Little is known about Lady Worthington, herself, from her work. Unless, of course, you knew where to look. More than once she’s poked fun of herself but then only the other contributors to the sensational columns knew her identity. To find out more about the authoress, you would need to read her own diary - one that was filled with even more secrets than she had published. Of course, as distrusting of the world around her as she was, she’d first developed a rather complex coded way of writing so that if it ever fell into the wrong hands, no one but she would be able to decode it.
Excerpt from Helen River’s private diary (decoded):
The pen is mightier than the sword!
Or so they say. I often hope it is true, for if I ever find I must defend justice by my skills in battle, Acela will truly be lost. Not that I would lack in bravery on the battlefield (my pride has is stronger than my cowardice), but I sorely lack the necessary coordination to be a fearsome opponent in battle.
I truly was a cowardly little thing as a child, who would have shrunk from a reprimanding from my father, let alone anything truly dangerous. It is a terrible thing in this country to discover that one is fae when you are told from the cradle that they are inherently evil and must be eliminated. I lived every day in fear of what I might do but (perhaps rather selfishly) I was even more terrified about what would happen to me, should I be discovered.
Helen was born to a merchant, but by the time she was a young girl, her elder sister had been married to the King. His mother was a mere human, a commoner, but their’s was a love match and the King having already produced an heir with his first wife, he felt free to marry where he pleased the second time.
Even as a child, I knew I could not trust my Charlotte’s connection to the royal family would not save me. And once the King died, it became clear that her position at court was in title only and surely any reason to cast her out completely would have been used against her. Discovering that her younger sister was fae would certainly please the courts: she’d be charge with harboring me even if she knew nothing.
So, as a young girl, Helen did her best to keep out of everyone’s way. She found pleasure first, in reading. She would devour any books she could find (particularly those of adventure and far off places) -- reading them tucked away in secret corners of the house or under trees in the gardens. When she was a little older, she started to write and there seemed an undeniable freedom when she first wrote down the words: I am fae.
She quickly burned the paper, knowing how dangerous it would be to everyone if it was found. It was too serious a confession to pass off as a joke.
It wasn’t until she discovered that there were others like her: fae living in constant fear of what would happen if they were discovered -- that she truly realized, for the first time, that she had nothing to fear from herself.
Georgiana Mallerton is one of the kindest and most selfless creatures I’ve ever known and there can be nothing more ridiculous than to think she could willing cause anyone harm! (And I do not state this lightly: I am well versed in the nonsensical! Do not forget that Ambrose Ardenne is my nephew).
This realization helped develop Helen from the shy, secluded young girl she was to the more open, witty, sarcastic, and opinionated young woman she is today. Of course, she knew her own situation was precarious -- the courts had already banished her sister from her own home as much as it would be allowed, so there was much and more she wished to say, but would not.
With so much injustice in the world, she could barely stand to sit and do nothing at all. If she could somehow manage to discover the resistance, that would be something, but she had no connections to it at all. Even with her sister’s unstable position as the Dowager Queen, she was still very much at court and could, perhaps, would eagerly be a spy (she knew, after many years of practice, how best to blend into the background where no one much took notice of her).
It was then, that she sparked the idea of writing a gossip column, while subtly trying to declare her own loyalties, with the hopes that, perhaps, she could potentially find a connection that way. It would certainly reach a broad audience, that she knew, but that tricky part was, at once, hiding her own identity but also finding a way that perhaps she could be found --- if she wanted to. If it caused enough of a stir, she also might be able to work out what sides everyone truly was on, by their reaction to it.
Regardless if my plan works, there is something truly liberating in harshly judging some of the more insufferable members of society.
And who am I, you may well wonder? That, dearest reader, is something you shall not see disclosed in my column. It is, after all, full of gossip and what better way to unearth the most scandalous of secrets than to hide behind a veil of anonymity?
(Excerpt from Lady Worthington’s first issue)
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