2. Ariette is having trouble
adapting to motherhood.
She is constantly in a
state of anxiety; Is
Annette making enough
friends, the right kind of
friends, and in the right
places? Is she excelling in
school, and in her extra-
curricular activities... Are
her hobbies too
common?
3. Ariette watched Annette with the other girls on the street.
She seemed happy enough, but wasn’t gaining anything
through the friendships. Something had to be done.
4. She decides to take the
plunge and enrols Annette
at the local stables; far
more becoming of a young
lady of society. Even in
their diminished state, the
Vickers family was well
thought of and could walk
straight in.
5. Harry watched his daughters
machinations with interest. He
approved of what she was
trying to do, their family had
been in hibernation for too
long.
He was well aware they were
one good marriage away from
a return to their fortunes of
old, but didn’t dare bring it up
quite yet.
6. Hard as it might be to
believe now, the straight-
laced Ariette had once
rebelled against her father.
She had toed the party line
for years, but when her
father had brought up the
subject of ‘suitable’
husbands, she had baulked.
That was when she had run
off with a scoundrel, fallen
pregnant and had Annette.
He had only just been able
to claw her back.
7. As far as he was concerned, he couldn’t risk his
daughter having a relapse and teaching his
granddaughter values like freedom and choice.
The Vickers lot was one of duty and familial pride.
Ariette just tried not to think
about the few months she
had spent away from her
father at all.
8. It had been the shortest and happiest period of
her entire life. If she thought about how her life
might have been, she cried.
10. Megan loves the house and
how its decorated, but found
Belladonna a bit creepy, why
had she never seen her before,
did she stay in the house ALL
the time? Cat was nice though.
11. Trinity keeps it light, and engages Megan in conversation. It soon becomes
clear Megan doesn’t think much of her parents business. She reckons their
overheads are too high, their margin for profit far too slim and dependant on
too many factors. Trinity is astonished by her level of understanding.
12. Getting her onto other subjects was easy,
and Megan’s personality and sense of
humour finally shone through.
13. With Megan gone, Trinity turns to her twin. She was
chastened to realise she had been so wrapped up in Edward
she hadn’t noticed her twin was a virtual recluse. Out of the
mouths of babes indeed.
15. To Belladonna’s horror,
Trinity decided she had
been neglecting her,
and vowed to take her
out on the town, get
some friends.
16. Megan has been inspired by
seeing how the Twins next
door have decorated. If they
can do their own thing, so can
she. As she explains to her
dad, she isn’t a baby.
17. She takes him into her room to point out to him
how childish and girly the whole place is. She
makes it clear she appreciates the effort he put
into it, she’s seen photos of the horrid brown it
was, but it isn’t her.
18. There are some perks to working from home. Warren
manages to get her room completely redecorated within
a couple of days. Megan was much happier.
19. James wasn’t bothered that his half
the room wasn’t re-done as well.
There wasn’t much he could think of
to do to it. Warren had asked, but
with no real response, had given up.
