Hello, guys! This is Naine speaking. Here I proudly present the first chapter of Nuine's and my first story published on FF.
It might be a bit bumpy at first but, rest assured, over the weeks, no, months we have been writing on this piece, our style became better and better (which means the chapters grew longer and longer ^^).
I don't want to hold you back any longer. Just look out for drama, sarcasm and hot men in this story ^^
Have fun!
Summary
England, 19th century
In a world threatened by war, the two orphaned friends Lady Myriam Darcy and Lady Myra Christina Sackville Dashwood, mistresses of the counties Gloucestershire and Sussex, try to live independent lives in an age dominated by men. Together with the loyal Japanese butler Juou Daidouji and the mysterious French cook Fay de Flourite, they are eager to master the hardships of their era. Not only do they have to deal with the consequences following each of the Ladies own secrets, but must also endure the pursuance of the sercret Royal Police called The Diogenes Club. And what secret lies behind the enigmatic character called "M", who claims that the two women's parents didn't die in an accident but are alive and want their children to join their fight against the Crown?
Chapter 01
England 1811, the Darcy estate near Bristol, appendent to the county Gloucestershire
It was a wonderful day for a ride. Wide blue skies, a cool fresh breeze, green meadows. Under an apple tree sat a slender young women with shoulder-length auburn hair and blue-green eyes, nibbling on one of the sweet fruits, while observing her black mare searching the grass in hope for a fruit or two for herself. The most uncommonly fact about this woman was her wearing men's riding attire: a black hat, dark jacket and vest over a white shirt and cravat, beige trousers and black leather boots.
The young woman, called Lady Myriam Darcy, enjoyed the view over her lands. She was the mistress of the fields and forests with an extend of about 300 acres and of the beautiful estate of Parque Fatale, where she lived with a small number of housemaids, employees, butlers and with her very best friend, Lady Myra Christina Sackville Dashwood. Christina and her, both of the age of three and twenty, knew each other since their infancy, for their parents were close friends and had spent their holidays together as often as possible. Their fathers, Lord Bradley Darcy and Lord Reginald Sackville Dashwood, were both Earls of the counties Gloucestershire and Sussex. Since their husbands were as close as brothers, the fair Ladies Francoise Darcy and Muriel Agnes Brassey Dashwood had known eachother for far more than words can describe.
After Myriam finished her apple, she mounted her horse and goaded it to gallop. Riding by the fields, where cattle, goats and sheep were grazing jovially, she soon saw the stables and gave the mare into the capable hands of a stable-lad. She walked along the three-storey-building, greeted the men and women working in the gardens and approached the entrance to her pride and joy, Parque Fatale. And what an enchantig place it was. The high walls were of an earthy red colour, the frames of the grand windows as white as a swans feather and two columns flanked the leaf door. Wide fields and copses surrounded the estate and in the front yard, encircled by pruned trees and bushes was a lake, filled with fat fish. The fields for vegetables and fruits were in the backyard, protected from the strong winds by Parque Fatale itself.
Right next to the door waited the butler and Myriam's good friend Juou Daidouji with a towel at hand. The tall, black haired Japanese with eyes as red as rubies and of 24 years of age, always wore a slight frown on his handsome face. But it was this frown that dared Myriam to try and lure a smile on those strong features. Juou was a well build man and she had to admit, that it was hard for her not to touch him.
"Was it a comfortable ride, m'Lady?"
"It was most refreshing, thank you, Juou."
Myriam accepted the cloth gratefully and dabbed her brow, walking through the high entrance hall straight towards the flight of stairs, that led up to the first storey of the private rooms. Juou followed right behind her.
"Lady, may I speak an open word with you?"
Taking two steps at a time, Myriam left her hat on one of the wooden ornaments adorning the handrail, which Juou picked up as he passed it. Whilst tossing her hair, the young princess Darcy looked back to the tall man and smiled.
"Please, my friend! Tell me, what is it that occupies your always worried mind, today."
She opened the door leading to her rooms, kicked off the leather boots and started to unclothe herself. Meanwhile Juou approached the wardrobe, took a plain dress, which had already been out of fashion years ago, and placed it on the large bed.
"M'Lady, I don't understand why you must behave yourself like this."
Juou stepped back and examined his mistress.
"You know that it is not appropriate for a woman, and especially for a lady of your rank, to wear men's clothing. I told you again-"
"Again and again, that it is outrageous for a little woman like me to dress herself up like this, ignoring all rules of our society. I know, Juou. I heard it a thousand times."
Myriam placed the jacked she was wearing on a chair and began unbuttoning the vest. She gave Juou her most rebellious smile.
"And I will tell you again and again, my dear friend. I. Don't. Care. And besides-"
Together with the cravat, the vest glided carelessly on the floor. Slowly and with swaying hips the young lady strolled towards the servant, caressing her slender waist. She was barefoot, the trousers showing her slim legs, her torso hidden under the white long-sleeved shirt, the neck line revealing only the slightest hint of a smooth bosom, captured in a white corset. She placed a delicate finger on Juou's strong chest, traced the pattern of the smooth black fabric under her skin and stopped right beneath his chin.
"I think, you of all people are rather fond of my taste in garment, are you not?"
Myriam purred, almost leaning against Juou's body, a sweet smile on her red lips. After a moment, she stepped back and took off the shirt and the trousers. Only wearing her shift dress and corset, she turned, walked to the bed and picked up the dress. It was a simple cotton dress with a broad neck line and long sleeves, dyed in a light violet colour. Tying a darkblue ribbon right under her bosomline, Myriam slipped in a pair of comfortable shoes and went off to the kitchen, while Juou picked up the scattered clothes.
As she approached the kitchen, she could already smell the delicious work of her best cook, Fay de Flourite. The tall blond Frenchman, with eyes, sharing the same blue light as the name he was given and a constant smile on his handsome features, was a god at the stove, for he knew how to season each and every dish to his ladies liking. Fay had joined the family right after the wedding of Lord and Lady Darcy. When the new mistress of Parque Fatale had departed for England, her maidservant begged her to take her son with them. He has been a member of the family ever since. Regarding his age, nobody, not even Myriam, was really sure just how old Fay was. He never mentioned it to any person before but Myriam thought of him as a man in his late twenties, as for the charming butler, he apparently counted a little more than two decades of history. Myriam stepped into the room, spread her arms and called: "Tell me, Fay, master of the cuisine fatale, where is my Sister, not in blood but in bond!"
Standing at a table slicing vegetables, Fay gestured with the knife towards a figure, sitting across of him.
"Right here, mon lys! And, as always, with her nose in a book, just like you left her hours ago."
The brunette stepped closer to her friend, giving Fay a grateful nod.
"Thanks, lad! Well well well. What do we have here? Our very first female teacher of Bristol University, captivated by her own work. Shouldn't you try to fascinate your pupils a bit more instead of burying yourself in it?"
Bent over the table sat Myriam's best friend, Lady Myra Christina Sackville Dashwood. Her long light brown hair has been pinned up and a few locks caressed her cheeks, slightly flushed thanks to the warm steam in the room. The slim figure of her rather long body, for Christina was a few inches higher than Myriam, was clothed in a scarab blue, long-sleeved dress with a high collar and a hem that almost touched the ground. The quilling adorning the collar, arms and waist were of black colour.
Myriam touched Christina's shoulder.
"How was your day, my friend?"
A moment of silence later, Christina looked up and smiled.
"It was most interesting! You can't imagine what a compliancy it is to teach these young men and women and to prepare them for their future."
"Indeed I do not know this joyous feeling. And I must be honest, I don't feel any need for it. But enough of this. Would you care to join me for a few moments of peace in the library?"
Slightly resentful, Christina closed the book and stood up. Linking her arm with Myriam's, she strolled out of the kitchen towards the library.
"I don't understand why you can't talk with me about my work, Myriam. I so much liked to share my dreams with you."
"I would love to talk about your dreams, Christina, but I do not feel like it right now. Another time maybe."
They passed the stairs as Myriam stopped and unlinked their arms.
"Would you be so kind as to go ahead without me, my dear? I still have to read some letters regarding the company."
"Yes, sure. I shall tell Juou to make some tea."
"Thank you! I will be back in a minute."
While Myriam went upstairs to go to her father's office, Christina entered the library.
After the assumed death of her parents Lord Bradley and Lady Franciose Darcy, Myriam took over the management of her father's company, Darcy Shipping, which was the major in- and export firm of cotton, wool and other drapery in the Royal Kingdom and the colonies. Since Lord Bradley inherited the stewardship of the whole county Gloucestershire from his father, whom it was bestowed on by the former King William IV himself for outstanding achievements in the great war, Myriam was now the princess of the shire and, thanks to her parent's unorthodox acquaintanceships, could easily delay the procedure of finding a male heir in her family to inherit the county and everything she thought her own legacy. Myriam was thankful for her parent's extraordinary attitude, for it had saved her from a long extravagant name like Christina's.
The library was the sanctuary for both the young women; a wide hall with comfortable upholstered furniture, the walls covered with filled bookshelves. After she called for Juou, Christina walked along the frames, the tip of her finger caressing the spine of the books she passed. When she decided to skim through an edition of "Modern English Poetry", she seated herself on a cushioned window sill. Absorbed in the world of colourful landscapes and romantic words forming in her mind, she was startled as her friend's hand, holding a sheet of paper, appeared before her eyes. Christina turned around to see the frowning face of Myriam. Sighing, Lady Darcy left the note in her hands, turned around and sunk down onto the soft settee. She reached up to her face and began to massage the root of her nose.
"Can you believe it? The East India Trading Company demands another shipment of english wool and chinese silk for the colonies in Africa."
Myriam gestured to the letter in Christina's hands.
"Their reason is the 'integration of the barbarian habitants into the British society'. How ridiculous!"
Christina's gaze flew over the piece of paper.
"Well, you know how everybody thinks. 'The way of the Empire is the way of the world'." Myriam laid down on her back and took a deep breath.
"Yes...the way of the Empire...what a joke."
It grew quiet, the women were caught in their own thoughts. It was Christina who broke the silence.
"Do you remember, Myriam? Those times when our parents returned from one of their journeys? We always had to stay in England because they were afraid of us catching one of the foreign diseases. But every time they came back, they would tell us stories of the lands they had travelled."
Smiling benignly Myriam thought back to those days.
"Yes. We loved the nights in front of the fireplace, listening to their adventures. It seemed the halls and rooms were filled with flowers, more beautiful than anything we have ever behold, and white elephants, tigers and horses walked through the corridors."
Carrying a tray with a can of tea and two cups, Juou entered the room and placed it on a wooden desk nearby.
"Your tea, m'Ladies."
Christina stood up and took one of the fragile porcelain he offered her. Thanking him, she turned to Myriam, who was still laying on the settee with no intention to move an inch. It grew silent again as Christina sipped the hot brew of Earl Grey tea. Smiling ever so slightly, she walked towards the window and gazed at the reddening sky.
"You are still aware of our holding a ball two days from now, I hope?"
Another moment of silence. Then a dreadful sigh escaped her friend's lips.
"No, my dear. I am afraid it completely slipped my mind."
"Well, then you should be thankful calling me your loyal sister, because I started with the preparations more than three days ago."
Myriam sat up and reached for Christina, who sat down right next to her. Holding her by her side, a smile spread on Lady Darcy's face.
"At last we have an excuse to invite all those snotty Lords and Ladies again. I can't wait to tease our suitors and enrage our neighbour's daughters! It has been far too long since we enjoyed ourselves."
Okay, this was the first chapter. I admit it, this was my doing. But don't be sad, it gets better. Promise!
We would love to read your feedback ^^
See ya around
Naine