what cannot be said

basic  statistics  :

full  name  : agnes josephine seymour

nicknames  or  aliases  : she was once tenderly called 'aggie' by her father, who is now too old and too scorned to remember her

age  : thirty - five

date  of  birth  : 7 january 1852

position  : lady seymour, daughter of the duke of somerset

parents  : father : edward adolphus seymour, 12th duke of somerset (b. 1804) prev. m. susan margaret seymour, duchess of somerset (b. 1808 d. 1850) mother : jane georgiana seymour, duchess of somerset (b. 1824 d. 1859)

siblings  : lady margaret helen seymour (elder half-sister, b. 1831 d. 1850) angus ferdinand seymour, earl of st. maur (twin brother, b. 1852) margery beatrice paulet (née seymour), marchioness of winchester (younger sister, b. 1854) lord edward percy seymour (younger brother, b. 1856) eleanor guendolen kearley (née seymour), viscountess devonport (younger sister, b. 1859)

marital  status  : betrothed to alistair arundel

sexuality  : homosexual

the  secret  :

he was not the one to discover them, but the duke of somerset could picture the scene. his most favored daughter entangled in lavender sheets, exposed milky skin reddened not with shame but pleasure. he now saw that agnes had played him for a fool. she'd dodged suitors for years, all in the name of the love of a woman. what's worse, he'd been blinded by his favor for her and allowed it. her lover's family threatened to cry scandal; the lady's advantageous engagement now seemed precarious. somerset scrambled to find the nearest man in need of a wife, and offered agnes alongside a thousand pounds. and while alistair arundel was not a british peer, as a rather wealthy member of the gentry it was appropriate enough to not stir too much suspicion. the family's venture to new york city sweetened the deal all the more. had the cost of his intact reputation been worth it? he could not say.

thoughts  on  high  society  :

agnes had once reveled in society. the season delighted her with its parties and its drama— she'd happily participate in the former, but never the latter. she delighted in fashion, and wielded her feminine wiles to leave many cards opponents with empty pockets. but such a world was gone now. new york society came with a new hierarchy, one she hadn't been born into, one she hadn't had centuries of ancestors' shoulders to stand upon. she is determined, however, to rise from the ashes. even if that means gritting her teeth and dragging her lead-filled feet down the aisle.

introduction (tw: death //// tldr: gay nepo baby!):

"i am the descendant of edward seymour, first duke of somerset and brother to jane seymour, queen of england, lord protector for his nephew, king edward vi. are you familiar with him— no?" agnes's eyes rolled over them once, unsurprised at their ignorance. "all you need to know is that he reveled in power and influence; and just as quickly do the mighty rise do they fall." the apple does not fall far from the ancestral tree, she thought grimly. "i will not bore you with accounts of my upbringing, as it is nearly identical to my peers. nor do you need to know the logic behind grape scissors or the science of calling cards. the bright spots of my childhood were perhaps my father teaching me to play cards at an age at which i should not have been playing cards...emptying my brother's pocket of sweets at said game of cards...learning to ride horses...and perhaps any time i was with all of my siblings." "you see, the duke and his second wife, my mother, were quite...prolific. let's see: my twin brother and i are the oldest. agnus is the earl of st. maur, and my father's heir." for the first time in this conversation, her voice falters. "then there is margery, now the marchioness of winchester. then edward, who last year was married to the daughter of the 2nd baron methuen. and last, my most dearest, is eleanor, now the newly minted viscountess devonport. you'll notice that all of my siblings are in marriages so advantageous and respectable it is almost vulgar." she almost makes a remark upon her own upcoming nuptials, but as soon as her mouth opens it shuts once more. "shortly before my debut in society, i traveled to the continent with the dowager duchess of northumberland. i and the daughter of a welsh earl were to accompany her travels, and expand our knowledge of art history, architecture, fashion...essentially all of the things well-bred ladies ought to be an expert in. she became my best friend in that short year," agnes said, her breath choking on her memory. she would not allow her countenance to betray her... "a bond made over greek poets, french philosophers, italian wine and dealing with the duchess' snoring is quite an unbreakable one." ...and yet her eyes trembled with longing. "we, of course, kept in touch after. but her father adores the country while i was practically raised in london, so we only ever saw each other during the season." she omitted how in between she'd practically exhausted nearly all of sappho's known fragments in her letters, and sealed each missive with a lavender sprig. "in the years that transpired after my coming out, i was miraculously able to avoid immediate marriage," she continues nonchalantly, taking a sip of her whiskey. she nearly chokes on it at the sound of the scandalized gasp that escapes her counterpart. "indeed, i hold quite controversial opinions about many things, but especially marriage. i cannot elaborate now, for while this is america, i must retain some sense of propriety. admittedly, i also have the privilege of my status in addition to my beautiful — docile — younger sisters who are more than willing to go to the altar and what's more, there's no relentless mama spending her life trying to force me down the aisle. my papa also once believed that no man was a match for me." "but you are now engaged to alastair arundel, are you not?" "an astute observation." she glances across the room at her intended. agnes was sure that she was as perplexing to him as he was to her. while untitled, the arundel's vast wealth rivaled that of any aristocrat. it was rumored that royal norwegian blood flowed through their veins, but officially, they were but landed gentry. he was not unattractive — strictly objectively speaking — and he seemed well-mannered. why had he not yet married? she did not know. she did, however, know this: he would have his secrets, and so would she.

connections  :

old money adversaries / new money allies : any newcomer that threatens the delicate ecosystem of new york high society is bound to garner attention, both positive and negative. agnes herself is acquainted with longstanding families, their daughters having been unceremoniously thrown at her brother last season. she's unsure of how they'll react to her fall from grace, the details however obscured. but it's from the newcomers that she finds inspiration, her ambitions renewed.

infatuation : agnes still has not yet moved on from her first love, but she can't deny that someone has caught her eye. usually bold in her actions, her scandalous past has made her timid. very much so_hot_you're_hurting_my_feelings_ by_caroline_polachek.mp3

fellow londoners : hailing from an influential family, agnes knows positively everyone in london town. her opinions of them? likely less than sunny, but who knows?