"Don't you think you need more colours?" Nancy asks as she hands me a bobbin pin. Her eyes are narrowed as she observes me, no doubt thinking about a hundred ways she could make my dress better.
"No, I think I'm just fine." I reply with a tight smile.
We're headed over to Lord Wilson's ballroom to honour his wife's birthday, and I know a lot of people would be there.
One of which is Lord William, the one whom I turned down his proposal. I'm not looking to wear something that would give me away so quickly.
I already have a plain face, so I just need to pair it up with a plain dress as well.
"You look like a servant in that horrid dress, and good Lord, your hair is tied up in an ugly bun!"
She rises above me, her hands digging into my scalp and freeing my hair from its original design. Her lips are pursed in frustration as she tries to fix up my long curls.
Nancy could never stand anyone looking as plain as day. Especially me.
She would always rant on about the beauty of being a lady and how much our outfit complemented our looks.
If it was the latest fashion, she was up to it. She always dazzled with jewels and magnificent dresses, my mother never left for an occasion without her.
Her beauty was one major factor too. If Nancy were to dress like a servant, she would still be a noble looking lady. She just had that look.
I on the other hand, while I try to look my best at all times, I was never the kind of lady you look at twice.
Nothing special to see.
"You know, I still can't believe you really intend to turn down Lord William." She begins in mock distaste.
Her eyes twinkle with delight and I can tell she's more than happy that I made that choice. Of course she would be.
The both of us are the only ones alive that know how despicable that man is. If I was to consider it, she would work behind the back of every member of the family to put an end to it.
It was about some five years ago during the winter ball hosted at the duke's estate. We had been so much younger then, but even at that age we knew it wasn't right for a man to hold a woman inappropriately without her permission even if she was a servant.
He never caught sight of us, but it was a scene we'd always talk about before we went to bed until we stopped sharing a room.
A year ago, he had asked for Nancy's hand, but my father had politely turned it down. Little wonder why he would ask for my hand this year.
Perhaps, next year, he would ask for Lucas's hand.
"And I still can't believe you would think I would love to spend the rest of my life with that man."
"I mean, he's well to do enough to cater for you extravagantly." She shrugs, a mischievous smile on her lips.
She frowns a little as she struggles to get the perfect curls for my hair, but once she finds a pattern, she smiles to herself and her fingers work quicker than before.
"Father does that job well enough for me to not crave it."
"But father won't be here forever."
"Neither would I."
The room is silent for a while before we both burst into soft giggles. She nudges my head playfully, but careful enough not to ruin the masterpiece she had just created.
"I wonder why mother and father would be comfortable with handing you over to such a monster." She says, this time there's an anger in her eyes.
"I wouldn't blame them. Afterall, not so many men come for me." I shrug, stepping away from the mirror and moving to the window.
Nancy follows me closely, desperate to maintain eye contact. Her big brown orbs stare into my grey ones searching for something... anything.
"You shouldn't say that. Men are silly to not come for you."
I offer her a small smile that doesn't quite reach my eyes and to that, she taps me on my exposed shoulders a little too hard.
"You're such a pretty soul, and I know that if I was a man, I would come for you and I would treasure you more than you treasure yourself." She says as she pulls me into a side hug.
"You deserve so much more than William." She whispers. "I wonder how long it would take for mother and father to know that."
Her words engulf me like a wild fire, leaving a trail through my soul as it crawls up and into any space it can find.
I deserve so much more than William.
"Do ladies without grace deserve anything?" I ask with a tired sigh.
I'm a little surprised that Nancy still hasn't gone off to get married yet. She's turned down so many proposals, but my parents maintain the stand that she deserves better than any of them.
While my parents bother about wealth and social status, Nancy is waiting in love, just like me.
She fell in love once and was so close to getting married, but she later got to find out that her fiancé only wanted her hand because of her beauty.
She was sad and broken, and ever since then, she'd decided not to accept a man who only saw her upfront. She wanted someone who would stay with her even when her beauty fades.
Nancy is the one that taught me the concept of love. She'd let me read her books and when I'm finished, we'd daydream together about how nice it would be to be Elizabeth from 'Lost in love.'
Now, I can confidently say that I'm a more passionate lover than she is. She often teases that I take my heart too far, but even then, she knows love is only love when your heart goes too far.
She's just too scared to let her heart wander off again.
"I don't think there's any such thing as a lady without grace. And even if there is, I still think she deserves the world, especially if she has a heart like you."
She squeezes me tighter before pulling away from me. Her watery smile disappears almost instantly when she takes note of my outfit again.
"You really need to wear something else, or even the Barner twins would ask for your hand next."
"I could live in a barn and feed cows forever." I tease.
"You'd give poor mother a heart attack." She gasps.
"Or wait, maybe I could pick up horse poop and have tuna for breakfast."
"Mother!" She hollers with a playful glare and we both burst into a laughing fit as she goes through my closet.
"Please I'd want something subtle. I don't want all those hawk eyes to be on me and those stupid tongues to gossip about my long chin." I tell her and she hums a reply as she scans through.
Two more hours and we'd have to leave for the ball. I hated balls, and I planned to feign sick just so I could skip out on this one, but it's my best friend's mother's party.
I'm not supposed to miss it.
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A/N
Okay...end of this chapter.
I'm sorry if you think these first chapters are really plain. I think so too.
It's just that I've been writing without a plot and I only just realised how important it was to have a plot.🫠🫠
I'll draw one up before chapter three, I promise 😅😅
Alsoooo...one of my very many struggles is not being able to describe what's playing in my head. It's so vivid, but still vague...I dunno what to do about that...maybe I should sleep or eat my way out of that problem.🤷🤷
Any thoughts? Leave a comment below! Thank yaw!🤭😎
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Down To The Gallows
Romance"You look better with your eyes closed." I heard him say to my father that night. I heard him say more than that, and I saw more than what I want to believe, but I cannot speak of it to anyone. I would not speak of it...ever. I would be faithful to...
