Adler Estate - London, England, 12th of September 1817
"Come away from the window. I made you tea."
It was a sweet voice, a musical cadence, that lured Amelia away from the window of the lavish terraced house. She looked over her shoulder slowly to see her cousin's wife. There was something in Lilian's bearing that broke through the grey cloud hanging over the brunette's head and showed her a few glimpses of true sunshine when she smiled. It was contagious, and it had Amelia smiling as well. A demure little mannerism that showed just a flash of her white teeth against full pink lips.
She smelled the tea before even walking away from the writing desk to the chaise lounge were Lilian sat, patting the firmly packed seat with a dainty little hand. Similar to her namesake, Lily was the very epitome of an English Rose, with blushing cheeks and a frame of strawberry blonde hair around her delicate heart shaped face.
Amelia took a seat and placed her hands neatly in her lap where she unconsciously thumbed a folded letter. Through the semi transparent paper was a distinctly feminine cursive script that Amelia had been pouring over.
Lilian's hand touched Amelia's exposed back of her cream chemise she wore which fell just below her shoulders, with only a light mossy green overcoat that hardly competed with the fireplace. She liked feeling the cool kiss of the air against her alabaster skin.
"I missed you at dinner. Are you not feeling well?" Lilian asked in an attempt not to try but to still show concern for her friend, perhaps the only one Amelia had since coming to live with her uncle, Lord Adler, and his heirs, since her father died. As an only child and unmarried it left her in quite the precarious situation over the last few months of sorting out his estate.
"Admittedly, I think I've worn out my welcome" chuckled Amelia in reply, offering another smirk as she tried to discourage Lilian's worries. The brunette flicked the letter upright to her friend's view and she found her thick dark lashes come to a stop over her hazel eyes, like polished river rock, like the note was putting her into a trance. "Uncle means well letting me stay but with father's estate in ruins, and without any prospects, I can't in good conscious become a burden here." Then she took up a cup of tea, inhaling the notes of perfumed bergamot and spice that soothed her as well as Lily's voice.
Lily took the opportunity to snatch up the letter with widened eyes. Dainty finger hurriedly peeled back the cracked black wax seal embossed with a raven and unfurled the letter fully. "So you're going then? To Ravenhallow?" asked Lily. She sounded almost breathless as she re-read the letter for what was perhaps the tenth time since Amelia shared the fateful and strange new.
"I have no choice," Amelia answered, smile lopsided. She put the tea cup down to receive the letter again and was greeted by another of Lily's famously bright smiles. The latter leaned over and planted a hand on Amelia's leg with a gentle squeeze.
"Imagine a whole estate of your own! Think of it as an adventure. A new start."
Ravenhallow - North Yorkshire, 17th of September 1817
The coachman dropped her off with an unusually curt attitude and had stayed only long enough in the drive to pull out her trunk onto the gravel. Then he was gone with horses whinnying uncomfortably into the foggy lane through neatly maintained walls of ivy and roses. Looming above and before her sat the formidable estate which was to be her inheritance. Amelia strode up to the front door and plunged the great brass knocker down thrice, then stood back waiting patiently.
After a moment when no footman appeared and the door remained untouched, she stepped forward again with a small confused furrow on her brow. All around her she could hear the birds on distant branches cawing and chirping, and... not much else. The quiet was beginning to make her listless. Unnerved.
Just then the door swung open to reveal a slightly shorter woman dressed in a dark grey dress. She was middle aged and had her greying ginger hair pulled back into a white cap around her bun. Nothing short of scrutiny phased through her eyes as she peered at the young woman. From her reaction it was clear to Amelia that she wasn't expecting anyone to come calling.
"May I help you, ma'am?" she asked.
"I am Lady Amelia Adler. I was advised to come to Ravenhallow on the request of my distant relative." Amelia's surprise showed and it made the other woman's scrutiny turn to suspicion at such a vague answer. Though miss Adler extended her hand with the letter hurriedly for the woman to read it and her already pale freckled face seemed to blanch further.
"Ma'am... Lady Adler, excuse me --" She fussed with the letter and turned it back to Amelia as she folded it neatly, flashing the signature marked with an S at the bottom.
"The Talbot family has called Ravenhallow home for centuries, and it's descendants are quite alive and well within its walls."
"Come away from the window. I made you tea."
It was a sweet voice, a musical cadence, that lured Amelia away from the window of the lavish terraced house. She looked over her shoulder slowly to see her cousin's wife. There was something in Lilian's bearing that broke through the grey cloud hanging over the brunette's head and showed her a few glimpses of true sunshine when she smiled. It was contagious, and it had Amelia smiling as well. A demure little mannerism that showed just a flash of her white teeth against full pink lips.
She smelled the tea before even walking away from the writing desk to the chaise lounge were Lilian sat, patting the firmly packed seat with a dainty little hand. Similar to her namesake, Lily was the very epitome of an English Rose, with blushing cheeks and a frame of strawberry blonde hair around her delicate heart shaped face.
Amelia took a seat and placed her hands neatly in her lap where she unconsciously thumbed a folded letter. Through the semi transparent paper was a distinctly feminine cursive script that Amelia had been pouring over.
Lilian's hand touched Amelia's exposed back of her cream chemise she wore which fell just below her shoulders, with only a light mossy green overcoat that hardly competed with the fireplace. She liked feeling the cool kiss of the air against her alabaster skin.
"I missed you at dinner. Are you not feeling well?" Lilian asked in an attempt not to try but to still show concern for her friend, perhaps the only one Amelia had since coming to live with her uncle, Lord Adler, and his heirs, since her father died. As an only child and unmarried it left her in quite the precarious situation over the last few months of sorting out his estate.
"Admittedly, I think I've worn out my welcome" chuckled Amelia in reply, offering another smirk as she tried to discourage Lilian's worries. The brunette flicked the letter upright to her friend's view and she found her thick dark lashes come to a stop over her hazel eyes, like polished river rock, like the note was putting her into a trance. "Uncle means well letting me stay but with father's estate in ruins, and without any prospects, I can't in good conscious become a burden here." Then she took up a cup of tea, inhaling the notes of perfumed bergamot and spice that soothed her as well as Lily's voice.
Lily took the opportunity to snatch up the letter with widened eyes. Dainty finger hurriedly peeled back the cracked black wax seal embossed with a raven and unfurled the letter fully. "So you're going then? To Ravenhallow?" asked Lily. She sounded almost breathless as she re-read the letter for what was perhaps the tenth time since Amelia shared the fateful and strange new.
"I have no choice," Amelia answered, smile lopsided. She put the tea cup down to receive the letter again and was greeted by another of Lily's famously bright smiles. The latter leaned over and planted a hand on Amelia's leg with a gentle squeeze.
"Imagine a whole estate of your own! Think of it as an adventure. A new start."
Ravenhallow - North Yorkshire, 17th of September 1817
The coachman dropped her off with an unusually curt attitude and had stayed only long enough in the drive to pull out her trunk onto the gravel. Then he was gone with horses whinnying uncomfortably into the foggy lane through neatly maintained walls of ivy and roses. Looming above and before her sat the formidable estate which was to be her inheritance. Amelia strode up to the front door and plunged the great brass knocker down thrice, then stood back waiting patiently.
After a moment when no footman appeared and the door remained untouched, she stepped forward again with a small confused furrow on her brow. All around her she could hear the birds on distant branches cawing and chirping, and... not much else. The quiet was beginning to make her listless. Unnerved.
Just then the door swung open to reveal a slightly shorter woman dressed in a dark grey dress. She was middle aged and had her greying ginger hair pulled back into a white cap around her bun. Nothing short of scrutiny phased through her eyes as she peered at the young woman. From her reaction it was clear to Amelia that she wasn't expecting anyone to come calling.
"May I help you, ma'am?" she asked.
"I am Lady Amelia Adler. I was advised to come to Ravenhallow on the request of my distant relative." Amelia's surprise showed and it made the other woman's scrutiny turn to suspicion at such a vague answer. Though miss Adler extended her hand with the letter hurriedly for the woman to read it and her already pale freckled face seemed to blanch further.
"Ma'am... Lady Adler, excuse me --" She fussed with the letter and turned it back to Amelia as she folded it neatly, flashing the signature marked with an S at the bottom.
"The Talbot family has called Ravenhallow home for centuries, and it's descendants are quite alive and well within its walls."
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