#flueri

meme, accepting.

his nerves were haywire. confident aura waivered when he saw the man in the distance, cap pulled down just enough to shield his eyes. the great nod and walk away not good enough tonight because each deliberate step toward them was making garrett's stomach pitch in ways he thought he had fought off years ago. what could phil graham possibly want now?

a half step is taken, body coming slightly in front of hannah as if he were shielding her from his father, from the unnecessary criticisms he was sure he had already gathered in his head. jaw sets, lips pursed as a hand reached behind them, fingers brush against her hand before slipping further to interlace their hands together whilst thumb rubs a few strokes on back of hand as if this was the only thing in the world grounding him.

" a word, garrett. " phil spoke gruffly, his jaw set in a way that would have terrified twelve year old garrett to death but twenty - something garrett was perplexed what his father could possibly need.

she doesn't hesitate linking her arm with her sister's as they set off through the garden. this time of year, aubrey hall's flowers are in full bloom, suffusing the estate with a sweet, intoxicating scent. more than once she has teased anthony that she agreed to marry him as much for his grounds as for himself... but rarely have they been more pleasing than now, after so long apart from the person who had once been the entire focus of her world - for better and for worse. and as they walk, she is again determined that the joy of this visit will wipe away any unpleasant memory of the past that might still linger. all that was long past - and they have both found a joy that had not seemed possible then.

" you must promise me, bon, " she says at last, squeezing edwina's arm tightly, " that you won't wait so long to visit me again. certainly not now that you have the duties of an aunt to fulfill... " she adds with a sly smile.

henry tilney enjoyed a party. he was not such a slave to fashion that he felt the need to affect the disdain for society so many gentlemen seemed to do. indeed, he was a lively man - and to dance and converse was no unpleasant way to spend an evening. he was not inclined to any real debauchery - as more than befitted his profession - but he saw no reason to turn down a respectable invitation or to stop himself from being as pleasing a partner as he could manage.

he had just finished dancing a set, politely returning his partner to her party, when he saw a young lady seated rather apart from the rest. had he yet seen her dancing? he could not recall so. impertinent though it was to approach her without an introduction, he was across the room before he could think better of it, making her a polite bow.

" i hope i do not offend, ma'am, " he said, a smile of amusement playing about his lips. his eyes, though, were not unkind. " but i cannot help but notice you have not partaken quite so enthusiastically of this evening's entertainments. i hope that is from your own inclination and not some unpardonable rudeness on the part of my fellow guests... "

the look she gives him sits somewhere between amusement and incredulity - but after a beat, it's the former that wins out. " not that bad? " she laughs, leaning forward to emphasize her point. her cheeks are flushed and her (third) glass of wine dangles from her fingers. " that, my dear mr. bridgerton, simply tells me i did not have the honor of performing for you tonight... "

to say that this evening's performance of she stoops to conquer had been an epic catastrophe would be an insult to the long, storied history of epic catastrophes. where would she even begin describing it? the malfunctioning scenery that nearly crushed a costume girl? the leading man who was too drunk to stand upright? or perhaps it was the ornery students in the pit who'd delighted in tossing the remains of their dinners onto the stage. that there had been no riot was perhaps the only kind thing she could say about the entire business... she had needed this - desperately. the party and the wine...

she tilts her head to the side, merriment twinkling in her eyes. " tell me - how familiar are you with the sensation of rotting orange peel trapped in your stays for four hours? "

the thing was... ava was not sure she could. it felt as though there was a hole in her chest where her heart had once been. where was the damned thing now? bleeding in the floor of ivan's office. she had always been afraid of the water, of drowning, of not being able to breathe again. yet there she was, struggling to catch a breath as her sobs filled the car. it was worse than her memories and her worst nightmares, simply for it was real. shaking her head, the raven-haired woman could not find it in her to speak or even look at her best friend. it was all too hard. ❝ i don't know... ❞ she whispered quietly, the memories of the past months flashing in her mind / each one a more painful stab to her chest. ❝ i just- i'm trying to understand it myself, you know? i thought we were... i don't know. i feel pathetic and stupid, okay? ❞

@flueri / lucium

"What are you worrying about?" Pen asked with a furrow of her brows. If they were in Town, she knew there would be plenty to worry about. But out here, in the countryside, with nothing but miles of greenery and fresh air, she couldn't imagine having anything to fuss over. "If you want to be alone with your thoughts, I can go. I just figured you might want a friend." Or maybe she simply needed a friend herself.

“Rumors?” She blinked, having not given a single thought towards what rumors may spur from such a thing. Pen was used to having a sort of monopoly over gossip, using her influence to make sure only the spiciest of rumors caught fire. “I suppose I didn't think of that. I'm not accustomed to being seen at all, let alone being spoken about."

"You better." Pen grinned, gently squeezing Eloise’s hands in hers. As much as she was concerned for her friend’s budding relationship with the printer’s boy, Pen didn’t want to see Eloise suffer. Pen’s heart had longed for Colin for what felt like an eternity, but she’d never known El to have a fondness for… anyone. She’d by lying if she said she wasn’t at least a little curious as to what might unfold between the two of them. “Please be careful, El. You can't let anyone see you.”