to say this was not good would be an understatement.

it was a disaster. quite possibly the end of her life as she knows it -- and he can't say that she is overreacting, if there was even one whisper about what happened last night in the village, she was done for. all that time, all that effort, all her best work wasted because for one night, she forgot she didn't hate dwight enys.

she wasn't going to let him ruin her life. dawn crept into the room, a wisp of light dancing in through the window. there was just enough time for her to get back to her house before people started stirring out of their homes, she decided, pulling away from his embrace and out of bed in one quick movement, telling herself that she didn't care if he woke up, that it didn't matter, that she was being practical.

in her defense, she had not been expecting a half-naked man in her brother's bedroom when she came to collect the washing.

especially when the half-naked man was not her brother!

something that might have been his name, or possibly doctor, tumbled out after the squeak, impossibly wide blue eyes stayed fixed on him for a claustrophobic second before something finally clicked and she spun on her heel and pressed her face into the door, the wood cool against her cheeks that were anything but.

❛⠀ oh my g-god, uh, i'm sorry. i didn't know you were here, no one told me, i was just grabbing patrick's clothes, he told me he had nothing to wear and i...⠀ ❜ she says, her forehead meeting the door with a soft thud. then, helplessly, her eyes slid back over her shoulder. bare torso. dark blonde hair. more muscle than any country doctor should have... another frazzled sound escaped her. ❛⠀why? ❜

_________  ⋆˚ ★ INCOMING HOLO / ENDLESS EDITS OF NURSC / @nursc & @sanitatcm

Her condition was one familiar to her, and this time it ought to have been so much sweeter than the others, but Morwenna found herself riddled with melancholy and doubt as her time drew nearer. Drake was fit to burst with glee at the prospect of a child coming, but her mind could not let her rest. She couldn't stop herself from thinking of John Conan, of carrying him and birthing him and all she had to endure so soon after her labours. Her heart grieved for the child she left behind but couldn't bear to think of or look at for the memory of his father. She thought of how the child she carried would know the love of its father, but would its mother even be capable of the same love, if she was able to do what she had done to her firstborn?

She felt plagued. So, each day, she walked along the cliffs. Not for any sinister reason, but to have her ears and head filled with sounds of wind and waves to drown everything else out. But as her time grew nearer, the walk grew harder, and she found herself needing to sit and rest more often.

                   once in a lifetime opportunity .      she'd never speak or dare come to another ball again , no , she'd get her fill tonight and whisk back to the monotony that was her drab life . but she just wanted one night to pretend to be a noble lady and dance among the rest of the high society of the ton . and sophie had done just that during her evening . she had filled her dance card , swayed among the faux suitors and ate wonderfully delicious food all under the wealthy guise . it was all perfect , until it wasn't . until she was exiting through the back garden , not watching where she was going only to bump into another and lose the one piece that kept her identity hidden . those seconds froze into years . the silver mask now lay almost too perfectly against the cobbled stones .      ❝      you mustn't speak of this .      ❞ sophie snatched the mask from the ground , thus raising to bear witness the look of the other . there was no way anyone would recognize her here , but outside of this ? she believed in the contrary . ❝      please .      ❞

                      the new season is upon the ton .      perhaps this season is proving to be thus more challenging than the last , as she's failed to make match from the previous spring and it's widely known . cheeks flush with red , francesca stepped away from the boisterous music and the loud thumping feet to find a drink and some peace somewhere in a dim corner .     ❝      stifling, isn't it ?      ❞ a familiar face shoots through the people at the drink table , and quite possibly out of being overwhelmed and thirsty , francesca continues to do the thing she normally doesn't do ──── ... strike up conversation . ❝      or are you fond of these balls ?      ❞

𝐢𝐭 𝐰𝐚𝐬 𝐧𝐨𝐭 𝐨𝐟𝐭𝐞𝐧 𝐢𝐥𝐥𝐧𝐞𝐬𝐬 𝐬𝐰𝐞𝐩𝐭 𝐭𝐡𝐫𝐨𝐮𝐠𝐡 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐩𝐞𝐧𝐰𝐨𝐨𝐝 𝐞𝐬𝐭𝐚𝐭𝐞, but this winter was specially brutal for a lot of Mayfair it seemed. Sophie had been run ragged to levels she had not known were possible. In truth, she felt as if she would drop dead if she stood still for even a moment. Fortunately, or unfortunately, the demands added were so laborious that she'd been granted the rare opportunity to go to market. Such things were typically banned for her. Not so much in words, but implication. Alfie or Mrs. Gibbons were the the ones who ventured out. Sophie remained inside. Of course, it was hard to really enjoy it at present. Not when she felt her own head sluggish and fevered. All she could do was power through until everyone recovered and at last might she then rest. Holding her handkerchief to her face, Sophie knocked on the door. " Excuse me, I've been sent to fetch a doctor for Penwood Estate... the lady of the manor has taken ill. " If there was anything worse than Araminta healthy, was Araminta ill.

𝐒𝐓𝐀𝐑𝐓𝐄𝐑 𝐅𝐎𝐑 @sanitatcm

a   chill   has   set   upon   their   home.   in   the   hours   leading   up   to   the   doctor's   visit,   he   and   sophie   had   been   rushing   around   so   much   trying   to   cure   their   son's   fever   that   benedict   hadn't   had   a   moment   to   think.   but   now,   as   his   wife   and   charles   finally   sleep,   it   sets   into   him.   ❝   i   apologize   for   the   lateness   of   the   hour,   doctor.   he   just....   ❞   he   looked   away,   voice   thick   with   emotion,   ❝   he   was   not   getting   any   better.   nevertheless,   you   have   aided   us   greatly.   would   you   stay   for   a   drink?   we   can   prepare   a   room   if   you   wish   not   to   travel   back   until   the   morning,   of   course.   ❞