( 𝗗𝗔𝗥𝗟𝗜𝗡𝗚 ! )
EPISODE 1
CHAPTER ONE.
❛ life changing news. ❜
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THE MORNING had begun rather peacefully, Giselle waking up from the soft rays of the sun filtering through her curtains.
After stretching and getting out of bed, Giselle dressed and washed her face, brushed her teeth and then her hair, before styling it to her outfit casually. She took her tea, an aromatic and sweet earl grey with cream and a cube of sugar, before sitting down with her book as she awaited the rest to awake. She enjoyed the peace of the morning, it was quiet and calm, and the sun rising was so beautiful.
Matthew was second to wake, getting ready and sitting down to eat breakfast with her, their mother Isabel joining them shortly. He read the newspaper, though nothing really surprising had happened in the news since the sinking of the Titanic. Tragic news that had been, though the news they would soon be getting, not from a newspaper, would be equally as shocking.
"What do you have planned today, Ellie?" Matthew asked as he looked up from his paper, smiling at his sister who was sipping on her second cup of tea. Giselle wasn't a big eater in the mornings, preferring fruits or even a small bowl of porridge, but always a nice cup or two of tea.
Giselle smiled, thinking about her day, "Finish my book, practice the piano. Perhaps Mother and I will go down again to the hospital after lunch for some volunteer work."
"That would be lovely, dear," Isobel smiled as she looked up at her two children.
"Sounds like you've got a busy day ahead of you," Matthew smiled happily at his sister, who nodded with a wider smile at the validation.
"Indeed, quite the fulfilling day." Isobel approved, a large smile on her face as she watched her youngest flush as she shyly looked down at the attention of her two remaining family members.
Matthew went back to his reading as he ate, while Giselle continued to snack on her fruit. Today it was a plateful of sliced apples and a small plate of toast.
Ellen walked into the room, then, handing Isobel the morning post. "First post, Ma'am."
"Thank you, Ellen," Isobel smiled kindly at their maid, who had been with them since little Giselle had been a young girl.
Ellen nodded, before leaving the room.
"One for you," Isobel said, reaching out a letter to Matthew, while Giselle took another bite of her toast, having slowly finished off her fruit of the morning.
"Thank you, Mother," Matthew reached over and took the letter between his fingers, before they both opened their individual letters and read the contents. "Oh, it's from Lord Grantham."
"Really?" Isobel looked up from her own letter, intrigued, "What on earth does he want?"
It took a moment longer, before Matthew replied, rather cryptically, "He wants to change our lives."
Giselle furrowed her brows in confusion, eyes darting between her brother and mother, as they shared eye contact.
"I don't understand," Giselle spoke up softly, "What does that mean?"
. . .
THE PROSPECT of moving to somewhere new, meeting new people who were distantly related to Matthew, who was now apparently the heir of an earldom, was both incredibly exciting and terrifying.
Giselle would not lie, she was nervous about meeting so many new people so suddenly, and even living in a new place, having been quite content in their home in Manchester. Growing up in their home, she got quite used to the daily routine she'd developed, with the familiar faces and places she would see in her day-to-day, in the security of what she knew and was familiar with. So the idea of being uprooted to somewhere entirely new, while not something she begrudged her brother for, was indeed something that scared her a little.
What if people didn't like her? What if she didn't like it there? What if they never accepted them? What if they did accept them?
She was currently in the middle of packing her trunks of her belongings when her mother knocked on the door, coming in. "Hello, Mother," Giselle smiled up at the woman.
"Come sit with me," Isobel says, sitting down on Giselle's bed beside one of her open trunks. She pats the bed beside her for Giselle to sit. Once sitting together, Isobel looks towards her daughter and studies her, looking for something, Giselle wasn't sure what, in her facial expression.
"What is it Mother?" Giselle asks, brown furrowing in confusion.
"How are you feeling, darling? About traveling to Yorkshire." Isobel asks gently, taking one of Giselle's hands into her own.
Giselle looked down to her lap, pursing her lips together, before looking up at her mother, "Must we go, Mother?"
"Oh, my dear girl," Isobel brought her daughter into a hug. "I'm afraid to say we must."
"I'm excited, truly, I am, none more so for Matthew than I. But..." Giselle parted from the hug, her fingers fidgeting together and picking softly at the skin around her nails, which her mother quickly stopped by grabbing her hands and holding them firmly. "What if they don't accept me? What if they don't accept Matthew because of me? What if I make a fool out of myself in front of them? Or they of me?"
"Oh, my sweet Giselle," Isobel sighs, letting go one of her hands to cup it against her cheek and make her face her eyes. "I cannot assure you of your worries, but I can promise this: if anyone is to be horrible to you, to play a trick or make a fool of you, you will not suffer the embarrassment alone. I will always be here for you, just as Matthew will be, and if it really is too difficult to bare, then we shall leave at once."
Giselle smiled at her mother, her eyes slightly glossy with unshed tears. "I love you, Mother."
"As I love you, my darling, my sweet baby girl." Isobel coos sweetly to her precious daughter. "I will always love you, my darling, never forget that."
Giselle smiled brightly, then. "I won't."
"Good," she then looked around with a satisfied sigh. "Now, let's get you finished packing. I swear dear, you have more belongings than your brother and I combined, and then some."
Giselle's sweet laughter echoed in the room as she nodded, "Yes, Mother," and the two got up once again, finishing up her packing.
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( 𝗡𝗢𝗧𝗘 ! )
Hope you have enjoyed the first chapter to Darling! What are your thoughts of Giselle so far, on her relationships with Matthew and Isobel? I know it's not a lot of content, yet, to really base an opinion off of, but how is it, as a start? I'd love to read your opinions in the comments! Have a wonderful day!
See you next time,
YanMei23 🪷