Here Come the Capulets

June 1515 (Three Years Earlier)

"Uneasy lies the head that wears the crown"

Contessa Capulet, mother and matriarch, was admired by many in Verona. She was known as a fair and strong woman, one whom one did not need to question or wish to cross. When provoked, she acted decisively, but rarely in anger. She did not hesitate to be forgiving or harsh when it was the right course, whether in her home or the Council Chambers. The wisdom that came with age had seen her through the dark and turbulent period following her daughter's murder, and many blessed her for doing so without plunging the country into war. The loss naturally made her value peace and family more than she previous had, but she remained sharp and vigorous. Everyone, including Contessa herself, expected her to live to a ripe old age. 

As Soon Moved to be Moody

"What, my dear Lady Disdain! Are you yet living?"

April 4th 

Fitzwilliam Darcy's 21st Birthday

Bianca Montague was almost completely pleased with her evening so far.

Show a Fair Presence and Put Off These Frowns

"Things are often spoke and seldom meant"

April 4, 1518

A chilly spring night took the edge off of the crush at Darcy House. Lady Anne had invited all of Verona into her home to celebrate her son's birthday, and few had turned down the opportunity to sample her generous hospitality. However little the honoree wished for such a celebration was not a consideration. 

Notably absent from the crowd was Fitzwilliam's sister, Georgiana. Lady Anne had decreed earlier that her daughter did not look sufficiently recovered from her recent cold, and Georgiana, though perfectly healthy, was grateful to be spared the mortification of attending such a large party. Kindly, she suggested to her brother that he could use the pretense of checking up on her if he felt overwhelmed. About halfway through the evening, just as the guests had been hearded to the tables for supper, he decided to take his sister's suggestion.

Prologue, Part III: This Same Wayward Girl is So Reclaimed

"Sorrow concealed, like an oven stopp'd, doth burn the heart to cinders where it is."

1510

"Your ladyship, Father John is come." 

The gray-haired lady dismissed the housekeeper. She did not yet trust her staff. It had only been six months since her son had forced her out of his home, but her dislike of her daughter-in-law made her happy to retire to house given as part of her dowry. With time and care, the once-neglected manor house was becoming a very comfortable home. She welcomed the priest into her parlor, her favorite room. "What brings you here today, father?"

Prologue, Part II: Star-Crossed Lovers

Content Warnings: Click here for warnings

"I would my father look'd but with my eyes."

1495

"I would rather be disowned by my father than have you dishonor yours. I will ask him."

That he had told his lady, his most beloved of all people, when the ecstacy of their engagement quieted in the corner of a ballroom. He had more courage then, full of youthful hopes and too much wine. Just a few days later, George Darcy wondered who that bold fool was that had proposed to his Anne. The man standing before Anne's father, Lord Fitzwilliam, was neither bold nor hopeful, but he could not be silent.

"Sir, I am here to beg your permission to marry your daughter, Anne."

Prologue, Part I: Where We Lay Our Scene

Content Warning: Click Here for Warnings 

"In fair Verona, where we lay our scene"

For centuries, the Duchy of Verona was ruled from its namesake capital by the House of Percy. The Percys, a prominent family in the Old Empire, were elevated to the ducal throne when they led the revolution that separated the duchy from the crumbling Empire. Verona was soon such a beautiful and prosperous realm that even the very rich rarely went abroad. The capital district, comprised of the Old City and the surrounding countryside where the rich and noble lived apart from the rabble, was considered by the Veronese to be the most lovely place on Earth. Not even the inevitable squabbling of the noble and the toils of the poor could make many wish to live elsewhere.

Misfortune visited Verona when one of the last dukes reached old age. His wife, who had recently died, had given him only one child, Lady Emiline.