#wonderxrings

[lavieenton]

|| closed starter || @wonderxrings || Tim

|| LOCATION || St James Park

The trip to St. James Park was one riddled with anxiety. As soon as she set foot there, Ceara sought out a bench and sat, wanting to remain as undetectable as possible. She looked slightly rumpled, even if her dress was smoothed out and her hair had been brushed. She hadn’t done anything special to herself, kept her hair down. She was…*frazzled*. And she had quite the busy day, so that hardly helped. Hopefully, the time spent with him would be rewarding for them both.

She sat there as she waited for him, lost in her thoughts and picking at the corner of her worn cover of The Lady of the Lake. Gnawing at her lower lip until it was raw, letting herself get lost in the drowned, chaotic state of her mind. Things hadn’t been this difficult since…

Looking up, Ceara spotted Tim and let out a slow breath of relief. As if his familiarity was a welcoming respite for the all-consuming mess that was her brain now. “My apologies for not meeting you halfway,” she began. “The shoes from last night were not generous with my feet.” Silently, she pat the spot beside her on the bench, scooting to give him more room. As if there wasn’t an entire world between them on it.

[thorneheir]

CLOSED EVENT STARTER | @wonderxrings LOCATION | MASQUERADE EVENT

“So,” he says direct and to the point but still with some of his easy and relaxed charm to it when he approaches Tim. “I know I’m holding two drinks and one should be for you, something about it being proper to bring this extra one for someone else but my costume is quite heavy and I didn’t plan that so I thought what better way to cool down than to double up?” One is drunk in one gulp, another still in his hand. “Neither is lemonade, which could be interesting. Or trouble. Both, maybe.”

[lavieenton]

|| closed starter || @wonderxrings || Tim

|| LOCATION || The Lytton House

Ever since meeting Tim, she was horribly nervous about visiting him. She’d only been to other residences to tutor the children and went on her merry way. Now, here she was, notepad in hand and nerves nearly shot as she stared up at the home. It was much, much larger and grander than her own. Maybe this is a mistake, she thought. Tim was the most eligible bachelor in the Ton now. Being seen with her may ruin that if word gets around but…she considered what Marie had told her and steeled herself.

She had to at least try. Ceara knew she wasn’t a girl anymore. She had to move on. But it was always so hard to consider that. With a final shake of her head, she walked up and gave three sharp raps to the imposing front door.

[lavieenton]

|| closed starter || @wonderxrings || Vitoria

|| LOCATION || Promenading around the Das Residence

Riya wasn’t surprised to hear what her brother had said to the new Mrs. Bruce. Unfortunately, he had quite the mouth on him at the worst of times. She looked apologetic without saying it.

“Nalan can be quite the trouble starter sometimes,” she said. “I’ve considered striking him more times than I can count throughout our entire lives.” But then she sighed. “His face is fine. Same as it always is. He is more displeased that the altercation was printed in Whistledown than anything.”

She looked over at Vitoria, dark eyes soft. “I apologize for him, truly. He is smart but he moves before he thinks at times.”

[lavieenton]

|| closed starter || @wonderxrings || Vitoria

|| LOCATION || The Bartholomew Fair Grounds

Edgar had yet to arrive. They had agreed to meet in a particular spot, so she traversed the fair grounds in the meantime. Genevieve parted from Charlotte earlier that day, so she strolled along the damp grass while crunching down on sugar-roasted almonds. The gentle breeze cooled her damp skin, and she wore a relaxed smile when she wasn't snacking. A fanfare of joyful noise filled her ears as the fair commenced.

That was until she lightly bumped into someone's side. She stumbled a bit, but kept a firm grip on her bag of goodies. With a slight grumble and a frown, she was about to snap at the person until Vitoria's face came into view. Genevieve's own face smoothed out and her expression softened. There was that strange tugging sensation at her mind again, set on figuring out why Vitoria was so familiar to her.

"Mrs. Bruce, I am so sorry," she said. "I did not intend to meet you in such a nonsensical manner. Did you see there was a fortune teller?"

[lorddominic]

who: dominic & timothy @wonderxrings where: hatchards

As a lord, Dominic oversaw his tenants and tried to improve things for them. One way was through charity; providing people with education was his biggest goal, but not everyone could send their children to school. Some needed their children to work the farms or the shops. Anything to lessen the burden. With Hatchard's, Dominic arranged for books to be sent to children who couldn’t attend school. In Ireland, most of the poorer children didn’t attend any school, unless it was a Sunday school run by the church. The rest of the day, he’d seen how the children were busy with work and study. He’d tried to change that. He’d passed a bill in Ireland for more schools to be built, some offering Saturday classes, and it was a success. More children were reading and writing, but not at the level he’d want. London was harder. Dominic didn’t have the influence he’d have in Ireland, so he didn’t have the right backing. He could’ve used his own personal funds, but that was for the family, not for England.

Dominic used whatever resources he could. Local businesses wanting to help were few and far between, but Hatchard’s books agreed. They’d donate books for arithmetic, geography, or anything they could if Dominic would match it in either price or his own donations. He paid 70% of the donations, and the rest would be books from his own personal collection. An agreement that had the shop owner beaming with excitement as Dominic sat his bundle on the counter. One of the books fell, landing on the floor after hitting another on the foot. A page written in Dominic’s own hand was exposed.

'Ceara, an bhean le croí álainn agus intinn ghéar. Is mise, Dominic.’

He didn’t need to see the cover to know it was a botanical book he’d picked up shortly before he’d ended things with Ceara. Thankfully, his inscription was written in Irish. “My apologies,” he said to Timothy, who the book had landed in front of. “An unfortunate accident that I don’t plan on replicating. Is your foot well?”

[lavieenton]

|| closed starter || @wonderxrings || Vitoria Bruce

|| LOCATION || Beaumont Tea Shop

Genevieve loved tea. Not exactly for the taste, for she was not attuned to adding sugar, merely milk. But the warmth and comfort it brought. So, she decided to take the opportunity to invite Mrs. Bruce out for tea to find out more about her. And…to see if Mayfair improved on their tea selections since she was last there.

But as she sat and waited patiently for Vitoria and tasted her tea, her nose scrunched and her hips turned downwards. To say she enjoyed it would be a lie. But it was warm and she had perfected the craft of feigning interest in food and drink she disdained. It was the makings of preparedness lessons princesses were required to be present for. It was ridiculous, but it saved her from a great deal of trouble.

The next time the door swung open, she perked up and subtly lifted a hand to let Vitoria know where they would be sitting. She ordered two desserts for them, unaware of what she would like. So, she picked two slices of orange cream cake, decorated with a candied orange slice and white chocolate ganache. “Hello, Mrs. Bruce,” she greeted. “I hadn’t ordered tea for you, as I was unsure if you would want any. But I am glad you are here.”

[lavieenton]

|| closed starter || @wonderxrings || Timothy

|| LOCATION || Harrington Books

Since returning, Riya had been giving herself a tour of Mayfair all over again. She took a step into the book shop, eyes searching the book spines with interest but found nothing just yet. She’d read everything, so it was no wonder the woman who knew everything—to a limited degree—wanted to know nothing about the books she saw. But a few whispers around the shop had her turning her head, where she could see a certain new bachelor. Well, this was much more interesting than a book.

“It is not everyday I run into the most eligible bachelor of the Ton,” she mused as she approached him. “How does it feel wearing such a title?”