[Introduction] Halfway up the stairs...
She couldn't help William, she realizes as she sits in her usual spot, halfway up the stairs.
She isn't sure now if it was simply a matter of "couldn't" or "wouldn't". The man had been under a tremendous strain lately, and she couldn't help wondering if he had brought this latest calamity on himself. He hadn't been himself since the night he had been attacked, but that isn't the reason she wouldn't help him.
She'd suspected all along what was going on between him and his daughter's governess, and word gets around. It didn't surprise her why he had sacked the girl, but it gave him no right: the girl was far from being the Virgin Mary, she'd have needed assistance in attaining her condition, and given the relationship between employer and servant, it stood to reason that William was the father.
Is that why she wouldn't help William? She never thought it right that an employer should use a servant in such a way, and even if it came about that a female domestic should be found with child, it certainly was not right that she should be turned out into the streets, particularly if the master of the house was the father of the girl's child.
It doesn't surprise her that the girl would take her master's child: there seemed no one else left in the household who truly gave a fig for the girl, and while it is not right for Sugar to have run off with her like that, what else can she do to ensure that someone cared for the child in the way that Sophie needed?
But even still, where could a girl, recently risen from the streets, have gone with a little girl of six in tow? The possibilities make Mrs. Fox cringe and she has to sit down on the stairs to steady herself.
Puss's inquisitive 'mrrowl?' can be heard and the cat comes up to sit beside her on the stairs. "A man's worst foe is the face that looks at him from a looking glass, isn't it, Puss?" she says to the feline, now rubbing against her lap. She runs a hand over the cat's back and he arches into it before curling up beside her in a furry curl on the stairstep beside her
She resolves to go out in search of the girl herself: there are places she knows that William does not. But the shock of William barging into her house, raving like a spoiled child deprived of a toy has taken the breath from her lungs for the moment. And she leans against the wall, closing her eyes as she breathes deeply to clear her head...
When she opens them, the stairway on which she sits does not resemble hers. The pattern of the wallpaper is not the same, and the steps are wider and more opulent. She rises to her feet, looking about her: the clutter of boxes containing donated clothes for the poor and the remains of Henry's household effects are nowhere to be seen. In fact, the house is larger than hers, like the house of a wealthy family.
Is this a dream? Is she about to wake up? Has she awakened in some strange place like Dante's dark wood? "Hello? Is anyone there?" she calls out, hesitantly.
Name: Emmeline Fox
Fandom: "The Crimson Petal and the White"
Media: Novel
Typist: matrixrefugee
Other relevant info: Taken from after her last appearance in the novel: have a proper but open-hearted Edwardian lady! Don't hesitate to send sinners to her: she's used to them and frankly would welcome them (in a good way!). Also, don't hesitate to send someone brain-bendy: bending pups' brains is fun and the sooner she's acquainted with the Mansion's inherent weirdness, the better!
The first commenter acts as a welcoming committee. All following interactions are deemed later in the day, when the character is settled.
She isn't sure now if it was simply a matter of "couldn't" or "wouldn't". The man had been under a tremendous strain lately, and she couldn't help wondering if he had brought this latest calamity on himself. He hadn't been himself since the night he had been attacked, but that isn't the reason she wouldn't help him.
She'd suspected all along what was going on between him and his daughter's governess, and word gets around. It didn't surprise her why he had sacked the girl, but it gave him no right: the girl was far from being the Virgin Mary, she'd have needed assistance in attaining her condition, and given the relationship between employer and servant, it stood to reason that William was the father.
Is that why she wouldn't help William? She never thought it right that an employer should use a servant in such a way, and even if it came about that a female domestic should be found with child, it certainly was not right that she should be turned out into the streets, particularly if the master of the house was the father of the girl's child.
It doesn't surprise her that the girl would take her master's child: there seemed no one else left in the household who truly gave a fig for the girl, and while it is not right for Sugar to have run off with her like that, what else can she do to ensure that someone cared for the child in the way that Sophie needed?
But even still, where could a girl, recently risen from the streets, have gone with a little girl of six in tow? The possibilities make Mrs. Fox cringe and she has to sit down on the stairs to steady herself.
Puss's inquisitive 'mrrowl?' can be heard and the cat comes up to sit beside her on the stairs. "A man's worst foe is the face that looks at him from a looking glass, isn't it, Puss?" she says to the feline, now rubbing against her lap. She runs a hand over the cat's back and he arches into it before curling up beside her in a furry curl on the stairstep beside her
She resolves to go out in search of the girl herself: there are places she knows that William does not. But the shock of William barging into her house, raving like a spoiled child deprived of a toy has taken the breath from her lungs for the moment. And she leans against the wall, closing her eyes as she breathes deeply to clear her head...
When she opens them, the stairway on which she sits does not resemble hers. The pattern of the wallpaper is not the same, and the steps are wider and more opulent. She rises to her feet, looking about her: the clutter of boxes containing donated clothes for the poor and the remains of Henry's household effects are nowhere to be seen. In fact, the house is larger than hers, like the house of a wealthy family.
Is this a dream? Is she about to wake up? Has she awakened in some strange place like Dante's dark wood? "Hello? Is anyone there?" she calls out, hesitantly.
Name: Emmeline Fox
Fandom: "The Crimson Petal and the White"
Media: Novel
Typist: matrixrefugee
Other relevant info: Taken from after her last appearance in the novel: have a proper but open-hearted Edwardian lady! Don't hesitate to send sinners to her: she's used to them and frankly would welcome them (in a good way!). Also, don't hesitate to send someone brain-bendy: bending pups' brains is fun and the sooner she's acquainted with the Mansion's inherent weirdness, the better!
The first commenter acts as a welcoming committee. All following interactions are deemed later in the day, when the character is settled.