Dearest gentle reader,
marrying above one’s station is an art form indeed, one Miss Mabel Trevelyan spectacluarly failed to master. We all remember dearly her romantic escapade with the painfully obvious fraud called Mr. Avery. Obvious to everyone in Mayfair but to the young lady fooled by cupid’s arrow. After losing half her dowry it is truly what one might call a humbling experience. However, those who expected Miss Trevelyan to be hiding herself behind the walls of her seaside home are proven wrong. Indeed, she has been seen parading the streets with new feathers. This leaves the inclined reader wondering who she is trying to impress this time. There is still half a dowry to steal from.
Which is more than Miss Eleanore Baillie might have to offer. We all have heard of the tragedies that had fallen upon the Baillie house, only surpassed by the abominable curse of the Wallace family. After months of stillness the new viscount Baillie has set foot in London again, accompanied by his two sisters. With no home to return to, the family is forced to seek refuge at their uncle’s house. Perhaps one last act of despair? Neither the viscount nor his sisters have much to offer. Do old widowers and widows not have a liking for young, hopeless flesh? If Miss Eleanore Baillie is lucky enough, her spouse will pass away before their first anniversary. More prosperous but not less glum is the future of yet another lady.
Like the late Viscount Fairfax, Lord Protheroe, the Duke of Devon, has avoided the streets of Mayfair like the plague. After having dug in dirt for a decade he has had enough and has returned in bad health. Alas, he resides at the Stewart estate, which sadly will take another toll on his health. Thus his daughter Lady Winifred Protheroe is ought to marry within this year. With her dowry a match won’t be much of a challenge – if all the money could only conceal the lady’s character, which overflows with absurdity and weirdness. Who in all Mayfair but the Stewarts themself are avaricious enough to wed this shelf-made debutante?
Perhaps Miss Rohese Fairfax will be more fortunate than Lady Protheroe, but only if she knows how to sell her odd mannerisms as charm. But her suitors must have a liking for birds. I fear if Miss Fairfax travels with her entourage of feathered friends to Mayfair, she won’t be easily persuaded into letting them go. One might wonder if her dove companions are the consequence of a lonely childhood in the marshlands. Isolated and with no other children of the Ton to befriend with, who would not turn talking to birds? Truly it will be entertaining to watch how the daughter of the recluse Viscount Fairfax will manoeuvre this year’s social season.
The daughter of an Earl will not face such problems, wontly. And yet, the last daughter of the Earl of Berkshire might not face a bright future. Not only has the young Lady Elizabeth Kothari big footsteps to follow, there might be something following her as well! After all she has resided in a haunted house. As if curses that affect whole families were not enough … It is questionable whether the haunting of Kothari house has taken its toll on the young lady’s health. Perhaps instead of pirouetting through the dance halls of Mayfair, Lady Elizabeth should savor the salty air of Falmouth. No gentleman desires to be haunted by love and the ghosts of her nitpicky ancestors.
My dear reader, if these ladies fail to entertain us throughout this season, fret not! This author has heard that our majesty, the Queen herself, is expecting guests from overseas. The daughter of the Doge, the most noble man of Venice, is said to set foot on english soil. For a lady of such high rank it is expected to travel with an entourage of young female companions. However, one of them is unlike the others. Lady Marina Venier is said to be the princess’ favourite and they share quite the unique bond. If this kind of affection is common in the swamps of Venice I cannot tell. But it is indeed quite peculiar. Likely bother-if not even troublesome for finding a match; who wants to marry a wife on has to share with a princess?
Yours truly,
Lady Whistledown
❀ Eleanore Baillie by @weisesfrettchen ❀ Rohese Vilhelmina Fairfax by @skotophobia ❀ Elizabeth Anne Kothari @copper-minnow ❀ Mabel Trevelyan @greenhillmoonlight ❀ Winifred Protheroe @hitching-hiker ❀ Marina Elisabetta Ando Venier @bejeweledskeleton
After 84 years … haben wir eine Entscheidung.
Ich möchte mich herzlich bei euch allen bedanken, einerseits für all eure tollen Steckbriefe, welche die Entscheidung echt nicht leicht gemacht haben, andererseits möchte ich mich auch für die schöne Anmeldephase bedanken.🥹 Ich weiß nicht, ob es mir nur so vorkommt, weil’s meine Geschichte ist. Aber irgendwie fand ich die ganze Anmeldephase einfach nur schön. Einfach dieses Miteinander, die Fragen, die Edits … es war herrlich mit euch.
Wirklich, vielen Dank euch allen. 🩷
Umso schwerer fällt es natürlich, dass ich nicht jedes Birdie annehmen kann. Wie gesagt habt ihr wirklich alle interessante Charaktere mit vielen guten Ideen eingesendet und die Entscheidung fiel mir echt schwer. Daher möchte ich auch betonen, dass es bei der Wahl darauf ankam, wie die Charaktere miteinander harmonieren und interagieren – und wie ihr seht, habe ich mich letztlich sogar für 6 statt 4 Birdies entschieden. Einfach aus dem Grund, dass jeder Charakter gut mit einem anderen harmonieren oder für Konflikte sorgen kann, sodass ich echt keinen missen wollte. Zudem ließen sie sich auch über mehrere Ecken unterschiedlicher Art verbinden.
Again, vielen Dank euch allen. 🩷🥺
