I Desire Some Confidence With You: Part Two

"Upon thy side against myself I'll fight."

May 24th

For someone who felt he had done right, Fitzwilliam felt exceptionally low. His mind had been made up the minute he saw the tall, fire-headed man poking out of the sea of brown bodices and colored gowns. Juliette tried to slow and calm him on the way over, and it had worked to a certain degree. After the initial outburst, he had reduced his ire to no greater than the general din of the tent field outside. No violence had erupted from him as he thought it might. Tybalt was dressed-down and warned off, sparing any bloody threats that would roll off that scarred face like water off a duck. He took the lashing with a suspicious calm. That might have warranted Fitzwilliam's consideration if Georgiana's reaction had not dominated his thoughts. Since the time he ignored her insistence that Tybalt had done no wrong, Fitzwilliam had not had a word from his sister.

I Desire Some Confidence With You: Part One

"So is my love still telling what is told."

May 22nd

Juliette was enjoying a great sense of relief. Today, it felt like the sun was truly shining on her and her family again. The last few weeks had been trying, certainly the worst of her married life. Lady Anne's pregnancy had turned the house on its head. Fitzwilliam and Georgiana were both still reeling, despite what they insisted when asked. An ill-timed visit from Lady Catherine had nearly cost them the entire secret. Lady Anne was now set up in a house on the western coast with her mother, but her shadow was guiding her children's behavior.

Juliette herself wasn't suffering from it - she had no complaints against her husband wanting to be within arm's reach at all hours. Her sister-in-law would never complain about her own treatment, but Juliette would have if Georgiana's lot was her own. Today was the first day that Juliette had seen Fitzwilliam relaxed with Georgiana out of his sight away from home. Very much enjoying it, she decided to try to keep the mood light and pleasant. "Will you explain the tournament to me, dearest? I think I've picked up the rules of the regular matches by now, but I've never been here."

One Too Much

"The web of our life is of a mingled yarn, good and ill together."

April 27th

Georgiana let her fingers fall to rest so she could heard the patter of the rain. The rain was the reason she was indoors, pretending to be a musician. Aunt Maria had named her captain of their archery team for the duration of her confinement. Georgiana knew it was family favoritism, but she had tried to take the position as seriously as possible. In daylight, she organized practices and coached up the younger ladies. At night, she worked on the sketches for the painted scenes she would give to Juliette for her birthday. When it rained, she squeezed in music lessons with her mother.

No Without-Book Prologue

"They have their exits and their entrances."

March 29th

Albion Manor was rarely a dull place. Lord Albion himself was always running to and fro to satisfy his responsibilities to the purse of the realm. His lady wife was never without a project, whether it was illustrating a book of poetry or rearranging the furniture in search of perfect chromatic harmony. Adrian's idle hours had been eaten up by his baby son, Frederick, who was the darling of the family. Adrian's wife, Ann, made it seem like she had thirty-six hours in day - she doted on Frederick, competed in archery, and was part of the three-headed monster that was the Theatrical Society of Verona, alongside the Albion daughters, Cherry and Morgaine.

Women Grow By Men

"Giddy Fortune's furious fickle wheel."

March 6th

Kent felt sick. At the moment it happened, he had been thinking of Cornwall. It had never been right to want his sister's unwanted husband. Yet, he had sat down to breakfast yearning to be wrong. He wanted Cornwall's thimbleful of emotions back in his possession, to displace all his misery with love. He wanted to push his sister, his lifelong protector, out of her place with her husband. Those had been his thoughts as Regan rose from the breakfast table and collapsed.