[Charlotte Tolson (Izzie)]

"Lily, your hair is going to come undone if you leave it like so..." Lady Middleton fussed, while Charlotte glowered in the carriage. "There aren't enough pins in it, it shall all come tumbling down in the middle of a dance, and you'll be a complete embarrassment to us all," she fretted.

"It's fine, mother," Charlotte snapped, her voice cutting through the silence of the darkened carriage. She could barely make out her mother's facial expression, but it was one of shock, that would quickly turn to rage if she did not make amends. "I'm sorry, Mama, I'm just tired from this afternoon is all," she said by way of explanation. In truth, she was not sorry, and she was in a foul mood to boot. But she knew that there were more than enough pins in her hair to keep it intact for the evening, so she did not understand why her mother was so worried.

As they arrived at Emerson House, a glowering Charlotte was lead down from the carriage by her brother, who escorted both his mother and sister inside. Lord Middleton has, of course, skipped out of his social obligations by inventing some excuse about having to work. On Easter Sunday.

"You could at least look like you could enjoy this evening," Edward whispered to her, squeezing her arm painfully. A look of contempt was shot at him from Charlotte. She didn't understand why Edward of all people was in a bad mood, he hadn't been the one who had dealt with their father when they had returned from the picnic.

She winced at the memory of the hours long argument and the ensuing headache which she was now battling. In fact, Charlotte was so distracted that she did not even look around the entrance to Emerson House, with its beautiful decorations. It wasn't until her mother pointed them out to her did Charlotte pay any attention. The sight of it took her breath away. Nothing this fine had ever decorated any surface in India, and Charlotte could feel her mood lighten just a little bit at the luxury of it all.

The Tolson's greeted their hostess, giving the customary compliments, and soon they were ushered out of the receiving line, and stood in a group unto themselves. Juliet was busy speaking to a man Charlotte did not know, and her aunt was busy keeping an eye of both of her daughters. Charlotte's blue eyes swept across the crowd, and she spotted the Fairmont's. Her mood blackened again, which was something she had not expected to happen. Usually the Fairmont's buoyed her mood. Perhaps it was because she had been expecting an invitation to dance from Lord Foxford (an invitation she had not received) that was throwing her customary mood towards the family, she mused.

[Katherine Winter (Alexandra)]

“Hmgh.” Katie Winter let out an indistinct sigh, her brow crinkled in concern as she willed the carriage to move faster. “Oh, Mama, tonight shall be simply incredible. I heard a rumour –“ Thank you, cousin Rosalind! “that Lady Emerson’s has had a fountain installed just for the ball! Imagine!”

“It will all still be there when we arrive,” Anthea assured her youngest. Curtly.

“Mmm,” Katie agreed with a happy sigh and a private smile in the darkness. The young lady had had very little say in her own attire this evening. The idea of feathers had delighted her but had been decisively dismissed by her mother – “how tawdry!” Also, a ball gown, she had been told, was no place to showcase wit and so a ‘clever’ costume was out of the question. Katie found herself in a soft peach ball gown. However, as she had fidgeted about at her vanity- glancing up between pages of her novel - and watched her abigail twist her silky pale hair up into a sophisticated mass of curls, adorning the coiffure with a few equally silky peach roses, Katie had liked what she had seen and was content. Her elder sister, Augusta, was in equally sensible pastel yellow with yellow roses.

Sure enough, when the Winters arrived at Emerson House five minutes later, it was all still there, in all its splendour. Indeed, the foyer’s beauty was enhanced by the swirls of colourful, milling guests – blossoming flowers and floating feathers in abundance.

“Goodness!” Katie laughed, about to point out a lurid yellow canary-esque costume when her hand was adeptly caught by her watchful mother.

“Hush, child. Remember yourself.”

Katie hushed.

“Utterly hideous,” Jack agreed quietly in his sister’s ear as he passed her to take his mother's arm. However Jack's attention had already drifted from the yellow spectacle to something infinitely more beautiful: a lovely, exotic creature in violet and orange with the most disdainful frown set upon her lips. The sharp disparity between her soft, pretty appearance and the determined sour expression upon her features appealed to the writer in him and he wondered at her story. Here against her will, destined to dance with her arranged fiancé and watch whilst the man she had given her heart to danced with others? He was being wildly silly, of course, but the idea was terribly romantic.

Miss Augusta Winter trailed quietly along behind her siblings as the family went to join the receiving line.

[Charity Pritchard (Lin)]

Winifred smiled at the multitude of guests gathered in her foyer and from her vantage point, saw that the ballroom was becoming equally filled. Her servers were working very efficiently. Canapes and Champagne were flowing freely, just the way that Emerson Balls were meant to be. Since she had taken the spot of the Marchioness, she had made sure that not only were the parties on par with that of the previous Marchioness, they surpassed it. Over the years, Winifred had ensured that an invitation from the house of Emerson was never to be turned down.

Her eyes beaming, she turned to the next guest. Still, tonight would be her greatest accomplishment yet. Her girls, as she had come to think of them, were grown up, and both exceptionally pretty. Charity was a startling 'original' with her dark coloring and odd stormy eyes, Elise clearly the fairest of them all, and with such beautiful friends as well! Just earlier in the evening, she had sent Harriet Fforde up to the rooms, Elise's firm and steadfast friend. Harriet was a beautiful young lady, if only marred by an awful family situation.

Winifred was about to greet her next guest when an unexpected gentleman cut the line. Not quite so unexpected, since she had seen this young man grow up as both her sons have. Still, there was nothing predictable about Henry Layton. The only possible predictability would be the confirmation of his unexpectedness!

"Thank you, Henry." Winifred arched a brow as she returned his greeting. "Charity is in her room, preparing, I doubt she is overcome with nerves like my Elise is, but you might go and speak to her if you wish.. Or you might go into the ballroom and mingle as is your responsibility as a man of the peer.."She told him calmly, before shooing him away. Henry was not a tiny man, and if she could say so, he was blocking her receiving line.

*
Having let Henry go up to see his friend, she turned to her next few guests and accepted all due compliments. A maid approached her to warn her of the time and she nodded. The ball and the dancing should begin soon. In reply, she sent the maid upstairs to let the girls know. "Dorothea!" Winifred said, finally turning back to the line. "Wonderful of you to have been able to attend! And Lady Viola," She turned to the younger woman, and was surprised by her choice of color for a gown. "I am impressed by your courage, dear." Wearing such a stark red, Viola no doubt looked extremely confident, and very beautiful. "It suits you very well." She pronounced with a tone of finality. Some of the ladies who had been tittering amongst themselves turned to look.

"And you must be Lady Olivia?" Winifred asked, taking the younger girl's hand affectionately while directing her question to all of the party. "You are in good hands, dearest, I am sure your sister will make sure you make all the proper introductions..." She said with a fond look in Viola's direction, while patting Olivia's hand.

[Nicholas Gosling (Alexandra)]

William had vanished from the park and not returned to Gosling House all day. Nicholas had not a clue if he had returned to his own lodgings to prepare for the ball or was awake/sleep/comatose/dead elsewhere. He could not honestly say if his brother would arrive at the ball at all, let alone in what state. He dreaded to think.

Instead, he turned his mind to making idle chatter with the Duchess of Talbot and her intensely dull and impressively dim-witted husband.

As the escort of a debutante ought, the duke had arrived precisely on time - impeccably groomed in black with a snowy white cravat- and greeted Lady Emerson as politely as humanly possible. He had then begun to solicit ladies for dances; Miss Beacham had been buzzing around, ready to be asked and Lady Jane Middleton had previously agreed to stand up with him also. All in all, a model guest.

Nobody would guess that the tall duke sipping champage in the middle of the room was in a truly, truly vile temper and would greatly prefer to be in the comfort of his own study where he could throw objects into the fire in peace and quiet.

[Demelza Quartermaine (Vikki)]

"I cannot think what you mean," Demelza huffed, drawing herself up. Nonetheless, she was always a tiny bit flattered by such lines, though she refused to show it, especially to Captain Thomas Sterne. "I do not recall our last meeting in any great detail, but it must surely have been some time ago. If I am unchanged, perhaps you ought to consider spectacles, sir?" The final line was spoken with mock concern for his 'failing' sight.

As to his offer to introduce Felicity to Miss Wriothesely - well, there was no harm in it, certainly, though she could not imagine that Felicity would become fast friends with the girl, who Demelza remembered from last year as being near to brainless and with a propensity to start chattering and never stop. "You may introduce Miss Staunton to your sister, and to Miss Wriothesely," she agreed. She had no complaints about Lady Jane Middleton either, although it was clear she had married for money, out of necessity, and thus was somewhat come down in the world. But she was respectable enough in her person.

"As for a dance, I am afraid she is already engaged for some of them, including to Lord Foxford and Mr Fotherington," and here she wished Felicity had accepted more than two dances in advance of the ball, as then there would be every chance that the Captain would not have a dance free that matched up with Felicity's. Still, no help for it. "But I leave the matter up to her," she added with a meaningful look to her niece. It hinted 'Do not let me down', and she meant it.

The reception line had moved forward by now, and they were greeted by Winifred Emerson, paying all the requisite compliments on the ball's arrangements and complimenting her on her charges' debut (although apparently the girls in question had chosen not to grace the ballroom with their presence yet, perhaps preferring to make a grand entrance after their guests had all arrived). Not wishing to hold up the line any further, they moved on to mingle with other guests.

(ooc - Aida and Betsy, feel free to have Thomas and Felicity chat some more, I just wanted to get Demelza ahead a bit since she won't be doing much more than hovering disapprovingly)

[Viola Fitzgerald (Rose)]

Henry grinned at Lady Emerson and turned away, just as she had intended. He had been in Charity's room on many occasions formerly, but he could not imagine she would appreciate his bursting in on her as she did her toilette. The gossip pages would though. How damnedly irritating, he thought, nodding to someone he knew across the room without making any move to approach them closer, to care about someone enough to care about even the gossip pages. He didn't care, he thought, taking a drink from a tray held by a footman, but Charity was defenceless and he would not abuse his power as a gentleman.

* * *

Mrs. Greystone greeted her friend warmly. "Winifred, your arrangements are as always unsurppassable! So good of you to invite us. My sister Madeleine sends her compliments to you and all your family."

Viola received the compliment with sincere thanks. She had not thought her dress so very daring, but looking around, it was certainly darker than most ladies'. But then again, she looked better in dark colours. "Your Ladyship is very kind," she acknowledged with a rather serious smile, and she was not just referring to the comment on her dress.

"Yes," added Mrs. Greystone, gesturing to Olivia to come forward. "This is Lady Olivia, and it is most generous of you to extend your invitation to her."

"Sight unseen!" put in Viola irrepressibly, with a touch of her usual humour.

Olivia curtsied quickly and said brightly, "Yes, Lady Emerson, thank-you so much. This is my first ball, you know, and I am sure it will more than exceed my expectations. I am looking forward to meeting both Miss Pritchard and Miss Hampton, as well as your sons!"

Viola's hand was on her back and she said, a touch ironically, "Come, Livia, her Ladyship has more guests to greet and the Marchioness is right: I need to make you some 'proper introductions'..." She met Lady Emerson's gaze briefly as they moved off from the line.

It was a habit that Viola found to break, this sharing in unspoken confidences with exactly those most inappropriate to confide in. As Viola tucked her arm in her sister's, she reflected that Lady Emerson had little reason to welcome her to her son's house after the previous week's events, and less still to be nice to her, even if she always had been in the past, however slight their acquaintance. Here and now Viola had no idea what she was trying to communicate to Lady Emerson, if anything. Perhaps it was just a desire to share something with someone...

But these were serious thoughts to have in a ballroom as her eyes flickered over the very impressive decorations and the less analytical part of her enjoyed the candlelight and hum of chatter and the physical sensation of her beautiful red gown sweeping round her legs as she walked. Livia's perfume filled her nostrils and she knew she had to snap out of her mood. She blinked and caught sight of Lord Linley, smiled broadly at him and steered her sister in his direction. He would be a very suitable introduction to make and he had said he would like to meet her sister.

[Thomas Sterne (Aida)]

Spectacles, eh? Thomas could not help but smirk roguishly as he began to imagine Mrs. Quartermaine as she must have been in her youth. A pity she did not have a dance card...

"It grieves me to hear you prefer not to remember our last meeting, when-" however, before his mischievousness could get the better of him and force him to say something he would regret later on, Thomas checked himself and added with a deep bow: "anything for you, Madam!" Having said this, he was utterly determined to burrow Colonel Sterne's butler's spectacles and wear them the next time he happened to meet Mrs. Quartermaine, which must not be very far off indeed if she was residing at the same house as her charming niece.

"Could I ask for the pleasure of the first dance, Miss Staunton? Or any other dances which may be convenient for you?" he addressed the young lady, when they were seemingly left to discuss the matter between themselves. If Foxford and Fotherington were the only fixed partners, it shouldn't be difficult at all to find a dance which suited them both. "And please do not think yourself under any obligation," he added in a lower and gentler tone, "if you believe it would displease your aunt..." He was well aware that young ladies could not reject such requests without a definite reason, yet he did not want Miss Staunton to be scorned on his account. That sort of thing could make any future improvements regarding their acquaintance quite difficult, which was quite contrary to what he was hoping for.

[Felicity Staunton (Betsy)]

Felicity caught the look from Aunt Demelza and comprehended its meaning perfectly. On one hand, she was grateful that her aunt, even if she was a veritable dragon, trusted her enough with a gentleman whose company she apparently found less than worthy. On the other hand, she was slightly annoyed - why shouldn't she be trusted? She wasn't some green girl straight from the country. She had proven herself sensible and modest, so such leniency was well-deserved.

She curtseyed for Lady Emerson, murmuring the appropriate praises for the ballroom and the guest list, and moved on, speaking with Captain Sterne as they walked. "Thank you, I am not engaged for the first."

To his hushed response, she perked an eyebrow, and spoke in an equally low tone. "I think there can be no harm in dancing with an old friend of my father's, and I am sure Mrs. Quartermaine would agree. I cannot think myself so high and mighty as to refuse a dance based on her censure. I believe she makes it a point to disapprove of as much as possible."

She looked up at him with a smirk, then turned to the crowd in the ballroom. "Where are your sister and cousin? I should very much like to see them."

[Thomas Sterne (Aida)]

When they arrived at the spot where Lady Emerson was standing, Thomas greeted their hostess and congratulated her on the debut of her lovely wards, afterward inquiring whether they were already among the guests or if they were yet to make their appearance. He found the latter case to be true.

"I believe I saw them ahead of us in the reception line," he replied to Miss Staunton's question, though not quite as enthusiastic to meet his sister and cousin as he had pretended to be. In truth, the whole idea of the introduction had been merely a strategy to soften his way into bringing up the dancing request. "Jane should be wearing a grey gown," he looked about them to see if he could spy her, "as for Helena, I think she said she..." Nevertheless, the latter sentence remained unfinished as its orator was all of a sudden petrified by the sight of what seemed to be... what seemed to be... By Jove! You could make pillows for an entire battalion with that!

After a moment of being thorn between bursting out in laughter or leading Miss Staunton away from the yellow feathery headdress - because that was the only noticeable part of Miss Wriothesley for at least a quarter of an hour after first beholding her - he finally decided that such a meeting would be inevitable due to the undeniable attraction of the aforementioned hat or whatever it was, therefore he proceeded to make the introductions, in the meantime keeping a playful side-glance upon Miss Staunton as he awaited her reaction.

((OOC: Shall we move on to another thread? ))

[Victor Kincaide (Emily)]

The Kincaide party stepped from the carriage, Victor helping his mother and sisters out as they fussed, trying not to dirty their gowns in the street before they made their way inside, his mother and Eleanor leading the way while Victor gave his arm to Juliana. Their mother was in grey and pearls, with a simple black feathered headdress, Ellie in white muslin, her hair dressed simply and set with white St. Brigid anemones, and Juliana in an indigo-coloured gown with golden chrysanthemums studding her curls. Victor was dressed well, but simply, the white of his cravat and golden-brown of his waistcoat relieving the black coat and knee-breeches.

"Now remember what I told you," he muttered seriously.

"You worry too much, Victor," said Juliana flippantly. "I do not believe there is anything to fear from your friend."

"He is not my friend. Nor yours. Nor Eleanor's. Come now, Julie, be a good girl..."

"I have never been very good at being good..."

"I know," groaned Victor. "Just...please. This is all very new for us, and we must be careful. For all our sakes. Be good for me."

"I shall try, of course," said Juliana. "But I still think there is nothing so very great to worry about. As if Ellie or I could be so easily persuaded into anything shocking or indecent! Oh, I see you do not trust us...and me in particular!" She began to pout. Victor knew his youngest sister's cantankerous nature could well upset everything if she went into a sulk and deliberately began to act out in small ways without heeding their very great consequences. It was one thing in the country--she could not get into much trouble herself at Glasscourt; but here there were far too many people willing to help her on her way to ruin.

"Of course I trust you," he protested quickly. "It is other people I do not trust. You know I wish you and Ellie to do well this season...perhaps even more than Mother."

Juliana giggled at this and squeezed her big brother's arm as they joined the receiving line, and Victor let out a sigh of partial relief. For now.