=====Lucy Ackroyd / Polly Blore===== //Greetings Earnest Readers,\\ \\ Does it ever drive you maniacal just how quickly the night changes? After the absolute ton-foolery of the last Chesterton ball, I simply had to make a final encore. This reader could never have predicted what went down, so let me tell you the tale, and the whole world will finally have an answer on who has been bad. This author will set the record straight, for you see, dear readers, there is nothing I do better than revenge and writing. \\ \\ Where to even start, how about I start at the beginning with the reveal of everything that transpired with the Chestertons. Lady Katherine confessed to the crime of murdering her brother-in-law via cyanide poisoning. She knowingly hired an assassin, the Black Cat, to commit the act and kept her in her employ as a "governess". What a vile woman indeed, at least she has now confessed so that the Dowager Duchess Mary Chesterton can have some closure. \\ \\ It seems as though hubris is a running feature of the circus that is the criminals of the Chesterton household. Lady Katherine hid the poison under the floorboards of her own bedroom, and Harriet hid her stash of stolen wealth and other materials inside one of the outhouses in the garden. Hiding their crimes in plain sight while also trying to pin the innocent Darlings in the process to prevent the marriage going forward. Lady Katherine was desperate to control the wealth of the Chestertons and saw Henrietta as a threat. No doubt they were the ones who started the rumours of the Dandy Lion being based in their household as a means of ruining their reputation.\\ \\ The pathetic attempt of framing Henrietta with a "Dandy Lion" outfit that did not fit her in any way, the attempted break in by Lady Katherine herself before being stopped by members of her own ball. It all culminated when Harriet was backed into a corner. Harriet revealed her true colours, became a wild animal and stabbed Henrietta. Harriet fled the scene and refused to be taken in by the army, and died in the struggle. A bitter end to a bitter person. Harriet was known as a cheerful gossiper, who knew she was secretly a disgusting human. \\ \\ However hope is not all lost, as Duke Thomas played a major role in the uncovering of his mother’s misdeeds, and he himself was horrified to discover the pathetic framing attempt of his new fiance. His defiance against the wickedness within his family gives this author much excitement for what the future holds for the Chesterton Household. I hope that history has kind eyes on the happy couple. \\ \\ The above would’ve been enough to mark this ball as one for the ages, but there was even more: The Bridge Burglar, doing a grand escape, but not before shattering the chandelier and revealing their huge banner to mark the destruction to the estate. In their escape, it was revealed by the abandoned clothing that the Bridge Burglar was indeed Lt. Sir Archibald "Archie" Blagdon Westcott. For a person so blazon it is not a surprise that someone of their personality would be capable of a grandiose robbery and show.\\ \\ Who could not escape their misdeeds, aside from the scoundrels previously mentioned, is the plagiariser Leslie Undrell, who was thrown out of the ball once he attempted to prove his own merit, his merit being as good as a wax teapot. Those dancing during his abysmal display probably wished that they were dancing with their ears clogged. Even now this author cannot sleep at night for I hear the stolen lullabies. \\ \\ Identity reveals were plenty given, as the evening itself was first introduced by Lady Temperance Ackroyd with the reveal that "Lucy" was actually Polly, the secret sister who took over Lucy's identity at the wishes of her mother Countess Constance. The shy scaredy nature of Polly was merely a front brought on from pretending to be someone she truly wasn’t. She showed her true colours tonight when she was instrumental to the group who confronted Lady Katherine and Harriet Bodley. Who knows what Polly will get up to next. \\ \\ But what happens next will have to wait, as a summertime sadness shall pass over all of us as the social season comes to a bombastic end. It has been a delight to write up all of your misdeeds and whisperings for you. \\ \\ I will, and always, remain your obedient servant, \\ \\ Earl Hollerback // ---- After taking a deep sigh, Polly finally puts down her quill. It has been a wild first season for her, to say the least. But nevertheless, she was free now. Free of pretending to be someone who she wasn’t. But of course, nothing changed in the way she treated the staff and those who society deems are below the ton. What remains now is to try and get this pamphlet out and get the profits back before she and the rest of the Ackroyds embark on their journey across Europe. The wedding of Lady Henrietta and Duke Thomas had bought some extra time, as everyone wanted to be around for the celebrations. Polly had managed to save at least two reputations this season compared to those she helped ruin. ‘Well… ruining cruel people’s reputations could be seen as a form of confluence, but surely I've taken things too far on occasion? I mean…Parthenia and Albion wouldn’t have been forced to marry had I not shared their misdeeds from the first ball right?’ Polly thought to herself as she knocked on her bedroom door in the same unusual rhythm, which was a code to Caroline to pick up the final draft to send to the publishers. Caroline has grown to always listen out for those rhythms, they were a highlight to her working week. Working full time as a lady’s maid had been hard, especially since she did not have the requisite training since she was merely a scullery maid before. But Polly had caught her up to speed. Even though it had been nearly 10 years since Polly had been a foundling, the skills and muscle memory from the rigorous servant training had not left her. That fateful day, when the generous offer arrived for her at the Ramsbridge estate, she couldn’t believe her eyes. The Darlings had treated her tremendously well, there was no denying that they were fantastic employers. Mr Bastable in particular was exceedingly good at his job and had taken good care of her. But nothing could have stopped Caroline from being reunited with her best friend. She had missed her smile, their inside jokes, the way they used to sneak around the foundling hospital and picked locks to get extra food, and play pranks on the grumpy matrons. A couple months before Polly was adopted they had dreamt up a grand plan of robbing the safe and using the money to run away to far away countries together. "We wouldn’t have to answer to anyone Polly! Think about it, we would only serve ourselves, we can ride elephants or stay in fancy hotels…" Caroline whispered to her, looking across from her bed to Polly’s. There were about 10 girls in a room and the beds were all close together, but Polly and Caroline’s were next to each other in the corner, that was how they became friends to begin with. "We could climb trees in jungles and sail treacherous waters…" Polly whispered back "Really? You could be treated like a royal but instead you want to be a pirate? I think you love those books a bit too much." "Are you saying you wouldn’t want to be a pirate?" "No but I'm saying there are better options." "What other options do you want?!" "SHHHHHH," came from one of the girls nearby, clearly their voices had gotten louder than a whisper in their excitement. But alas, the plans never came to be, in just a month Polly would be gone, adopted with the new identity of Lucy Ackroyd. Caroline sobbed the night she left, feeling as though half her heart had been taken with her. Polly herself cried in secret, missing her friend. But remained determined that one day, she would be reunited, she wanted… she needed her closest friend by her side. By befriending all the staff on the estate she sent out constant requests to find a name and description that matches the Caroline she knew. It took 8 years but eventually Caroline and Polly were together again. The day that Caroline arrived at the Ackroyd estate, Polly and Caroline hugged and cried for at least an hour in secret. The year before Polly’s debut they ran around the Wiltshire estate in secret, sneaking food and leaving silly pranks for Constance. Polly began requesting lots of clothing and jewellery that were in Caroline’s tastes so that in secret they could play dress up together. Caroline would pretend she was indeed a wealthy debutante and Polly gave her dancing lessons in her bedroom, of which Caroline picked up the steps quickly. tap tap tap tap t-tap ‘Crap, I was daydreaming again’ thought Caroline as she realised the secret rhythm was tapped again. She raced across the floor to reach Polly, who was waiting in anticipation with the final pamphlet. The Pamphlet did the usual rounds, However much more was sold this time round. Polly and Caroline both expected this since the entirety of the last ball had enough drama to sell a whole other season’s worth of pamphlets. Bad for those involved in the shenanigans but very good for the pockets of Earl Hollerback and his beneficiaries. The Hollerback Fund was indeed both Polly and Caroline’s biggest joy. Caroline worked overtime to make sure that the pamphlet was released as soon as possible, since they needed to get the maximum amount of money before they left. Temperance was eager to get going, usually she wasn’t so fussed about keeping to timings, but the thrill of taking Polly away to see the world was something she could not wait for, and so when the day finally arrived, Polly, Caroline, Constance and Temperance all left London for a grand adventure across Europe. It was everything that Polly dreamed of. Whenever Temperance had ‘niece time’ with Polly, she would allow Caroline to relax her duties and have fun with them. Temperance couldn’t help but notice though, the way that they looked at each other when one of them wasn’t paying attention. Polly’s eyes were filled with affection, the kind of look that would give anyone a warm fuzzy feeling. Caroline’s eyes were not of affection but of admiration, similar to the look you expect of someone who has just won the world’s greatest prize. Maybe… that is what Caroline truly feels? The more they travelled, and the more freedoms Caroline was allowed in secret at the behest of both Temperance and Polly, something akin to resentment and jealousy slowly boiled up. It became more apparent every day to Caroline the class difference between her and Polly, and the worlds that they inhabit. It was delusional to think that they could keep up with this forever. Slowly Caroline began to act out of character, and Polly soon noticed. Eventually, an evening in Paris, things blew up. Constance, Polly and Temperance were together having a meal while Polly stood guard. The chatter and the laughter were barely tolerable, but then Constance said, "I am looking forward to next season, we can find you a good match, I am sure it will be easy for you." Caroline couldn’t bear it anymore. Caroline began swaying, doing her best to act ill. "Sorry, you will need to excuse me," she said, feebly, as she left the room stumbling. Constance looked annoyed at the interruption of a servant, while Temperance and Polly looked concerned. Caroline was not a good actress, as Polly knew from the foundling hospital how even the matrons saw through her ruses. "Pardon me please, sorry," said Polly hurriedly as she quickly got up and followed. Constance's face grew red with anger but Temperance managed to calm her down. Caroline fled their rented houses and ran into the grand back garden, not being able to hold back tears. 'What the hell was I thinking?! For god’s sake Caroline, get a grip!' Caroline thought to herself as she shoved her head into her hands. "CARRIE!!" shouted Polly as she ran towards her, her dress getting dirty at the bottom as she wasn’t looking where she was running and had collided into a couple of bushes. "Carrie are you okay?" "Yes, I'm fine." "...no you're not, you wouldn’t have pretended to be ill if you were not…" "Seriously?! My acting is still that bad." Polly chuckled, "It has always been that bad, sorry but not much can be done about that, if the matrons could call your bluff when we were caught… " "DON’T REMIND ME!" Polly laughed more at that, which was infectious. Caroline couldn’t help but snort as well at the memory of the matron's face when she caught the two of them throwing chalk out the window, in a mad scheme to stop lessons going ahead. The two of them were put on extra cleaning and cooking jobs for a month after that, alongside their usual duties. They also had to write out ‘I WILL NOT THROW CHALK OUT THE WINDOW AND CALL MATRON FEATHER A GRUMPY BUM’ 100 times in neat handwriting. "...do you want to tell me why you have been acting off?" Polly said after the laughter had subsided. Caroline looked down, trying her best to keep a level head. "I'm sorry but…and I know you mean good when you and Temperance treat me well…but…I'm tired." "You're tired? What are you tired of?" "I'm tired..of pretending that we can spend forever like this." "I..don’t understand, have we done something to upset you?" "No! No you have been amazing but….but I know this won’t last. You are in a different class than me. I cannot join you and so I am destined to play pretend when all I ever will be is a lady’s maid!" The tears started to fall down Caroline’s face, the emotions she refused to let surface finally boiling over. "Carrie..I.." ‘No please…just…I know it was hard for you and you did everything you could to share your luck but I..I cannot help but want more… you will marry a member of the Ton someday and then I will have to step back as I doubt anyone would tolerate the two of us being this friendly and I…I know it selfish but I really don’t want that to happen…’ "CARRIE I DON’T WANT THAT EITHER" Caroline stopped her rambling and looked up, meeting Polly’s eyes for the first time. ‘That look…why is she looking at me like that?’ Caroline thought to herself. "Carrie…I do not want to marry anyone in the Ton…" "So you want to be like your auntie Tempy?" "Carrie…I have known for some time now what I want." Polly stepped forward towards Caroline as she spoke. "Playing pretend was something I had become accustomed to, but you allowed me to be real for the last couple years and that is something that I will forever be grateful for. But What I cannot pretend is how I truly feel for you…" "You…what?!" "Ever since you came back into my life I have slowly begun to learn what love truly means. I always thought it was some useful tactic one develops when they are forced to marry someone or something that is exaggerated to help the medicine of marriage go down but…no…I have learnt this past year that it is no exaggeration. You give clarity to my thoughts and give them a space where they can thrive. Faking an identity was hard enough but I cannot pretend to myself that I, Polly, is an identity half made, because half of me belongs to you." Caroline was frozen, she couldn’t believe what she was hearing…she must be dreaming, there was no way this could be real. "Polly…You cannot be serious…" "If you do not feel the same that's fine, and you have my word your employment will not be affected by how I feel but I had to let you know that…" "POLLY" Caroline cried out loudly, stopping Polly’s train of thought. Caroline’s face was as red as a rose. "Polly…I feel as though words fail to express the way I feel… I am not as good with words as you..I never was…but…I love you too..But I feel like a word like love…it does a disservice to the feelings I have…" Polly smiled, a look of adoration and relief spread across her face. She rushed forward and bear hugged Caroline, holding her tight, as if she could slip out of her grasp and wisp away in the wind. "Let's run away together…just the two of us…" Caroline’s eyed widened, "What…like the plan we had as kids?" "YES! We can go stay in fancy hotels and sail treacherous waters..I refuse to say we can pretend to be these things when I can bring you into my world…at least in the best way I know…" "How do you intend to…" "Let's get married, and let's keep it a secret. We can travel the world together as wives and then when we return, you can announce yourself as my partner." "You do realise you will be ostracised by society right?!" "You think I care about what society thinks?!" "I know you don’t but I don’t want you to face ruin, do not take your luck for granted! Lets keep us a secret and only trust those we know and love with our relationship. I can pretend to be head of staff or something similar when we return and I'll…I'll be happy with that, truly!" "So you agree…" "Agree? Oh! To marry you? There is nothing else in the world I want more Polly!" "But you wanted more than that right?! Surely I can find a way to…" "No Polly, it's a risky move as it is. But..if the home is where the heart is…then no matter what I am always with you, you will always have my love Polly." "YOU BETTER HAVE ME THERE WHEN YOU DECIDE ON A DATE YOU TWO!" Temperance shouted as she emerged from behind a tree, having followed Polly. Polly and Caroline jumped out of their skins as they looked at Temperance. 'SHIT' they both collectively thought. Temperance walked out and brushed herself off, with a look of perplexed joy "What you said just now was beautiful Polly, and I have no problems with this…but also…Please do not run away! I just spent so much time fixing things with Connie and now you want to run away! You do realise that will make things so much worse right?!" Polly ran up to Temperance. "Auntie Tempy! But this is what I have longed to do…" "Heh! Maybe when things were bad but things are better now! I do not want you to ruin your relationships on a whim! I may be very lenient but I have my limits Polly!" "But..I…" "Look…let me talk to Constance…and we'll figure something out. I'll find a way for you and Caroline to do as you wish without burning bridges I just bloody fixed, okay?!" "Ooookaaaay," said Polly and Caroline in union. It took a LOT of convincing from Constance to agree to any of it. She was flabbergasted at the start. Loving a maid was SCANDALOUS, and to marry one was out of the question. Things got worse before things could get better. Long periods of silence before bitter remarks resumed did Temperance’s head in. But eventually…with the realisation that the plans were going to go ahead with or without Constance's presence, so she decided she wanted to be around. And so, she allowed for the marriage to go ahead. The family travelled to Scotland, and had an irregular marriage ceremony with only family present. A condition of the marriage to be given Constance's blessing was that it would be done in secret, and nobody but those who the family could truly trust be in the know. With that Polly and Caroline left on their travels, a very long honeymoon, where Polly kept up regular correspondence to make sure that she would keep them in the loop on where she was going, and to not let either of them be presumed dead. Duchess Henrietta and Duke Thomas were also kept in the loop as they, alongside the rest of the Darlings, were the only ones that Polly deemed trustworthy to know of her secret marriage. Polly and Caroline spent almost every year travelling and only returning for the social season to carry on Earl Hollerback, to give them secret funds for their travels plus to further continue the Hollaback Fund. Eventually, as time always does, the countessdom was passed onto Polly, who returned to the UK permanently afterwards. She established the Lady Lucy’s Home of Hope, an adoption home run by her and Caroline, where they adopted many orphans and raised them warmly, giving those who need it a better start in life than the ones that Polly and Caroline had. Earl Hollerback endured, being a source of funding for the home. Duke Thomas and Duchess Henrietta were one of the main benefactors of the home. The children who they adopted came from a variety of backgrounds but the rule was simple. Who they were before they came into the home did not matter, as once you became part of Lady Lucy’s, you had a new family to take care of you. They raised many children,and had the delight of watching them grow up into being noble citizens of society. Many rumours spread that there was something more happening between Caroline, the head of staff, and Countess Polly, nothing ever got confirmed. -- //Written by Hannah B.//