Stormswept Heights

[Conquestia]

My smile widend at George's complement. "Why thank you George." My eyes followed his gaze to see what exactly he was looking at, upon realizing this, a flush began to creep up my neck. I took his arm and let him lead me to the hall.

"I am sorry about earlier, about leaving, but I didn't wish to upset anyone..I hope I didn't worry you.." I stopped as we reached the hall. Standing before me was my new sister, and she did not look too pleased. I relenquished my hold on George's arm just as she stormed out. "Oh dear..." I said, frowning with a small sigh.

 

[Lady Pendragon]

Elizabeth

"Yes, M'Lady." I said as I entered her room and began helping her tighten her corset. "Please do tell if it is too tight." I said, pulling the cords in my hand making her bosom overflow the top.

I looked as her figure began forming. She was an older woman, but as all society was, she had a distinguished beautiful touch.

After finishing I asked, "May I be of further service to you, M'Lady?"

 

[Zircon]

George

George saw the flicker of emotions playing on Miss Annabelle’s face before she turned away. He flushed even more. The irritation that bespoke from her stance and actions confused him. He did not know what happened or what did he do to upset Miss Annabelle, except to ask her to be present for the fist supper with her new family. Multitudes of scenarios ran through his head, as he watched her walked out. It was apparent that he must have done something wrong. And now, even before supper had commenced, Miss Annabelle had disappeared from the great dining hall.

He silently cursed himself for his inattention to the emotions and feelings of Miss Annabelle. Although, he cannot be entirely blameless. Women were as fickle as fate, this much George knew. From one moment to the next, he had to prepare himself for an abrupt change in nature. But this new attitude that Miss Annabelle had shown him for the past few days baffled him. Something definitely had changed, and it had nothing whatsoever to do with the arrival of her family additions.

“Please forgive me Lady Lara. It’s apparent that my presence here in the great hall has caused Miss Annabelle to flee again. Please excuse me.”

George departed from the sweet company of Miss Lara and chased after the departing Miss Annabelle. It would not bode well for him if Miss Annabelle had decided to skip supper after her acquiesce.

 

[goddess_euphoria]

Serina Martyn

"May I be of further service to you, M'Lady?" The maid asked after she had finished dressing me. I checked my appearance in the mirror and smiled, turning back to her.

"Thank you for your help," I said. The young woman blushed slightly and nodded. "Have you been working for the Baron long?" I was curious for a little more information on my new husband, though it occured to me that it was unlikely the servents would speak honestly to me about Edward.

 

[MissVictoria]

Anne Martyn

Anne picked up into a brisk jog as she exited the dining hall, holding up the skirts of her long dress so as not to trip over the accursed thing. She was halfway out to the stables before George caught up with her.

As he grabbed her arm gently, she stopped and spun around to face him, wet tears coursing down her cheeks. Her dear friend seemed suprised at her display of emotion, and befuddled as to the cause.

Of course he did not know. How could he? She had done her best to hide it... to hide all of the feelings that had been welling up deep within her for some time. She was so tired of hiding them, so tired of pretending and casting aside, when all she wanted to do was...

She suddenly stepped forward, grabbing his shoulders, and pressed her lips hard to his, tiliting her head slightly to the side and literally pulling him into the kiss. After a long moment, she drew back, and there was fear in her eyes.

She gasped quietly at her own actions, and took a stumbling step backwards. "I'm sorry..." she whispered.

 

[Zircon]

George

The kiss was lingering. Intoxicating. Swirling in like unknown eddies in George’s mind.

And the kiss was definitely not from a child.

“I’m sorry…” She said with emotions thick in her voice. George only mutely nodded. He understood finally, what was happening. And it scared him to no ends. The playful childlike affection from her had became real. She was no longer the child he knew. She had grown.

George was very tempted to take advantage of her. To take advantage of her adolescent crush. To take advantage of her first love. Temptations were so great that he drew her into an embrace and mashed his lips against hers. The feel of her soft breasts pulsating with life against his chest was too much to bear. The warmth emanating from him passed onto her. He wanted so much to take advantage of her. He wanted so much to let the floodgates of his feelings for her break open.

But then the vision of his loving mother glared like a warning. He reluctantly broke off the kiss, and stared softly into her eyes.

“Anne, please. I’m sorry. You know that your father would not approve of this. Not matter how much I want to be with you, or how much you want to be with me, your father will not approve. I’m just a lowly stable groom. Whereas, you… You’re a Lady. It just would not work, My Lady…”

George lifted her hands up to his lips. Overturning them, he kissed gently on her palms. A gentle reminder that a mistake has been made, and it was not irreversible now.

“Go. Go back inside with your family. I’ll be here…” pointing at the stables, a not so subtle hint that they were of two different classes.

He turned and left for the far side of the stables. The top of the coal bin looked inviting, and that was where he plopped himself, deep in thoughts. Then George felt the cold wind from the coast on his face. Tonight would be a little bit miserable, not in the least bit about what had happened. There would be no warmth in his bed, as Anne would eventually come to her senses. A single solitary tear streamed down his cheek.

 

[MissVictoria]

Anne Martyn

Annabelle walked mutely back to the dining hall, her eyes seeing nothing, existing in a daze. Behind the foggy mist of her watery eyes she could recall easily the sudden look of decision that had crossed George's face.

He did not want her.

Annabelle was not certain what she had expected from her bold, spontaneous actions. She simply had not thought of the reprecussions before she acted, and now she was feeling the sharp sting of regret, and the smothering embrace of sorrow. In her naive daydreams, she had worked out at least a hundred other possible results, each with a happy ending. She was not prepared for this.

She took a seat at the long mahogany table, holding a hand over her eyes as servants brushed past, dressing the table for the evening meal. If they noticed her upset, they did not show it, intent on their duties.

In this house of bustling people, she was alone.

She was still alone.

 

[Conquestia]

When George left, i'd busied myself simply pacing the halls. I felt terrible, I suppose i hadn't understood why Annabelle would become so upset, but now i figured it out - - she loved George. That was the only conclusion i could come to that explained her behavior, and it made me feel even worse, i hadn't meant to threaten her.

Out the window I saw George leaving for the stables and saw Annabelle enter the dining hall. I straightened up and entered behind her, as she sat down i contemplated what i was doing, then sat beside her. "Annabelle..?" I said, touching her shoulder gently. "I. I just want to say I'm sorry, I don't mean to be of any threat to you..Im truly sorry for upsetting you.."

 

[MissVictoria]

Anne Martyn

Blinded to all but her sense of despair, there suddenly arose a voice: "I. I just want to say I'm sorry, I don't mean to be of any threat to you..Im truly sorry for upsetting you.."

Annabelle lifted her head, coming slowly back to her senses as her stepsister spoke. Anne wanted to slap her. Wanted to push her down to the ground, and beat her fists into Lara's ribs until she couldn't breathe and begged for mercy.

But she also wanted to embrace her, for Anne felt alone, and this shining soul was reaching out to her. Pushing away thoughts of violence, she raised her head upwards to view her stepsister, tears lining her cheeks, an expression of appreciation in her eyes.

"I'm sorry...f-for...." Anne spoke, though her tears, "For being so... h-horrible..."

 

[Conquestia]

I shook my head. "Shh.. no... your not horrible, not at all. It seems we've both been put into a situation we don't seem to like very much, that's all, I can't blame you any more than you can blame me." I smiled quietly. "I just did not want you to hate me, i really don't mean to be of any threat.." I relaxed a bit.

"I didn't see what happened between you two.." I said quietly, "but perhaps after dinner you should go talk to him, im very sure he feels strongly about you as he talks very highly of you.." I winked at her. "You could always say your giving me a 'tour' of the stables.."

 

[MissVictoria]

Anne Martyn

Annabelle flushed deeply as her stepsister spoke, wondering how she could already know so much, when she had hidden it from George for so long! Was it so obvious?

She placed her hands over her cheeks, feeling their warmth.

She glanced to Lara, trying to judge her intentions. She saw no threat now within the eyes, and for that she was glad, for Lara did not seem to be shocked or disgusted by Anne's love for someone of a "lower class" . Her stepsisters words were instead soothing, and for a moment Annabelle actually considered heeding Lara's advice.

Anne was about to inquire about the possibility of a late evening visit to the stables, when a large figure appeared in the door. The motions of the room seemed to pause for a moment as the Baron appeared, before settling back into its busy rush, and Anne quite forgot about her plans, pushing them out of her mind for later.

The appearance of her father always had this effect.

 

[Xantham]

Baron Edward

As I strode into the dining hall, I noticed Anne and Lara speaking closely with their heads together. Perhaps dinner would not be as bad as I had imagined. Together they looked up at my entrance and I saw what were remnants of tears in Anne's eyes.

My first instinct was one of rage. What had Lara done that had caused Anne to cry so? Then I remembered the way they had their heads together as I entered the room. From what I saw, Lara had not caused the problem, instead she was helping her new sister. But obviously someone had caused the problem, and I would find and punish that someone.

Silently, I thanked my step-daughter as I crossed the room to talk with them. "Anne, my darling, what is wrong? Why have you been crying?"

As Anne lifted her head to speak, Marie poked her head in. "Dinner is about to be served, please take your seats."

I resolved to get to the bottom of this, but it would have to wait until after dinner. I took my seat at the head of the table as Lara politely took the seat next to Anne. I waited expectantly for the lady of the house to make her grand appearance. And of course, my new step-son had disappeared right after they arrived and I hoped that I would not have to discipline him on the first night for tardiness. Or rather, allow my wife to discipline him, for that was the arrangement.

"Well, Lara, tell me how you spent your first day at the manor." Sure it sounded forced, but let's be honest, it was forced, small talk was never my forte. I waited on her answer as I waited on the latecomers.

 

[DeityMun]

.

 

[Conquestia]

As Anne looked up, i followed her gaze, sitting up straight as my eyes fell upon the Baron. I could tell he was not initally pleased at the scene. "Anne, my darling, what is wrong? Why have you been crying?" Hearing this i bit my lip slightly, breathing in a sigh of relief as one of the servants announced dinner.

"Well, Lara, tell me how you spent your first day at the manor." I looked up, surprised that the question was directed towards me. "Well sir, I just explored a bit. Im afraid I haven't quite found my way around here yet, but I must say it is very beautiful here, it is however alot larger than I am used to, but Im enjoying it very much." I unconciously straightened my dress, glancing around, wondering where the others were.

 

[goddess_euphoria]

Serina Martyn

The maid shook her head, her eyes not meeting mine.

"Oh," I paused, not sure what to say, as the girl didn't seem to want to talk with me. "Well," I said, "I suppose I should get myself off to dinner, it wouldn't do to be late!" I smiled at the maid and crossed over to the door. "Thank you again." I called over my shoulder.

I paused for a moment once out side the room, calling up the map in my head, I made my way back through the house the way we had came earlier. I passed Clay and Lara's rooms, pausing to see if either of them were there. Neither one was to be found. I hoped I'd find them both in the dining hall. Well, rather I hoped that Clay would be there. I thought back on what Edward had said about me disciplining Clay.

I'd almost laughed when he'd said it. After all, Clay was a grown man. What did Edward expect me to do? Take him over my knee? I laughed to myself about it now as I made my way through the many halls. I intended to talk to Clay, surely, but I wasn't about to scold him for being unhappy with the situation I'd put him in.

Finally I'd made my way to the dining hall. Surely, I thought, there must be a quicker way to get here! I'd ask Edward latter. At least for now I'd been able to find my way, and with out getting lost!

I took a moment to compose myself, then entered the dining hall. At once I noticed that Clay was not yet there, and from the look on Edward's face, he had certainly noticed as well. But the meal hadn't started yet, and he hadn't been in his room, so surely he'd be arriving soon. At the same time, I noticed Lara and another girl... oh my! Miss Anabelle certainly cleaned up nice. The dress was a little dated, but at least she looked like a woman now. I smiled to both of the girls as I walked across the room.

 

[Subo97]

Wood Barkely

While the gentry and the house servants were busy with dinner, Wood strode down to the village to get a bottle of wine. He stopped at the Red Bull tavern, a working man's bar that served strong drink for strong men. Some local wag had defaced the tavern sign, adding an erect phallus and a lolling tongue to the bull on the weathered sign. Sometimes Wood drank at the inn, maybe giving the local wench, Molly, a bounce on his knee, but Molly was otherwise engaged and wood was in another mood, so he quickly paid and left.

Wood made his way back to the manor, walked out to the gazebo by the moors and began to drink. The moors were covered in mist as they often were at night, as they were on the nights the late baroness came out to stare across them. Gulping his wine, Wood's blood stirred at the memory of the baroness and how she looked in the night.

He remembered slipping her robe off her shoulders and untying the ribbon that held her gown shut. He remembered her gasps as his mouth closed on her breast and the way she slid her hand down across his trousers to feel his hardness. He remembered driving into her till her full breasts bounced and she had to bite his shoulder to keep from screaming out. But mostly when he remembered the baroness, he remembered the mist.

She would never say what she looked for, something from her past perhaps, or a future she could never have. It was her secret. Once she had gone missing and Wood found her on the moors, unconscious and half naked, and carried her home to the Baron's bed. Whatever it was the doctors said killed her, Wood believed it was the mists of the moors and whatever ghosts hid therein.

But a warm bed was better than a cold memory, and Wood turned to stroll back to the manor, drinking his wine as he walked.

 

[Zircon]

George

George was leaning against the stable door looking at the golden warmth emanating from the tall windows of the Great Dining hall. The fireflies dancing in the night illuminated his distant eyes and frowning face. He wrapped his cloak which he went to get earlier, tighter around him to ward off the chill coming from the coast. There was very little he could do except think.

The wrongness of it all was glaring. He was a groomsman. She on the other hand was a Lady. Her father was the Baron. Nothing that he had encountered had prepared him for this. It was wrong. It could not work. Her father, the Baron would never allow this.

And yet, he knew deep in his heart, that his heart spoke the truth. His heart had longed for this day to come. His doubts that she would not reciprocate had been erased completely. All this while, he had hid under the veneer of indifference. That single kiss which he had returned expunged all reservations. There was still time to go back to the way they were. But he knew that this was not what he wanted.

He wanted to take her in his arms and hold her thus. He wanted to taste again the sweetness of her mouth. He wanted to feel her bosom heave with every breath of him. He wanted to drink in her eyes, the love for him that had remained unspoken until today. He wanted all of that. However, what he wanted was inconsequential. It was what she wanted that mattered.

She must decide the path forward. George had decided and was prepared to forsake all for her. Only if she asked him to. The wrath of the Baron he will endure, for her, if she asks him to.

And he waited in the darkness of the shadows for the chance to be able to speak with her again…

 

[Lady Pendragon]

Elizabeth

I followed the new baroness towards the way I came and to the dining hall, but instead of going in, I made my way to the kitchen.

I walked in looking for a familiar unfamiliar face. I was not yet accustomed to this house, and was afraid that I may be beat if I did not act as they wished for me.

"What may I do to help?" I asked out loud, to no one in particular.

 

[papillon24]

Natasha

OOC: sorry for my absense. but my post may be scarce for a bit. Rl and classes are a bitch

IC:I rapped gently on the door knowing the barron would be angry if I didn't even try and bring him in.

"Master Clay. I can hear them gathering in the dining hall. Are you to join them?" I waited for a reply of somesort but there was none. I turned once again down the hall towards the great dining hall to help serve dinner.

I watched the new family as they gathered. I envied that as I turned my eyes to the barron knowing that my company would not be needed for the night as I turned and opened a bottle of wine setting it on the table next to where the barron sat.

I looked to the window to the stables noticing a small figure on the coal bin realizing it was George and something was wrong by the way in which miss Annabelle held herself tonight.

 

[Xantham]

Baron

I watched my new wife enter the dining hall and she took my breath away. She had chosen one of the dresses I had had made for her. And though I did not tell her, she chose the one I secretly had picked as my favorite. She smiled to the two young ladies as she came in, though I detected the slightest of double takes towards Anne. As she turned to smile at me, I saw a little fear and anxiety in her eyes. Trying to calm her spirits, I gave her the warmest smile I could muster--leaving aside the matter of Clay for now.

"Baroness, your arrival warms our hearts. If you are ready, I will instruct the servants to begin the meal."

"Thank you, Edward, I believe I am quite ready for a good meal."

"Pickering, let dinner begin."

Pickering nodded and tapped a bell that lay beside him. Almost instantly the first course started out the kitchen doors. As portions were doled out, and the first bottle of wine opened and passed around, I lifted my glass for the toast.

"To my new beautiful wife and our beautiful daughters, I hope we can grow together as a family. Let us keep our minds and hearts open so that we may help each other fulfill the dreams we have and those we know not of. Prost!"

 

[MissVictoria]

Anne Martyn

Anne raised her glass at her father's toast, for she was expected to. Her mind elsewhere, she did not hear any of the words that he had spoken, until the very end.

"...fulfill the dreams we have and those we know not of. Prost!"

Prost, he had closed the toast with, as he had many times before. But for some reason, this eve the word stuck with her. She had never really thought of it before, merely accepted it without concentrating on the meaning. Prost... prosit... prodesse. She recalled the words from one of her many lessons, for her father had hired for her many tutors and insist that she be as studied as any male child would have been. The toast meant literally "may it benefit", though it was used mainly for toasting health. How odd, she thought, the meaning seemed when paired with the notion of unspoken dreams.

She thought immediately of George, her own unspoken dreams, and Lara's suggestion that she meet with him after dinner.

No. That would be too long.

Annabelle glanced across the table, watching her Father and Stepmother silently cutting at their meals with the guest silver. Then she clutched at her stomach, and groaned, hoping she wasn't overdoing it.

Her father looked startled. "Anne?"

Annabelle groaned again, for good measure. "Father, I fear I have taken ill..." She screwed her face into an expression of agony. "I feel faint... I.... I believe I will take my supper in my room tonight..."

EIther the Baron believed her lie, or he simply did not wish to argue in front of his new wife. There was some discussion with one of the maids as the Baron arranged for Anne's meal to be sent up to her room. While they were speaking, and the Baronness was glancing away, Anne grabbed a few choice pieces of pheasant, a bit of warm bread, and a candied apple, stuffing them into a cloth napkin, and hiding the bundle in her skirt.

Before the Baron looked back over to her, Anne was already departing the dining hall, her back to her family. "I'm too sick to eat... never mind the supper", she called back over her shoulder. "I will simply retire for the night... please do not disturb me!"

---

Skipping up the stairs, Anne's heart fluttered with the knowledge of her lie, and what she was planning to do. When she arrived at her room, she closed the door, locking it behind her. Then, as she had done many times in her youth, she climbed out her window and into a tree that stood outside of it, scaling her way down to the ground, still holding the bundle of food.

Then she set off for the stables, taking the long way around, so as not to be seen by the Baron.

She did not expect to encounter the gardener on the way, stumbling along as his hand held onto the neck of a bottle of cheap wine. Stopping in her tracks, she gasped.

 

[Subo97]

Wood Barkely

Wood stood still in his tracks. For a moment he thought he was seeing a ghost, not that the dead were anything to fear, or perhaps the wine had brought his memories to life. He wasn't that drunk, but he was stunned.

Anne stood before him in all her mother's glory. She wore one of her mother's dresses, the red velvet one. Wood eyed her up and down, never one to cast down his eyes before the gentry. She not only had her mother's eyes and hair, pinned up by one of the baroness's combs, but her body as well, held snugly in the velvet, her full breasts pushed up to reveal her inviting cleavage.

"Miss Ann," he said teetering a bit, "ye should be at dinner, I imagine, not running about in the dark."

She looked stunned as if she had been caught at something, her eyes darting left and right as though looking for an escape, like a cornered animal. That reminded Wood even more of her mother. He raised his hand for a moment, as if reaching for her, then dropped it. "You look like your mother," he said, and they stared at each other awkwardly for a moment before Wood started to move off.

"Stay away form the moors," he told her, " the mists are about tonight"

 

[MissVictoria]

Anne Martyn

The exchange was odd, and Anne was glad when it was over. She had felt the gardener's eyes on her before, but never quite in this way. Adrenalin pumping through her blood as she hurried away from him, her heart pounded loudly in her chest, praying that the man wouldn't tattle on her. Wood always seemed to know what was going on about the Manor, and how to benefit from the information. She did not trust him at all.

But Anne did not have time to worry overly about that now, for she felt even above her worry the pull of the stables, and the man she knew would be there. A soupy coating of fog covered the ground, and the rush of her skirts stirred it, sending tendrils swirling and dissipating into nothing. It was cold, and dark.

As a noise sounded behind her, she ran the rest of the way to the stables.

 

[Zircon]

George

The torches could barely lit beyond a few feet as George stood outside the stables, with his cloak tightly around him, his cowl around his head in a vain attempt to keep warm. It had been a while since he went into the warmth of his loft. The mists shrouded everything in mystery and gloom. As if a reflection of his mind. In the distant, the mist seemed to amplify the howls coming from the moors. Creatures, dangerous man-eaters, abound in the shrouded places.

His eyes were still lost in the mystical gloom when he heard footsteps coming from the fog. His heart raced with blood pounding through his body, in preparation for the unexpected. There were stories of lost souls who haunt the moors, when the moon was full and the night, icy cold and foggy. Tonight was one such night. He grabbed a torch, more to ease his fears than for any practical use. His footsteps were silent as he closed the distance to the direction of the footsteps.

Then through the thick mists, came the light of his life, Anne.

“Anne…” George spoke aloud, his voice penetrating the mists, even as the torch could not.

George draped his cloak around her as he led her to the stables and up to his loft. There, he ate in silence with his eyes firmly on Anne, the delicious pheasant, bread and candied apple that Natasha had prepared. There was no need for words. The clear spring water washed everything down, including his misgivings. She just sat there, eyes bright and with a flicker of a smile on the corners of her lips, as he finished. The solitary candle in the room did nothing to banish the darkness, only enough for George to lead her to be more comfortable on his bed.

The embrace was forthcoming. There was not much finesse in his actions, only an ache for her. He ran his fingers through her long raven locks, twirling the curly ends. It was soft, as silk, and just as fine. He then traced his fingers on her ears, rounding at the lobes. With one hand on her nape of her neck, he pulled her closer. In one fluid motion, he drew her into a deep kiss. A yearning of the soft lips finally fulfilled. The tongue tentatively probing, afraid that it would not be welcomed.

It lingered as he broke off, to look deep into her eyes again.

“Anne… I… I don’t know what to say… or do…” as he put his head against her temple, to breath in her sweetness. Just the simple fact of being close to her was sufficient for him to banish the chill of the night.

 

[Conquestia]

As Anne rushed out, i frowned, concerned. I didn't realize her plan. I slowly ate my dinner, glancing around at everyone else and making polite conversation, all the while wondering what was wrong with Anne. When i finished my dinner i looked at the Baron. "I believe I will go check on Anne, see if she is alright or ready to eat now.." I rose slowly, smiling at them all as i left and rushed up to Annes room. I knocked softly but when i opened the door there was no one. Suddenly it hit me where she had gone and I laughed to myself. I pulled her covers down slightly and closed her washroom door, to make it as if she had been in bed in case anyone came to check on her. I closed the door and walked back to the dining room. "Anne's laying down, she said no dinner, i think she is a bit naseaus, i got her a glass of water and told her to sleep, so i think its best if we don't disturb her.." I said, taking my seat again at the table.