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with steady hands agnes opened the crystal vessel, and poured a glass of whiskey for him. she hesitated a moment, then refilled her own. is this what my life has become? am i destined to wait for him, to pour his drinks, to engage in meaningless conversation for the rest of my days? she walked slowly, balancing both glasses in her hand. she briefly considered placing his drink on the table before him, if anything to avoid his touch. she knew that feeling his skin against hers was inevitable, but the thought of another only summoned the memory of the one who was now married herself, across the ocean.

he had always been kind since their first meeting after the agreement had been made. it was clear, however, that his kindness was more out of chivalry than affection, and agnes wouldn't have it any other way, even if his kindness was but a twist in the knife her father had plunged in her heart. she decided against spiting him, carefully handing him the glass so that their fingers did not yet meet. "i did, but most conversation was made with those i was already acquainted with," she replied cooly. "memorials are an awfully morbid place to make introductions." she paused a moment, unsure what to say next. she supposed it was her turn to ask him a question; she was usually not so inelegant in conversation. "and you? did you have any stimulating conversations today?"

"thank  you,"  he  murmured  at  her  cold  response  to  his  question.  he  knew  Agnes  held  no  love  for  him,  part  of  him  wondered  if  she  in  truth  hated  him  for  accepting  her  father's  proposal.  agnes  was  beautiful,  graceful,  and  without  a  doubt  worthy  of  the  Arundel  name  -  in  truth  if  society  was  to  consider  she  was  marrying  below  her  stature.  However,  it  seemed  Agnes  hadn't  been  given  a  choice  when  it  came  to  the  marriage  deal  and  a  part  of  Alastair  hated  that.  He  tried  his  best  to  accommodate  to  Agnes'  needs  and  wants  and  even  though  he  could  give  her  everything  coin  could  buy  -  she  was  always  so  distant. 

at  the  notion  of  him  getting  a  glass  of  liquor  he  tried  to  smile.  "that  would  be  lovely,  thank  you."  he  always  tried  to  be  kind  to  Agnes  and  knew  that  no  matter  the  affection  he  pretended  to  hold  a  part  of  him  knew  she  could  see  right  through  it.  he  was  just  like  her,  marrying  out  of  duty  and  not  love.  "did  you  get  the  chance  to  speak  to  some  of  the  attendance  at  the  memorial?"  he  wanted  her  to  socialize  and  perhaps  find  some  friendships  even  if  they  were  with  unfit  figures.  He  just  wanted  her  content  and  if  he  was  able  to  give  her  a  sliver  of  happiness  throughout  their  engagement  and  lives  -  he  would  feel  a  little  more  at  ease.

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𝐒𝐓𝐀𝐓𝐔𝐒. closed to isla sinclair @ofgildedhearts 𝐋𝐎𝐂𝐀𝐓𝐈𝐎𝐍. the gardens of astor manor 𝐃𝐀𝐓𝐄 & 𝐓𝐈𝐌𝐄. february 1887, garden party

one could feel the sigh of relief that swept through the city streets when invitations of astor gold appeared at the doorsteps of the city's finest. its arrival signaled that the social season would go on — as they all knew that it would — george dupont's demise and the drear and drama that came with it notwithstanding. in truth, agnes was better suited to social events that transpired under the cloak of night. the dresses were finer, and flutes were filled with champagne instead of lemonade.

while they had not been seated at the same table, agnes now strolled with her future in-law, surveying the crowd assembled before them. she held a glass in her hand, partly filled with lemonade, but upon acceptance she'd undone a flask and poured some gin. thus far, if anything endeared her to the arundels, it was their exorbitantly priced liquor cabinet. there was also alastair's cousin, of whom she was fond in part because of her birth superior to her kin. "the astors' charade of our fine london society is almost endearing. i hope for your sake you are a fine croquet player. i, for one, have never had an affinity for games with balls."

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what a sordid affair. while she championed a good bluff at the poker table, she was entirely clueless as to how she might feign sorrow for a man with whom she was unacquainted. though there were more unfamiliar faces in attendance than otherwise, the presence of those with whom she was acquainted signaled to her that george dupont had been an important and influential man. her favorite type of man, if one such existed.

and yet she didn't hesitate to follow when the arundel women made their goodbyes and tucked away into their carriage. noticeably absent was her betrothed, but she didn't mind. after dinner agnes settled into a large chair in the living room with the novel she'd picked up, inspired by her american adventure: nathaniel hawthorne's the scarlet letter. she nursed a glass of whiskey as she flipped through its pages, her mind blissfully lost until she was distracted by the sound of a carriage arriving. she watched as her fiancé exited; she assumed that any other woman's heart would be fluttering at the sight, she found hers utterly unmoved.

she could've laughed at his question, it was so... domestic. "we finished dinner an hour ago," she replied almost coldly, her eyes finally tearing away from the window. "but i had the cook keep a plate warm for when you returned." rising from her seat, her own glass of whiskey in hand, she made her way over to the bell pull that signaled downstairs. "care for a drink in the meantime?" 

closed  starter  for  :  Alastair  &  Agnes  @opulcnccs location:  Arundel  rented  living  quarters

alastair  had  been  with  Montgomery  after  the  memorial  of  Mr.  Dupont  and  considering  his  family  had  taken  a  carriage  back  home  without  him  he  returned  just  now  when  night  had  fallen.  with  heavy  steps  the  day  behind  him  had  been  long  and  filled  with  both  sorrow,  reuniting  with  old  friends,  and  dread  from  the  high  society  of  New  York.  As  he  took  his  coat  off  and  headed  into  the  living  room,  he  found  his  fiance  with  a  book  in  hand,  looking  out  through  one  of  the  windows.

  Unbuttoning  his  shirt  sleeves  he  looked  at  her  for  a  while,  wondering  if  he  should  say  something  or  retreat  into  his  study  -  only  to  emerge  when  it  was  time  to  sleep.  he  decided  on  the  first.  "have  dinner  been  served  yet?"  such  a  trivial  question,  yet  he  didn't  know  what  else  to  ask.  His  engagement  to  Agnes  Seymour  was  nothing  but  a  formality,  an  agreement  reached  between  him  for  knowing  he  should  get  married  and  her  father  -  he  didn't  actually  know.  "if  not  perhaps  we  can  ask  the  cook  to  have  it  ready  within  the  hour?"  he  asked  his  eyes  still  on  agnes.

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♙      ⸻      ·   。…      [      natalie dormer  +  35  +  cis female  +  she/her      ]      the  city  of  new  york  welcomes  agnes seymour  to  the  social  season  of  1887,  the  fiancée  of  alistair arundel.  known  to  be  sophisticated  and  shrewd,  their  rumored  self-important  and  temporal  tendencies  might  prove  to  be  their  unmaking.  the  street  musicians  often  string  along  a  tune  that  sounds  like  red wine supernova  by  chappell roan  whenever  they  are  near,  hoping  for  a  coin  or  two  as  a  reward.  unbeknown  to  their  peers,  agnes  views  the  social  season  as  something akin to circe's eternal exile  but  when  holding  a  secret  such  as  having been caught in a scandalous affair with another aristocratic lady, resulting in her hasty engagement to a lesser noble and banishment to america ,  it  would  be  best  to  keep  their  opinions  to  themselves.      ⸻      [      xan  +  24  +  est +  n/a     ]

basic  statistics  :

full  name  : agnes josephine seymour

nicknames  or  aliases  : she was once tenderly called 'aggie' by her father, who is now too old and too scorned to remember her

age  : thirty - five

date  of  birth  : 7 january 1852

position  : lady seymour, daughter of the duke of somerset

parents  : father : edward adolphus seymour, 12th duke of somerset (b. 1804) prev. m. susan margaret seymour, duchess of somerset (b. 1808 d. 1850) mother : jane georgiana seymour, duchess of somerset (b. 1824 d. 1859)

siblings  : lady margaret helen seymour (elder half-sister, b. 1831 d. 1850) angus ferdinand seymour, earl of st. maur (twin brother, b. 1852) margery beatrice paulet (née seymour), marchioness of winchester (younger sister, b. 1854) lord edward percy seymour (younger brother, b. 1856) eleanor guendolen kearley (née seymour), viscountess devonport (younger sister, b. 1859)

marital  status  : betrothed to alistair arundel

sexuality  : homosexual

the  secret  :

he was not the one to discover them, but the duke of somerset could picture the scene. his most favored daughter entangled in lavender sheets, exposed milky skin reddened not with shame but pleasure. he now saw that agnes had played him for a fool. she'd dodged suitors for years, all in the name of the love of a woman. what's worse, he'd been blinded by his favor for her and allowed it. her lover's family threatened to cry scandal; the lady's advantageous engagement now seemed precarious. somerset scrambled to find the nearest man in need of a wife, and offered agnes alongside a thousand pounds. and while alistair arundel was not a british peer, as a rather wealthy member of the gentry it was appropriate enough to not stir too much suspicion. the family's venture to new york city sweetened the deal all the more. had the cost of his intact reputation been worth it? he could not say.

thoughts  on  high  society  :

agnes had once reveled in society. the season delighted her with its parties and its drama— she'd happily participate in the former, but never the latter. she delighted in fashion, and wielded her feminine wiles to leave many cards opponents with empty pockets. but such a world was gone now. new york society came with a new hierarchy, one she hadn't been born into, one she hadn't had centuries of ancestors' shoulders to stand upon. she is determined, however, to rise from the ashes. even if that means gritting her teeth and dragging her lead-filled feet down the aisle.

introduction (tw: death //// tldr: gay nepo baby!):

"i am the descendant of edward seymour, first duke of somerset and brother to jane seymour, queen of england, lord protector for his nephew, king edward vi. are you familiar with him— no?" agnes's eyes rolled over them once, unsurprised at their ignorance. "all you need to know is that he reveled in power and influence; and just as quickly do the mighty rise do they fall." the apple does not fall far from the ancestral tree, she thought grimly. "i will not bore you with accounts of my upbringing, as it is nearly identical to my peers. nor do you need to know the logic behind grape scissors or the science of calling cards. the bright spots of my childhood were perhaps my father teaching me to play cards at an age at which i should not have been playing cards...emptying my brother's pocket of sweets at said game of cards...learning to ride horses...and perhaps any time i was with all of my siblings." "you see, the duke and his second wife, my mother, were quite...prolific. let's see: my twin brother and i are the oldest. agnus is the earl of st. maur, and my father's heir." for the first time in this conversation, her voice falters. "then there is margery, now the marchioness of winchester. then edward, who last year was married to the daughter of the 2nd baron methuen. and last, my most dearest, is eleanor, now the newly minted viscountess devonport. you'll notice that all of my siblings are in marriages so advantageous and respectable it is almost vulgar." she almost makes a remark upon her own upcoming nuptials, but as soon as her mouth opens it shuts once more. "shortly before my debut in society, i traveled to the continent with the dowager duchess of northumberland. i and the daughter of a welsh earl were to accompany her travels, and expand our knowledge of art history, architecture, fashion...essentially all of the things well-bred ladies ought to be an expert in. she became my best friend in that short year," agnes said, her breath choking on her memory. she would not allow her countenance to betray her... "a bond made over greek poets, french philosophers, italian wine and dealing with the duchess' snoring is quite an unbreakable one." ...and yet her eyes trembled with longing. "we, of course, kept in touch after. but her father adores the country while i was practically raised in london, so we only ever saw each other during the season." she omitted how in between she'd practically exhausted nearly all of sappho's known fragments in her letters, and sealed each missive with a lavender sprig. "in the years that transpired after my coming out, i was miraculously able to avoid immediate marriage," she continues nonchalantly, taking a sip of her whiskey. she nearly chokes on it at the sound of the scandalized gasp that escapes her counterpart. "indeed, i hold quite controversial opinions about many things, but especially marriage. i cannot elaborate now, for while this is america, i must retain some sense of propriety. admittedly, i also have the privilege of my status in addition to my beautiful — docile — younger sisters who are more than willing to go to the altar and what's more, there's no relentless mama spending her life trying to force me down the aisle. my papa also once believed that no man was a match for me." "but you are now engaged to alastair arundel, are you not?" "an astute observation." she glances across the room at her intended. agnes was sure that she was as perplexing to him as he was to her. while untitled, the arundel's vast wealth rivaled that of any aristocrat. it was rumored that royal norwegian blood flowed through their veins, but officially, they were but landed gentry. he was not unattractive — strictly objectively speaking — and he seemed well-mannered. why had he not yet married? she did not know. she did, however, know this: he would have his secrets, and so would she.

connections  :

old money adversaries / new money allies : any newcomer that threatens the delicate ecosystem of new york high society is bound to garner attention, both positive and negative. agnes herself is acquainted with longstanding families, their daughters having been unceremoniously thrown at her brother last season. she's unsure of how they'll react to her fall from grace, the details however obscured. but it's from the newcomers that she finds inspiration, her ambitions renewed.

infatuation : agnes still has not yet moved on from her first love, but she can't deny that someone has caught her eye. usually bold in her actions, her scandalous past has made her timid. very much so_hot_you're_hurting_my_feelings_ by_caroline_polachek.mp3

fellow londoners : hailing from an influential family, agnes knows positively everyone in london town. her opinions of them? likely less than sunny, but who knows?

can u guys tell my brain is fried from writing that mammoth intro lol tbh i'm better at one on one plotting than putting out wanted connections, so hmu <3

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Sappho, tr. by Anne Carson, from If Not, Winter: Fragments of Sappho

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𝐎𝐏𝐔𝐋𝐂𝐍𝐂𝐂𝐒 : a dependent muse blog for 𝐆𝐈𝐋𝐃𝐄𝐃𝐅𝐌𝐒..

𝐥𝐚𝐝𝐲 𝐚𝐠𝐧𝐞𝐬 𝐬𝐞𝐲𝐦𝐨𝐮𝐫 ⸻ lady seymour, fiancée to alistair arundel

introduction . dossier . biography . visage . isms . pinterest

⸻⸻⸻ by 𝐗𝐀𝐍 (she/her, 24, est) | credits ⸻⸻⸻

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Natalie Dormer as Mrs. Hester Appleyard in Picnic at Hanging Rock (2018)

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NATALIE DORMER GIFS

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