In honor of Iwaku's Love Fest, a special thread has arrived to the Regency Index!
Penny-Post is an in-character postal thread service for your characters to express their undying or unrequited love! Moreover, if there's a friendship or relationship that must be severed (or the latest dit to divulge), a Penny-Post may be just what you need. Be they anonymous or signed boldly with red ink, explore the depths of your character's heart with a love letter to another!
For almost a fortnight, I thought and prayed on the contents of this letter. The very idea of it being written and sent was undisputed in my mind. No - what caused the most confliction within myself was how best to convey the sentiments of my feelings in a way that would neither disgrace myself nor bring chagrin to you, a fine young naval gentleman to who I must confess has consumed my waking thoughts. I must be frank with you; Mother has raised me in such a way that I can not be any less than so. Should your sentiments be in agreement, I must ask that you write to me with all haste, as little else has been on my mind but this.
I can not ignore my feelings any longer. I must see you again.
I have cared for you since the moment you caught me in my fall at the year's ball. I know there is the concern of money and status, but I do not care. The bloom of love within me has grown, and I would see you at your earlier convenience, if not to make a confirmation of our shared affections then to definitively put a stop to this inexplicable and feverish madness that has consumed me since the moment you asked for my hand at a dance. I daresay you are the most chivalrous, virtuous man to be found in London. If you see fit to kindly decline the whimsical love of a young lady, then so be it. You may write back in a manner fitting. However, if you feel as I do, please...
Write back with haste. And meet me under the great oak tree on your lady's estate.
6 years before the Rosier tragedy
1 year before Abigail Rosier's tragic accident
1 year before the union of Abigail and Virgilius
Abigail Rosier, aged 21
To my husband to be, I know our prospects may seem stifling to you. The happy arrangement made by our dearest parents is far from the idea of freedom and academic pursuit you hope for. I hope I will be the last that needs to remind you how dependent a lady is of her husband and how, in turn, I will be entirely dependent on you for my future. Something that, with one glance at our dearest sister Adelaide (and I say 'our' deliberately for I know you view her as such as well) how there is no lady who is willingly born into the prospect of having to depend on another.
You may have found the Rosier headstrong, both Albert and Adelaide being of their own mind with no interest in being boxed in their expected roles. You may even think of me as dull for allowing myself to be morphed by the hand of my dear mother. I will have you know that, growing up with two siblings, such as these troublemakers, requires an even more stubborn character.
I will be frank with you. I do not like idleness. Nor indecisiveness and the fact that you have made me wait until one-and-twenty and intend on making me wait until two-and-twenty is all the waiting I am willing to do. The decision was never ours. I will admit so freely and I hope you will not bear that illusion yourself. I have fully committed myself to the idea of giving myself all to you, for society won't permit me anything else. I hope you can bear yourself to do the same.
Sweetest honey-Mass, Please accept this token of love as I am about to tell you about the freedom in sight with the (un)happy union between Abby and mister Hildegard. My parents have, paid in full, arranged a honeymoon for the both of them. A tour alongside the long sea coast of England and a vineyard tour into the wineries of France. That at least is a guaranteed few months off, with the hope that my sister will return with child. All it means for me is that no one shall nag me about my studies. I can simply drop it on Addy and know it will be perfectly fine!
Speaking of which. The lass has written you a poem! It certainly captured my interest, it went around the lines of;
Embarrassing the English
Embrasser tout le monde
A blase act of the French imported
I will have to have a word with Virgil about this foul-mouthedness of my sister. It is unbecoming of a maiden but fifteen, though I suspect the Viscount's daughter to be more at fault here.
Your father should have seen the invitation for the wedding. Good friend, we must elope afterwards, else our adventure will start with a bounty on my head!
Ahoy, bachelorhood at its end! Unfortunate mate, to be married to that high strung sister of mine. Take care of her well, lest she will demand a duel out of me! Addy will gladly take my place, I feel, but I feel that match would be rather unfair. After all, you cannot bear to strike but she will not think twice!
At least mother doesn't have her attention on me. A welcome relief. If I could I would ask you to delay for another while, but Abby will serve me for breakfast if I allow her to pass another birthday unmarried. As such I can only sign off, adieu to the bachelorhood of the man named Virgilius Hildegard!
Tell me, is it wrong of me for not wishing my sister to be married? I know it to be a day that all ladies should look forward to. Mother says I should pay careful attention as a bride-to-be and that she expects mine to be much grander and better matched. Yet, watching my sister getting lined up in all these different types of corsets and talking about the 'nuances' of white and the lace patterns makes me want to pass away on the spot. Is this what the rest of her life will be? Asking her husband how much her expenses will be as she cumbers over the type of lace hanging over the edge of the table and what silverware they will serve with dinner?
I hear you laugh already. Silly goose that I am. Of course we shall not be such dull ladies. I just fear my sister becoming one after marriage. Not that my brother-to-be is a dull man, but marriage tends to change one so much. Oh, will you please vow with me that we shall stay spinsters forever? Our dowries are large enough in fortune to set ourselves for life and if we must we look smart enough in my brother's wardrobe (if only he would keep it clean). I wouldn't even mind a pirate life with you, though I would mind losing all of my teeth and hair. Just indulge me in this selfish desire, I shall not ask for more.
To my brother-in-law Presuming that my brother has already gabbed his way around you I will hereby formally declare a duel should my dearest sister Abigail befall any tragedy by your hand. Don't presume you know all my tricks, for having trained me yourself, I still have quite the surprises hidden.
Forgive me, For I have not the skill with the quill to convey the happiness that reading your letter has brought me. Nor the eloquence I would need to convey a reply moving enough to stir you as I wish I could. Your letter had made me incredibly happy, and the thought of meeting you face to face fills my stomach with butterflies that I've not yet experienced before. You are right to mention the concerns, but I hope we may find ways to overcome them together.
Truth be told, I have often been thinking of you since that fated dance, and while I curse my two left feet for not giving you the experience you surely deserved, I must bless their clumsiness, for without it I never would have met you and known the fortune of your light in my life.
I will be waiting under the tree, I only pray that you hurry.
