Sansa is Sophie Turner's version from the show, and her marriage to Tyrion was much happier, as her parents are still alive and not murdered. Also, Caroline is portrayed by Jenna Coleman, and Helen is portrayed by Mia Wasikowska.
Her husband leaves, and so do her stepdaughters, and Margaery is left alone in the house, wondering what to do. She does not wish to stay idle in her new house all day, after all. She reaches for her shawl and bonnet, and starts to put them on, intending to go out, but hears a knock at the door.
So she goes to open it, and it is her dear friend, Sansa Lannister, married to Cersei Baratheon's brother Tyrion, a kind, gentle dwarf of a man. Marriage becomes dear Sansa, as there is a rosy glow on her cheeks, and a lovely smile on her lips. She is clad in her favorite shade of blue, a sort of bluish-gray, this one a striped silk with pagoda sleeves over white undersleeves and a full, crinolined skirt. The sides of her hair, the shade of leaves in autumn, is swept back from her face in a delicate chignon and then the rest falls down her back in delicate ringlets, and there is a silver wolf head pendant on a silver chain around her neck that Margaery has not seen there before.
''It's from Tyrion.'' she says, smiling when Margaery asks. Margaery laughs, and hugs Sansa in delight, gesturing for her to come in.
"What a lovely place.'' Sansa says, looking around. It is true, the Barnum house is large and spacious. Margaery gestures for Sansa to sit down on a chair, and sits down next to her. "So, tell me, how is your new husband, Margaery?''
"So far, he seems quite nice. He is better then Joffrey Baratheon, for sure.'' Margaery says, and Sansa winces. She had been engaged to Joffrey Baratheon for a time, but her father had broken it off after seeing what Joffrey was truly like, and Sansa had married his uncle Tyrion.
''Your husband-was he good to you on the wedding night?'' Sansa asks curiously.
''He was gentle and good. Better then I could have imagined.'' Margaery replies. Sansa smiles, and leans forward confidentially.
''After the first night, pleasure comes. Perhaps your new husband can teach you things in the bedroom.'' she confides. Margaery smiles at her friend, and then asks her how her brothers are doing. Robb has found himself a lovely fiancee in the person of Myrcella Baratheon, which Margaery imagines will enrage her mother Cersei, Jon has returned to the family estate of Winterfell in Norway to take care of it, and Bran and Rickon are a constant source of laughter.
XxX
When Pt Barnum returns home, he finds his wife chatting with a girl he has never seen before, who she introduces as her friend Sansa Lannister. Phineas smiles, and kisses Mrs Lannister's hand, she smiles engagingly, and bids good-bye to Margaery with a kiss on the cheek. Then she leaves, and Phineas turns to his wife.
''Sansa's an old friend of mine. From boarding school.'' she tells him. ''She came by to see how I was doing.''
When Caroline and Helen return home, the family has dinner, and Margaery tells Caroline about her friend Daenerys, who taught herself to dance ballet, and is now dancing Giselle in the Paris Opera House.
She knows it was right to tell Caroline, for Caroline indeed asks her so many questions that Margaery cannot answer them all. But she promises Caroline that she will take her to meet Daenerys someday, and Caroline hugs her in delight.
When she and Phineas are undressing for bed, she says "You were right to tell Caroline. The smile on her face was beautiful.''
''Caroline's my daughter. I know what she likes to talk about.'' Phineas replies, not unkindly, and almost proudly. Margaery tugs her stockings down, as she always does, and Phineas comes over and gives her a kiss on the forehead. He pulls away, and goes to the bed, and Margaery follows. "Could you tell me about your first wife?''
"Well, you do know what her name was, don't you?'' he asks. Margaery nods, and he sighs in relief, then continues. "She was my childhood sweetheart, and when she returned from boarding school, we were married. We used to be friends as children, as my father, a tailor, made clothes for her father.''
"A tailor?'' Margaery questions. "Don't tell me you make your own clothes?'' Phineas glances at his young wife, and nods in confirmation. Her eyes widen in astonishment, and she bursts into laughter. ''I've never met a man who can sew his own clothes.'' she confides, and Phineas smiles at her. She is a friendly little thing, really, and Helen and Caroline seem to like her, and treat her as an older sister. She has a lovely smile, too, so perhaps all they need is time.
"Should we-'' she asks, and he shakes his head.
''Not tonight, Margaery.''
She nods, and slips under the covers, and he follows, both falling asleep. The next few days pass without any happenings, and then one day, Margaery asks if she can watch a rehearsal for the circus. Phineas is surprised, but he agrees.
That day, he takes her to watch a rehearsal, and she stays with Caroline and Helen, to watch the show, admiring all the hard work and love and care her husband and the circus performers put into it. ''It's a fine thing.'' she tells him afterwards, hands twisting at her green skirt as he wipes the sweat from his brow and takes his ringmaster's hat off. ''I can see why you could never leave it; it's your life's work.''
''You're intelligent for a girl of five and ten,'' he responds, and she smiles, saying that she received it from her grandmother. After the show, there is a letter delivered to Margaery, and she smiles as she reads it, saying ''We'll be there.''
''What is it?''
''It's my friend Sansa Lannister; you remember her, don't you?'' she does not wait for an answer, but continues, "She's invited us to a ball at her estate, Casterly Rock.'' Margaery says in delight, and then she groans in annoyance.
Phineas has to laugh at that, and asks what's wrong.
''It's a Lannister ball. Cersei Baratheon, Sansa's sister in law, will be there. I'd love to poison her!'' she exclaims.
''Well, that would be the scandal of the year since Phillip Carlyle joined my circus.'' Phineas jokes, but sees Margaery's annoyed face, and stops.
''Cersei practically humiliated me at last year's Season, saying I should marry her son, who's an absolute beast, and called me an ugly ducking and a whore! A whore!'' Margaery pauses and continues, ''Do you know, they say that Cersei slept with her own brother. Disgraceful!''
Phineas tugs his jacket off, and kicks off his shoes, while Margaery complains about Cersei Baratheon all the while, pulling pins from her hair and letting it cascade down her back, then unlaces the bodice of her evening gown, a green tarlatan embroidered with teal and gold, and a gold frosted tulle bodice. It's very pretty on her, and Phineas suspects she chose it to set off his ringmaster costume.
He starts to tell her they will not do it tonight, as he takes off his vest, but she interrupts with ''We ought to. We must get used to the idea of each other in the bedroom, sleeping together. I must get used to it.'' The one thing that he is glad about is that it will no longer hurt Margaery, young as she is, anymore.
Many a time when he sees Margaery with Caroline and Helen over the past two days, or even today, he thinks of Charity, and he knows she would want him to be happy.
Margaery is still not wearing a corset, but this time she pulls off her shift, exposing smooth, creamy skin to her husband of one week's gaze. She glances at him, and is not just a young girl, but once more the frightened young bride of their wedding night. He comes towards her, and tugs down her lacy drawers. ''Do you like it?' she asks, referring to her chest. "I know my bosom is too small, but-'' he cuts her off with a "I think you're very beautiful.'' He scoops her up in his arms easily; she weighs as much as a feather, and he can see now she's no need of a corset to keep her waist small, as it is quite small.
Then he places her on the bed, and climbs on top of her. She stares at him, and he bends his head down to kiss her, unbuttoning his trousers. Their kiss tonight is deeper, and he softly kisses down her neck to in between her breasts. She is right -they are small- but otherwise perfectly formed, and he nudges her thighs open a bit more.
She reaches out her hand, and touches him, and he hardens at her touch instantly. Then he slides inside her and fills her, and she tentatively wraps a leg around him, to press him further into her. When he is done, he pulls out of her, and she slides out of bed to grab her shift and tug it over her head. Margaery then slides back into bed, bids Phineas good-night, and they fall asleep.
XxX
They are woken by Caroline the next morning, who apparently has come into the bedroom to wake them up, and read Sansa's letter. ''Isn't it exciting, Father? A ball! Can we go?'' she asks in delight.
Margaery gets out of bed, and puts on a green wrapper. ''Well, Caroline, if your father allows it-''
''Of course I do. It's time I introduced Caroline into society properly.'' Phineas turns his head to Margaery, and says, ''And you did say you wanted to go.''
Margaery smiles, and tells Caroline ''Yes, Caroline, we are going.'' Caroline laughs in delight, and hugs her father and stepmother.
''Oh, thank you, thank you! I must go tell Helen at once!'' and she runs out the door. Caroline has never been more delighted in her life! She is to attend a ball, and make her entrance into society at five-and-ten, thanks to her new stepmother. She likes her stepmother. Margaery is pretty, and so elegant and graceful. And Caroline hopes dearly that one day she can meet her stepmother's friend Daenerys Targaryen, the ballerina.
Helen is already dressed when Caroline comes in, wearing a red-and-beige checkered dress with loose sleeves over white cotton undersleeves, and a crinolined skirt. She is buttoning up the front, and Caroline can see the oh-so-slight bosom forming beneath her chemise, as she is not yet ready for a corset.
''You're becoming such a pretty young woman, sister.'' Caroline tells Helen, and Helen looks up at her and smiles.
''You too. Now come and I'll help you get dressed.'' Helen says, like she is the older sister and Caroline the younger, but Caroline does not mind. Caroline comes and pulls off her long sleeved nightgown, tugging on a lawn shift, and linen stockings with ribbon garters tied just above her knee. Then she wraps the corset about her torso, fastens it in front, and Helen laces the back, pulling it tightly.
Then Caroline chooses her day dress, a pale blue linen with a thin pattern of white stripes and sleeves ruched tight at top and puffed out at the bottom, and Helen helps her into the crinoline.
As they have done for the past two years, they brush and fix each other's hair this Sunday morning, knowing they must not be late for church.
Caroline brushes Helen's golden hair into a braided chignon, and Helen ties on a lace bonnet, while Caroline's chestnut hair is pulled back in braids tied with a pale blue bow and rolled under itself, pinned securely.
There. Now they are ready for church. Their father greets them when they leave their room, and they hurry through a breakfast of oatmeal, and Margaery comes out soon, wearing a mint green lawn gown with sloping shoulder line and long, three-quarter sleeves with eyelet lace cuffs and panels on the bell-shaped skirt. Her brunette locks are pulled back in a braided knot, and she wears no bonnet. Caroline, however, grabs a pale pink one, and Margaery wraps a shawl about her shoulders.
And it is off to church they go.
