Her mother agreed and Emmeline quickly put her arm around the Captain's, letting him guide her for a lap around the gardens. Looking back at her, her mother's eyes were enthusiastic and were filled with approval. Rolling her eyes back to the Captain, she was able to drop her guard. "Merci, Captain. She is very...enthusiastic about the Season starting."

It was both ladies William greeted “Bonjour Madame, Mademoiselle.” But his eyes remained solely on Emmeline, as if he may read her feelings, her needs from her expressions, as if it was ever that simple. “Madam de Poitiers, I trust you will not mind if I steal your daughter for a lap around the gardens? There is a flower I believe may be of French origin I would very much like to show her.”

What he of course meant was I would very much like to steal your daughter away so we may speak freely, away from the constant performing these events required, where every word was tracked by eavesdroppers.

With a surrendering sigh, Emmeline finally turned around to face the man. He was handsome, and surely a man of status. "I suppose I should return to the party." Brushing past him, her walk was more of someone of experience rather than young and graceful. "How I do miss looking at the beautiful flora. They are simple and beautiful to behold."

laurie hesitates, torn between respecting her wishes, as he might if she were an older lady, one that he felt could manage more on her own, but emmeline appeared to be quite young, and he couldn't quite trust that. "i really do think i ought to escort you back inside at least, miss," he offers, haltingly. "perhaps not your mother, but a friend of your family's?"

Emmeline knew it was a man, from his response she gathered he was a man of honor. Nothing worth worrying about. "Surely, my mother would have my head if she knew that I was hiding." What a choice of words for her, to say that. With a sigh and fast blinks while staring at the wall, she shook her head. "Do not bother her. She is surely catching up with her old friends of the Ton after being gone so long."

laurie's never been one much for these events, other than the socializing with his friends — that, however, he was able to do on any given night in ton. there's no reliance on the stuffy, protocol-heavy events in the card room. the gardens are a brief reprieve, though he soon recognizes he's not alone, dropping into a slight, respectful bow. "something akin to that, miss, yes." he does not fully recognize the girl, only that she is about as young as his sister, if not more so. "should i find your chaperone?"

where: Palace Gardens

open to: everyone in whistledownhq

Kenna approached the Palace Gardens with her paternal aunt. She noticed everyone in the room, they were all unfamiliar to her. She had missed the coming out ceremony to the Queen. She was twenty and four, which is a bit on the older side for the marriage market. The fights and arguments that her father and his wife had on whether Kenna should be brought to the Season that particular year lasted years. Quite parched, she approached the punch table and took a glass, bumping into someone. "Oh, I am so sorry! You will have to forgive my clumsy nature."

"Of course I was." Emmeline said plainly in response. "I am to be presented to society...to...find a husband. Apparently." She said with a roll of her eyes. "She still does not understand..." It is because she does not know what she saw that faithful day, that day that she would be forever bonded to Alexander. "I could not just marry any man of the Ton."

He was hiding. At least he thought he was. There were so many people around, he could barely keep it together. On the outside though, he simply seemed as though he was bored out of his mind, intimidatingly radiant, eyes glued upon him and whispers shared about him. He hated it. He was looking around the crowd, searching for a familiar pair of eyes that would save him from his own self. That was about when Emmeline found her way towards him, and the relief slipped out of him with a sigh, his stoic expression cracking with a smile as he bowed slightly. "Bonjour, Mademoiselle de Poitiers." His hands rested behind his back, fingers fidgeting with each other in hiding now. "You are beautiful, as always. Were you dragged here by your mother as well?"

[ bella heathecote, she/her, cis woman ] — was that KENNA LOVELL? the TWENTY-FOUR year old is a LADY, how exciting to see her this season! rumors have it she is CURIOUS and KIND, but i’ve heard she is NAIVE and PERSISTENT as well — maybe that’s why she's been called the DOE. I have even heard that SHE IS THE BASTART DAUGHTER OF TWO NOBLE FAMILIES — only time will tell.

Kenna Lovell was born out of wedlock to the second son of the Birmingham Lovell's and [redacted]. She grew up with her half-siblings and cousins, playing with each other. She had a feeling that her father's wife wasn't her true mother, she never treated her the same as her siblings. She went snooping through her father's files one day to see if her suspicions were valid. When he caught her in the act, she demanded to know the truth. After some fighting, he finally confessed. But he did not name her mother due to some secrets that she could not scrape away.

Kenna is wide-eyed and sweet. She is very ladylike, everything a lady of her "station" should be. It was quite convenient that she turned out this way. It would certainly be difficult for her to find a husband of noble status if she had a rebellious spirit. Her fathers family crafted that illusion very well, not even Kenna is aware of their plan to craft her into the perfect lady.

Mingxia had been drilled for weeks to act on her best behavior and for her to learn as many dances as possible. She was the daughter of a son who was second in line to inherit his father's Earldom, she had not been taught what to do at these balls. But her mother got right to work when they got back to England months ago. Her first ball out in society, it wracked her nerves so massively.

She couldn't help but laugh at the flocks of young debutantes that would flood to available bachelors, especially to those of high in rank. It all seemed so trivial to her. She would knock those very men on their asses in the boxing ring. Evading all conversation, she headed to the quiet part of the gardens when someone directed their voice in her direction. Shit.

Turning toward the one who had spoken to her, her eyes widened a bit. He seemed very regal, he carried himself well. She did not want to seem ignorant or uninformed, to make an ass of herself.

"Oh, hello! I-I am Lady Magnolia Wetherby. My father is the Earl of Cambridge." She was so unused to having a title.

OPEN STARTER 

Edward was obligated to be there, he was a Prince of England and his mother had pretty much demanded his presence, making it very clear that she was picking the Diamond of the season and that he should pay attention, and heed her recommendation. He was of the age where his parents and the Kingdom expected him to be wed, so he wasn’t at all surprised by his social calendar for the season, and the garden party was just the first of many. 

As he was introduced by one of the other courtiers, he bowed his head politely at the people he had just been introduced to, playing his role when a Garden party full of eligible ladies of the Ton literally looking for their Princes approached him, giving him barely a moment’s peace. 

Chuckling as he saw that someone else had evidently had the bright idea to hide deeper into the gardens, he just cleared his throat. “I dont believe we’ve been introduced –” he said, staying where he was and making his presence known by the other. 

who: @barouche - 𝕷aurence 𝕸ontford

where: 𝕻alace 𝕲ardens

All of the prying eyes, judging mamas of the Ton, it got to Emmeline. Even though her own mother was among those mamas, she needed to escape their range of sight. Disappearing into the gardens, she managed to find a quiet corner with a wall of climbing vines and blooming flowers. It was her solitude for just a moment before she heard a pair of footsteps along the stoned path. She didn't bother looking back.

"Are you trying to avoid the crowd as well?"

who: @cptcharles - 𝖂illiam

where: 𝕻alace 𝕲ardens

Out of the two military men that Emmeline knows in London, Captain Charles has her mother's favor. He is older and much higher in rank, which would lead to a far more successful life. Marriage is the last thing on Emmeline's mind. But she couldn't stop her mother when she led her daughter to the Captain, ushering a conversation with her. "Bonjour, Captain." Her eyes giving looks of embarrassment from her mother's actions.

who: @kalexander | Alexander & Emmeline

where: palace gardens

Emmeline didn't think she was ready for this, but her mother was insistent that she couldn't hide forever and that it was time for her to find a husband. Fingers crossed that she was to be named Diamond of the First Water by the Queen herself. It was trivial to her, she didn't want this title and whatever it meant to be labelled that. Arriving at these royal gardens, her mother spent her best trying to make her look good and presentable. She was admiring the flowers and people watching until she found someone else beautiful and worth admiring, Alexander.

" Bonjour, mon soldat. "

"My mother is just thrilled to be back, talking with her old friends. I, however, am at a loss for words for what to say to the other debutantes." What could she possibly have in common with the women that have seen nothing even resembling what she has? What to talk about? She was getting closer to small talk, but she still hated it. "I do not wish to be this diamond that my mother wants the Queen to bestow upon me. I think I would not like it."

It was as if Emmeline was saying his exact thoughts of London society out loud. He couldn't help but press his lips together into a thin line that only curved upwards just a little bit. "That is what it's like, yes. Everybody's playing pretend. It is simply that most everybody absolutely relishes in it. I myself find it intolerable. Why do you think I left to be in the army?" He whispered the last couple of sentences, leaning in towards her slightly, not even noticing her eyes on him. It was almost scary how easily his genuine thoughts bubbled up from his chest and formed into words around her. "It is my mother that keeps up with the ton. I am merely the one who must listen to her talking about it." He hadn't spoken this much ever since he came back from his deployment.

"I have never cared for the fragile egos of men." It was true, Emmeline never cared for the emotions of men, no matter how often she got yelled at for it. Following the kind woman, she listened to her, calming down from her outburst. "Merci, mademoiselle. I would be honored to accompany you back to your estate." She didn't know the woman, but what harm could she do to her? After what she has been through, there was no one in this entire country who could do worse to her than what would have happened to her had she stayed in her home country.

latetobloom​:

𝐀n emotion, that is what Emmeline felt. Anger. Rage. Perhaps it was not for the lack of French books. Perhaps it was for the frustration, the anger at her country. At a system who failed its people so much that they rioted, beheaded her friends, her loved ones. That she could have been next. That she had to flee to her mother’s homeland. Perhaps she was also angry for not being angry. For four years, nothing, a void with endless depths in her mind. Not a single emotion wished to bubble up.

❝ F-Forgive me I… ❞ The frenchwoman stood silent, still. Thinking about what she had shouted at a clerk who was just doing their job. Upon being guided away by a more mature and empathetic woman, it was then when she had the mind to think about her actions. But upon the mention of being unpatriotic to England if they were to carry French books, Emmeline wanted to cry. She wanted to scream more. She wanted to burn this shop to the ground. ❝ There was a war. ❞ Was all she said, cold and harsh.

    “ yes, but the egos of men can be quite fragile.” with a knowing look towards the other woman, augusta offered a softer smile, slipping her arm fully through the others to guide her from the store. “ and i dare say that is a commonality in both our countries.” she could sympathise to some extent, her maiden name of hamilton was a signifier to her family’s scottish peerage and whilst historically they had always held english sympathies ( hence their continued influence ), her father had still been a proud scotsman.  “ now, there is little need for such outbursts, as i mentioned, i can be of assistance to you in your endeavours.” a carriage awaited them at the pavement, a footman already waiting with an proffered hand. “ i shall make introductions for you with the proprietor in due course, but in the meantime i do believe i have some works that may pacify your longing – if you would be so kind as to accompany me back to hyclear ? ”  

Mingxia never got a scratch on her, she always enjoyed beating men up in the ring. It was her favorite thing to show off to women that she potentially could be involved with. The nervousness and blush that Drusilla displayed at tea made her think that she had the potential to be a lover. "You will come to learn that there are other things in this world worth enjoying other than tea and the theater."

WHEN MINGXIA HAD invited drusilla out for the day she didn't expect it to be, well -- here, but the lady can't say she minds. even though there's an odd sense of warmth flooding her body every time the other manages to knock a man down to the floor. has she come down with an illness? it had to have been, clearly, but dru doesn't have much time to think about that when she sees the other women coming towards her; almost instantly the corner of her lips tilts upward in the tiniest smile, "you know, lady wetherby, when you told me you had something fun to show me i thought of tea, perhaps the theater, but i think i like this much more."

How was she supposed to engage in things that would have gotten her killed in Paris? All the lavishness of these people, it infested her with guilt. "I do not know how much of the Ton I can tolerate. I feel as if I am playing pretend." Emmeline said, still holding onto his arm. Looking up at him, he had grown to be quite handsome, even more pleasing to her eyes as he had been all those years ago. "You must find it exhausting. To keep up with all of these people." Letting herself take a pause, she let out a sigh. "I suppose the distraction that I need is something more genuine."

His smile faded away as soon as he realized that what he thought would help her must've stressed her out more. To be honest, small talk wasn't his favorite either. He simply thought that for someone whose world had turned upside down, some kind of normalcy might've felt relaxing. "Oh..." He let out a soft exhale, a silence falling between them as his mind was once again riddled with thoughts of regret, ideas, apologies. Right. "Forgive me, I thought it would bring you much needed distraction. I suppose it all sounds so trivial now." But wouldn't one prefer trivial things, compared to a constant nightmare? Alex felt like he was at a point where he didn't have the tools to help her anymore. It was one thing to keep her safe from others, but he couldn't possibly save her from herself.

"All that these people care about is their gowns and soirees and suitors." Emmeline turned her head back to the painting in front of her, still letting him hold her wrist. "When it could be taken away from them in a blink of an eye."

It all seemed so pointless to her, everything that her mother had filtered into her ears upon arriving to England, to train her. All of it fell on empty promises. She could barely form a sentence.

"I do not know how I am going to do this season. How to please my family. How can the entitled men of the Ton know how I feel?"

William had seen a lot in his time, had felt he knew most of what there was to know of human evil. In war at least there were orders, structure. He had seen people do the worst of things, but there were rules, laws, and at least some of the time they were followed.

What Emmeline described was nothing like that. No self preservation in the killing. No ‘him or me’ on which to settle one’s soul. No, it was all vindictiveness and rage and upheaval. And she had seen it all.

Worst of all she had seen it happen to people she knew. People she has cared for.

“And now you are surrounded by the extravagance of a London society who often forget that anything exists beyond their tiny island and even tinier world."

There was no advice he could give, nothing he could say that would make any difference. All he could do was speak his own truth. "I keep them all with me you know, all of the men and boys" too many boys "It is important to me, to remember their names. If it was me, I would want someone to remember me. It is all I can do I suppose."

And now you've got me. Emmeline had been waiting to hear those words for a very long time, she hadn't seen him in so long that she had forgotten what it was like to be near him, be comforted by him. It was one of the things that didn't drive her mad. "Tea and macarons. I do like those things." Letting out a sigh, she admitted defeat with small talk. "I will be honest, it is hard for me to engage in topics such as tea or macarons, no matter how tasty they are."

Of course. Simple conversation wouldn't be sufficient to quell whatever storm must've been going on in her head. He could only keep her steady as she fought, as he had no means to erase her memory. But oh, how he would do it without hesitation if he was able. "And now you've got me. There is no need to worry- the ton is going to adore you. You will make friends in no time. Most ladies spend time here in the park, or... there's a tea shop. Would you fancy any sweets? I suppose making conversation over tea and macarons would help."