The 365 Day Challenge

Day 18

{More old crap I wrote because Labor Day Fair and weekend with friends and school and ugh and ew and fml. Sorry:( - Jinx.}

Evelyn lowered herself ever so carefully onto her new silk bedcovers, careful not to ruin them nor her expensive dress. She tried to keep blasé, as every women should, opposed to crying out in anger. This room, she decided, was far too big and overdone, like a Thanksgiving roast. The furniture was too plump and lush, the bed was kept in impeccable shape. Evelyn did not want this. All she wanted was a little cottage in the country. A little work to do with her own bare hands. But no, Henry insisted she keep her satin gloves on, a thin plate of gold between her and the real world.

She felt suffocated.

As she reached into the bookshelf to retrieve a book, she noticed the volumes and volumes of best sellers and acclaimed authors of the century. He had spent this much on something I loved so dearly, books, yet he hadn't taken the time to realize the kind of literature I liked. Not just the popular reads at the moment. How could I have married a man who barely knew me?

Evelyn tried to stop the words from forming in her head the moment she thought them. Why, Evelyn, you love Henry! She thought. But did she? She remembered how they met: She a new girl to the bustling way of the city, he a cultured and finely civilized man, offering her a warm cup of coffee on a rainy night. Their friendship had built, over a couple of weeks, and yet, she remembered how attracted she felt to the man wearing the chaste suit and fashionable Homberg hat. And that's all their relationship was: chaste. Until Henry began to take notice of her new dresses, acquired purely to impress him in her smitten state. Her breast filled blouses, her swaying skirts. It wasn't long before Henry had bought her many "gifts" for her: new, full embodied dresses, hats to her every whim, scores of dancing shoes, slippers, boots, and formal dining shoes, satin full length and wrist length gloves, and even a corset... All very expensive, all very revealing. Evelyn remembered how beautiful he made her feel, how wonderfully surrounded by fancy fabrics and gowns; all bought for her! This was love!

She was the most coveted woman on the block and this made her feel even more dignified. She began to visit Henry's bed chambers at night, some worldly demon possessing her, and making love to him. It wasn't anything special, it was simply her show of affection and gratitude for her glamorous gifts in the form of, certain, she decided, love.

No one was surprised at their wedding a while later. Women couldn't help but gawk at the stunning bride and her magic, the magic to seduce a man in mere months! Plenty of people arrived, mostly Henry's friends, who complimented her style and grace. She felt honored to be married to Henry Stark, to become Mrs. Stark herself.

Then, she began to behave differently. Shaking her head at his ridiculous acquires, looking away as she was called to the bed chamber. She felt... Forced. There was something in being friends that was different than being married, a freedom to whatever you wanted, a fun air of livelihood. Life with Henry was that until they were married. Now it was all about work and duties. While Henry was off to his office, she was to sit at home and do... Nothing. That's what the maids are for! Henry would proclaim. Her days were spent in solitude in the study, getting her knowledge in books. Being cooped up in a house all day got her to thinking, and wishing she had waited longer before throwing herself willingly into Henry's arms. Fun nights of dancing could still be, days at the coffee parlor could still happen. Now it was pleasing Henry at night upon his arrival home, and eating biscuits alone the next morning. Something had changed.

So when the offer came for Henry to move, to expand his empire of trade into the country side, Evelyn jumped for the change. It could re-new their passion and well developed love; take Henry's mind off work and reproduction in the clean scenery. Yet Evelyn felt like nothing had changed. She was expecting a subtle house with modest furnishing and a humble air that was all around homely. Instead, she got the previous castle, so similar to the one in New York. Was she that spoilt that now riches were too good for her? Shouldn't she be happy she received such affection in the form of items? Wasn't her life idealistic?