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 Posted: Tue Feb 11, 2014 7:11 pm
A HEARTFELT INVITATION
time: Over a period of several weeks.
place: Between the Fitzpercy estate in Palisade and the country estate of the Lelands.
participants: Chrysanthemum Fitzpercy and Piper Leland
premise: Aware of the financial situation of the Lelands, Chrysanthemum invites her childhood friend to spend the season at the Fitzpercy estate in Palisade with her through correspondence.
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My dearest Piper,
I hope that my letter finds you well! It has been too long since last we wrote, and I am afraid that the fault is all mine. I have been most dreadfully busy at all hours of the day, and I have lapsed in diligence at many tasks, letter-writing being but one such example. Please be patient with me, sweet friend, and know that I am all contriteness about my disgraceful silence! Hopefully the contents of this letter will make up for it a hundredfold, for I have settled upon a scheme to vanquish any discomfort between us entirely. Oh! I cannot sit here and tell you all about my life in Palisade without telling you the good news first. If I do not have the time to write to you as I ought, consider this: Will you not come to visit me for the season?
Are you quite shocked at my proposal?? I know that my dear, sweet Airish cousins are living with us here now, but I assure you that we have ample room for another guest, and you are never a burden in our household. Oh, you are so sweet, dear Piper, how could you possibly ever be a burden to any body? I feel as if I have not spoken to you face to face in ages, and having you stay with us would be a very great honour and favour to me. I am out in society, but as you can imagine, my manners are slightly rustic, and the company in Palisade, whilst all very charming, is not quite like the intimate and friendly gatherings that we once enjoyed so regularly at home. To have a familiar face with me would be an indescribable delight!
If you are at all anxious about danger or impropriety, you needn't worry. Palisade is slightly different from the country, but it is not at all terrifying. It is true that some people live in shocking conditions, but in such a vibrant city, it would be naive not to expect people from all walks of life. At any rate, my dear vigilant Mama would never let a young lady go out without a chaperone that could shield her from any unfortunate happenstance, so in that regard, we may all rest at ease. There are also a great deal of gentlemen of means and breeding, and while that means very little to me, as you and I both know that I have completely settled upon marrying an Airish lord, I know that you deserve the company of the best of them, and it concerns me deeply that you be admired and given dues for being the sweet friend you are. Please, do not make any modest protests! It is all quite futile, you are one of the dearest creatures I know, and I am determined to enhance the atmosphere of the town with your delightful countenance.
I do hope that you find my scheme to be agreeable. Once I thought of it, I could scarce stop to rest until I had wrote to you of it, and I am sure that as soon as I tell Mama and Papa that I have invited you, they will be delighted.
Yours, Chrysanthemum Fitzpercy
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Posted: Tue Feb 11, 2014 8:47 pm
My Dear Chrysanthemum,
To say that your letter was a source of great surprise and delight in my household, and to my heart in particular, is a vast understatement. I received it with a soaring of joy and a song to the day. As you said, it has been far too long since we were last in each other's company, and I miss you dearly. Yes, I have been in good health, though you may have heard of our ill fortune of late. I hesitate to mention such a thing, distressing as it is, and I hope that you hold discretion with such things.
Despite it, however, I can see that your offer is heartfelt and most generous! I imagine that only a lady such as yourself, with a similar upbringing to my own and a cheerful nature that I feel kinship to, is the only kind of person that I can confide in and hope to trust completely; and I imagine that you understand my feelings. Not only under your assurances, but at the urging and support of my own family, do I heartily accept.
I very much look forward to meeting your dear cousins and hearing all about your future plans. Whatever it is that you may think my true motives are for accepting, I assure you that I truly wish only to act as your friend and companion, and to make our reacquaintance strong and long-lasting. The county has truly been dull in your absence and nothing would make me happier than to witness your wit, charm, and grand accomplishments once more.
(I should also mention that Papa is hesitant to send his daughter out in the world, but can find no fault in your mother's vigilance, knowing her as he did from our childhood as a formidable lady with qualities surpassing all but his own wife's... naturally.)
If it is not an inconvenience, please do expect me on the 17th of this month. Papa has agreed to allow me to accompany my brother, Jay, into town when he goes to visit our solicitor. I can hardly wait to see you again, sweetest friend!
Singing your praises,
Piper Leland
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The carriage bounced with an even sort of pattern entirely different from the country roads as it came into Palisade. Piper peeked out the window, pulling aside the curtain, and got a quick glimpse of chaos before Jay twitched it shut. She tried not to be too angry with him; he was missing his Annabel, and he got cranky when away from her for any distance greater than half a mile. Still, she wasn't about to let him spoil her curiosity. She straightened in her seat and put her head back. Pleased that she was in proper posture, he went back to his papers, and she shifted her gaze to the gap in the curtains he could not close.
It was hard to see anything this way. She caught sight of various things, most confusing, but occasionally she saw enough to recognize something: The sides of horses, a brace of rabbits hanging in a window, a rack of bright ribbons trailing in a breeze. She smiled a little, but kept still, lest she betray her focus. Jay and Papa had been very worried about this trip. They recognized the importance of it, but that didn't mean they weren't going to shelter her as much as possible. It was all very tiresome.
Eventually the light outside went from dim and smoky to bright as they entered better neighborhoods. She was dying for a look, even though she knew that out of her brother's eye she'd likely have a chance to familiarize herself with the houses of the noble families. Of all the subjects for her drawings, buildings were her favorite.
When the carriage came to a stop in front of her destination, she carefully schooled her face to serenity, though she was practically bursting with nervous and delighted energy. A season in the Palisade! It was a dream come true! The footman seemed infuriatingly slow, but she would never take her frustration out on a servant. It was bad form. Servants had become rare for her, and she had taken to being less a brat to them once she has started taking on some of the things they did.
The door finally opened, letting sunlight flood in, and she took the hand offered to her and stepped out still dazzled and slightly blind.
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Posted: Wed Feb 12, 2014 9:16 am
Chrysanthemum Fitzpercy was well aware of the Lelands' misfortune, and just as her heart had bled for her dear Airish cousins, so did it bleed for her childhood friend. The struggles of common and poor people were one thing, they were tragic, and she felt that she must help somehow, but they were also the burden of society at large, and furthermore, to be expected, as common people were born into hardship. However, to know that someone of her own class, accustomed to the tastes of her own society, especially her dear childhood friend, could be experiencing hardship! Well, that was a problem that she felt she must take on entirely by herself. By herself, and by her dear Papa's immense fortune, at any rate.
Thus, it had been not at all troublesome for her to prepare lavishly for Piper's arrival. Her father, once she had told him that she had invited dear Piper, had at first been inclined to grouse, but she had meekly pointed out that the Lelands were dear friends and that it had been a dreadful oversight not to invite Piper at once after they had heard news of her family's diminished situation. He gave in to her arguments eventually, as she knew he must, and once he had, she spared no expense in fitting their third best guest room (for she could not begrudge her cousins their two best), and making a list of every consideration that Piper might need, every treat that she might be indulged, every person which she simply must meet, and every diverting sight which Palisade could offer.
The only point that gave Chrysanthemum pause was that Piper might be understandably shocked to find a house full of deer in a fashionable urban home, as there were not one, but four Wardens under their roof just at present. However, if dear Piper did express any displeasure, Chrysanthemum allowed that once she explained that Guardians were emerging for the good of Sunderland and the safety of dear noble Queen Anne, Piper's patriotic duty would overcome even the slightest hint of disdain for keeping so many large animals in the house. In fact, she was very eager to impress upon Piper the importance and honour of being a Warden anyway. She was dreadfully proud of her Marigold, and of being Chosen. Certainly Piper would be impressed! She must be, Chrysanthemum did not think that she would be so boorish, even in her youth, as to choose a friend who would not be awed by a magical deer, let alone four.
Still, Chrysanthemum remembered that until very recently, when the Queen had revealed that she was a Warden, the occupation was seen as not entirely respectable, so instead of bringing Marigold with her to greet dear Piper, she left her in the drawing room. She must, she decided, steel sweet Piper's nerves and discern her opinion on such matters before shocking her unduly, especially when Piper herself was in a family situation that might make her feel a bit delicate. Alone, then, she strode into the reception hall, arms outstretched and smiling broadly.
"Oh, my dear Piper!" she exclaimed warmly. "It has been too long!"
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Posted: Fri Feb 14, 2014 11:03 am
Piper stepped forward to meet Chrysanthemum, hands out to take hers. A little squeal of delight managed to escape, a bright, sunny smile breaking out on her heart-shaped face. "Chrys! Thank you so much for inviting me. It is so good to see you!"
She hesitated a moment, as an insistent and weary feeling tugged the back of her mind, and her smile faded to worry. "Before we get too caught up with each other, I must ask if there is an adequate place for my Guardian to rest? Unlike me, sitting in a carriage all day, Merry has been walking the whole journey and she is very hoof-sore, the poor dear."
A part of her wasn't sure if this was acceptable, but she had heard rumors that the household had their own Guardians, and such a question would not be amiss.
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Posted: Mon Feb 17, 2014 10:03 am
Chrysanthemum paused for a quarter of a second to register this new information, and then, if possible, her smile became even more delighted. "Oh, dear Piper!" she crooned. "You don't mean to say that you're a Warden? Oh, it is too delightful, for you see, I and dear Larkspur, and both of my sweet Airish cousins are Wardens as well, and that is what has been keeping me so terribly busy all this long while! I was so fretfully anxious that you would not take well to living in a house full of four deer, but if you are a Warden too, all is more than well! I should have known that the Wardwood would choose you, you are so wonderfully accomplished. Silly me! I feel like quite the noodle."
She motioned to one of the servants, already busy unloading Piper's belongings to be brought into the house, and requested, "Please inform Daisy that we will need refreshment for a Guardian as well as Miss Leland, Richard." The footman nodded and retreated. He had barely gone before Chrysanthemum was leading Piper to the drawing room, gushing, "If your dear Guardian needs to rest terribly, you can lead her to the stable, or whatever her preference may be. I insist that my own guardian, Marigold, stays with me at all times, so she rests in my own room. She is in the drawing room now, if you and your Guardian would like to meet her. Oh! You must. You must be introduced! Do you think that our Guardians might become as closely acquainted as we are, Piper dear? What a charming prospect!"
She waved Piper's protestations of thanks for her invitation quite aside. "You must not think of it, Piper," she insisted. "You do me a favor so much greater by providing me with your excellent company!"
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