Morning all. Let’s set those timers and see what the above sentence brings. Fifteen minutes, and remember, no stopping to edit just let the words flow. During this time you are free to write the worst possible drivel your mind can come up with. It is all about just letting the words spill out until the timer goes off. Think of it as a mental throat clearing so that when you are done, you have your brain in writing mode and your mind clear enough to work on whatever it is you are actually writing. If a story comes out of this, so be it…
I think I would have to think about this, but I would have to figure out her plan before I write as well as many of the ways others could interfere. I also need to figure out what the dire insult was…
Wednesday, August 12th: Her smile was tight and frozen.
Her smile was tight and frozen. The insult registered as it intended, how could it not. She was however, left with no recourse that would suit. Anything she said would sound surly, churlish and ungrateful. She would be the one who looked poorly by the exchange. So she kept her mouth shut and smiled.
The smile hurt. She could feel the sharp edges cutting into her soul. She saw the victor’s gleam as the others turned away. She had been put in her place. They sauntered away in a group, their amused laughter floating back to her. She turned away. She thought about going out to one of the patios to let the cool night air calm her.
She realized how it would look and stayed in the ball room. She would not retreat. She moved through the room, champagne flute in hand, the drink warming and loosing fizz. She made a pretense of sipping from it without letting it touch her lips. At some point she set it down and almost immediately another was offered. She accepted the replacement glass, her fingers chilling from the icy glass.
She allowed her expression to thaw, the smile becoming less sharp and brittle. Others relaxed as she did thinking the insult had been forgotten, forgiven. She let them believe it. She did not need their discomfort.
‘And if they think it only a flashing insult quickly forgotten, they won’t see the retribution coming.’ That thought brought more warmth to her smile. She felt some of her tension uncoiling. She had a plan. The elements were in place. She merely had to complete her time here in order to fulfil her duties and get on with setting her plan in motion.
The fact that she would effectively disappear after tonight would let those who laughed earlier think their victory was complete. They would think her crushed and forget about her as they moved on to heir next target. That group always had a target.
‘After all, how can everyone know they are better if they don’t put someone down enough to show they are less?’
She sighed and suddenly felt tired. She knew she had to tolerate this lot for a certain amount of time to earn her freedom but hadn’t anticipated the difficulty. Family obligations were almost complete. They were as onerous a burden as the rest of it.
‘Michael was married three days ago,’ she reminded herself. The youngest of her step brothers finally made it to the altar. All of them were married now and managed to secure brides from good families. Her behavior was no longer a factor. She helped by being everything her family needed her to be for as long as they needed it. Now she was free and could step away from them as well.
They knew she was leaving for the family estate. The estate left to her in her mother’s will and held in trust for her. Her stepmother grumbled about it not going to one of the sons, but legally there was nothing she could do. So she ignored it and belittled it until in her mind and in the minds of her wide social circle it was nothing more than a small cottage, a perfect place for a spinster to retire from the world.
‘Soon,’ she reminded herself.
Ten til Midnight 