#v1scountess

[killedllove]

𝐟𝐞𝐚𝐫 𝐫𝐢𝐩𝐩𝐞𝐝 𝐭𝐡𝐫𝐨𝐮𝐠𝐡 𝐡𝐞𝐫 𝐯𝐞𝐫𝐲 𝐛𝐞𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐚𝐬 𝐬𝐡𝐞 𝐟𝐞𝐥𝐥 𝐢𝐧𝐭𝐨 𝐡𝐞𝐫 𝐦𝐚𝐦𝐚'𝐬 𝐚𝐫𝐦𝐬. It was easy, most of the time, to use a well practised smile and the knowledge of what failure would lead to in order not to crumble under the weight of the marriage mart. Despite years of training and observing from afar, Daphne truly had not been properly prepared for just how terrifying the whole ordeal could be. An ordeal made worse by Anthony's determination to send away every single potential suitor, for what felt like increasingly benign reasons. Worsened in it's final degree by the determination of the vile Lord Pembrooke to ' win ' her. " Mama, I don't know what I am to do. I am trying to have faith and trust... but surely, you've seen what Whistledown writes. Nobody of any decency is going to want me at this rate. I'll be forced to... " Daphne's voice fell silent, not even able to verbalize the fear aloud. Surely they could do something before such desperate acts were needed, right ?

( 𝐇𝐔𝐆 ) ; violet holds daphne close while she opens up / cries : @v1scountess

[miscreantes]

@v1scountess, violet bridgerton, gets a starter because i'm evil.

colin does so enjoy aubrey hall, though this time he had opted not to participate in the yearly game of pal-mal. (he had been called a coward for that, but he's been called worse by his sisters and brothers before). instead, he has chosen to enjoy tea with his mother, a quiet and polite conversation, to which his siblings' antics provided a rather amusing ambiance.

" ah. " he says, turning to her with a wide grin on his lips. " eloise is cheating again. " he is not about to tell on her, of course. but watching from the sidelines provides him ample opportunity to watch, and, perhaps, strategize for next year... just then, a loud buzz distracts him, and in the corner of his eye, he sees one of the bees lured in by the sweetness of his tea. he tsks his tongue. " beastly little thing. " a wave of his hand is not enough, and the insect chooses to sit on the collar of his shirt - not surprising, seeing as he chose a floral print for the occasion. he smacks at it, just once, hoping to scare it off - and fails. the tiny creature, startled, stings. " ough! damn you. " he curses it, though it is really not its fault. only then does he turn to face his mother again.

[miscreantes]

francesca stirling + violet bridgerton, cont. x ( @v1scountess )

it is late, and she is exhausted. at last, she had cried out all the tears she had, she thinks. yet still, francesca does not wish to succumb to sleep. if it is out of fear that, like her husband, she might not awaken, or perhaps the opposite - that she will and shall find the world as it is, the world where he is no longer living, she herself is not sure.

so she stays there, in her mother's arms, that have provided comfort before, rarely as they were ever welcomed. and for once, she asks for the opposite of what she had before - because while at times confusing and maddening, mama's metaphors are familiar, unchanged, when the entire world around her seems to have spun off its axis.

when does it pass, she means to ask, but she looks at violet and that instant knows the answer already - it does not ever. not truly. " i fear the-... hurricane, as you said, might swallow me whole before the sun comes. "