions?"
"I might," she replied.
Annabeth found his uncertainty endearing and swore that she would do everything in her power to help him.
A ship had sailed close to the mouth of the cove, close enough for Annabeth to see shadowy black figures hulking across the deck.
"What kind of ship is that?" she asked Lord Skye.
"Probably a Guineaman out of Southampton sailing up the Channel to bring its black cargo to London."

Miss Levesque and Mr. Di Angelo had descended the steps to join the rest of the party. She proudly showed off the drawing she had done of the beach.
"I'm going to fill it in with watercolors later," she explained.
In graphite, she had rendered the cliffs and natural stone arch as stern and foreboding. Dramatic storm clouds and crashing waves filled up most of the composition. The slave ship Annabeth had seen loomed ominously in the distance.
Miss Levesque's style of drawing was rather fantastical and made the beach scene look like something out of a nightmare. One might expect to see the ghosts of drowned sailors dancing on the shore.
The picture was universally admired and the party was anxious to see how it would look when finished.

Piper returned to her room after supper to find a heart shaped wreath of corn marigolds on her pillow. She knew that Lord Skye must have left them since he had brought back a basket of corn marigolds with him from the cliffs at Elysium. The flowers were already a bit wilted, so she picked them off of her pillow. She tied them into a bouquet with one of her hair ribbons which she hung on the wall so the bouquet could dry out.
It was growing late and Piper began to undress for bed. She had unlaced her corset and pulled her short-sleeved chemise over her head when she heard the sound of pebbles being thrown at her window.

Quickly throwing on her nightgown with the little puffed sleeves, she went over to the window to see who had thrown the pebbles.

"Were I laid on Greenland's coast," a fine baritone voice sang. Piper looked down to see Mr. Solace, the estate's hermit, playing a guitar which accompanied his singing with Lord Skye standing next to him.
"... and in my arms embraced my lass," Mr. Solace continued, "warm amidst eternal frost, too soon the half-year's night would pass. Were I sold on Indian soil, soon as the burning day was closed, I could mock the sultry toil were on my charmer's breast repose. And I would love you all the day, every night would kiss and play, if with me you'd fondly stray, over the hills and far away."

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Piper plucked a corn marigold from the bouquet which she had hung on the wall and tossed it down to them.