May 19th, 1888 — Sanditon Resort
Sandition Season Opener

Open to an eligible UCAB/MCAB woman aged 18-30 who might be here!

Just as husband-hunting was a fact of life for most young women, wife-hunting inevitably became a part of a man's life — especially as he was nearing forty years of age. Sure, he still had a few years to go, but four years quickly turned into three, and then two, and then one, and suddenly he'd be graying without children running around his home.

Part of his issue securing a wife had been his reluctance to commit, which was caused by a fear of being abandoned rather than a desire to sleep around. He didn't even remember the last time he'd gotten laid — but that wasn't the point, he supposed. The issue of marriage had swirled around his brain for approximately two minutes upon arriving at the Sanditon Resort before he inevitably found himself distracted with the ongoing festivities.

At least until he was faced with a girl. A woman. And she was, what, holding an empty ice cream cone? His gaze flickered to where her own gaze was resting, which is when he realized, oh, her ice cream had fallen and was now melting away on the ground. He glanced back towards her with a half amused, half sorry-looking smile and raised brows.

"Lose something, Miss?" he asked, resisting the urge to chuckle.

  

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— set by MJ! —

It hadn't necessarily been luck that had brought Caroline to Sanditon Resort this weekend. No, it had been Caroline's ability to think ahead, to be strategic. She had rather hoped that Shawn's ex-fiance would introduce her to polite society and thus Caroline Delaney would be able to the Season by storm. Instead her plans had fallen to the wayside with the news that Imogen had recently married. Caroline's first thought at this betrayal had been absolute and object horror, but in the days that had since passed she had found herself facing a realistic possibility that her plan might just fail. Shawn and herself could not go to every event unannounced and as such they needed to meet people, the right kind of people, at the right kind of events. This was just the right opportunity to open the right doors for them.

Until half an hour ago Shawn had accompanied Caroline on her stroll of the boardwalk then her brother, who was still (in Caroline's mind) moping, determined he could not be away from work for much longer. Instead Hope accompanied Caroline in the comfortable companionship the girls had developed over the years. They had watched the crowd and even gotten ice creams and were quite enjoying themselves. That was until two small unruly children immersed in the events around them ran past Caroline. Caroline had stepped back suddenly, hoping not to crush them and in turn one had tugged on her skirts and Caroline had found her wonderful scoop of vanilla ice cream soaring through the air and landing in a wet plop of melting sugar right before her. What a waste of a delicious treat.

A gentleman's voice caught her attention and Caroline looked up to see a man looking right at her. She took in his attire as something of a respectable gentleman, that and his grooming, and smiled at him. He might be someone worth knowing. "It appears my ice cream had tried to make a run for it." She admitted, noticing that Hope blended back into the scenery, discreet as ever.

  

Oh, she was American.

Over the duration of his life, Edric had met surprisingly few Americans in the British Isles, though he had met plenty of them when visiting the North American continent for international auror duties. He supposed the polite thing to do was not stare at her as if she had two heads, but rather continue with his teasing, conversation — whatever he was doing.

"I'll grab you a new cone — unless you'd prefer I arrest the children first," he chuckled, lacking any seriousness in his tone. It would be different if they'd snatched her pursue or something; he presumed the destruction of ice cream was not a felony. "What was it? Vanilla?" he asked with a glance towards the puddle on the ground.

  

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— set by MJ! —

A few summers ago a gentleman had informed Caroline that her laugh, a tinkling joyful sound, was one of her best features, that and her smile, and her eyes… really he had gone to such platitudes about her, but what had stuck with Caroline was the thought of her laugh as one of her better features. As such she easily laughed when around gentleman, allowing them to notice the charm in such an action. At the gentleman’s suggestion that he arrest the poor children, Caroline treated him to her coy smile and small bubble of laughter. “I hardly think fallen ice cream a criminal offense.” She admitted humorously.

As any young lady of good upbringing did, Caroline objected, as kind a gesture as it was. “Oh, no, I couldn’t oppose.” But she relented at his insistence. “Well if you insist. Yes, it was vanilla.” She agreed.

  

She did have a charming laugh, he supposed, but wasn't inclined to let the observance pass casual notice. Despite his attraction to the opposite sex, he wasn't rarely one to ponder on possibilities of courtship, especially when he came to the romantic overtures it required in many cases nowadays. Romance meant effort, and effort meant investment; and as with financial investment, emotional investment came with its own set of risks, none of which Edric desired to take.

He could, however, indulge in a bit of light flirting that was appropriate for the situation. They were in a very public place with people around — it wasn't that they were whispering in a ballroom where such a thing would be considered taboo.

"I'd think it would depend on how delicious it was," he responded with a flashy grin. From where he stood, the ice cream stand looked delicious, but there was no telling. With a acknowledging nod at the woman, Edric went to the stand and, after moments of being away, returned with a fresh cone. With brows raised, he handed it to the young lady.

"I hope this one manages to stay put," he commented. "lest we have to get another."

  

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— set by MJ! —

The gentleman had a good sense of humor, certainly something that Caroline appreciated. She chuckled as he walked over to the ice cream stall and ignored Hope’s look at her. It was light hearted flirting, nothing to be more concerned about.

Gracefully she accepted the new ice cream cone. “Thank you, sir.”

“Mmm, we wouldn’t want that.” Caroline nodded, afterall it was a kind gesture the first time, a bit ridiculous the second time. “Won’t you join me? Keep the ruffians at bay?” She invited, noticing he had not purchased a treat for himself.

  

She was not a stuffy sort of woman, he deduced, and likely one—based on their limited interactions, at least—he would have no difficulty keeping company for the next five or ten minutes. He knew better than to stay much longer, though; there was nothing desirable about having a woman get too attached, nor getting too attached himself.

"I would be happy to oblige," he responded with a good-natured smile and a dip of his head. As they begun to walk, he decided conversation, rather than silence, would be better suited for the bustling environment.

"Have you been in Britain long? I daresay your accent gives you away," he commented.

  

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— set by MJ! —

At his acquiescence Caroline smiled. They began to stroll down the boardwalk with Hope trailing just beyond hearing.

If Caroline had one thing that she felt would truly be a challenge to overcome this season it was her accent. She had hoped to charm and delight those she met and yet it appeared to be a reoccurring conversation of her accent. Back home men didn’t seem to look past one’s status, here it was as if they couldn’t look past the way she talked. She wouldn’t let that fact daunt her. No, instead she smiled. “No, my brother and I arrived only a few months ago. I’ve been enchanted ever since we stepped off the boat, though.” Enchanted wasn’t quite it, but she certainly wasn’t going to say anything less than flattering about this island across the sea.

  

Enchanted was a silly word to describe Britain, especially since everything was so, well, British. There was little diversity, especially in magical Britain, that any country seemed more exciting. (Not that he would willingly leave.)

"Well I hope you're enjoying your time here," he offered cordially, though part of him wanted to cynically add "and just in time for the hell that will inevitably come with summer", as was the case with most of the previous summers. He didn't, though, knowing it would be ill-mannered to speak to a proper young woman that way.

"Have you been staying at the Sanditon? Or have you opted for city-living?"

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— set by MJ! —

“My brother found us a beautiful home in London.” Caroline told the man, flashing a charming smile up at him. “In some ways town reminds me much of Boston, but much more exciting.”

Her ice cream was almost finished when she heard Hope’s quiet voice behind her reminding her of the time. “I apologize Mr. Umbridge. I quite lost track of time. I’m suppose to me walk the zoo with my brother. It was very nice to meet you.” She curtsied quickly, gave him one last charming smile, and was on her way, hoping trailing only half a step behind her.

  

Unlike many who lived there, Edric was not enamored of the large city, though, given his occupation, it made little sense to live elsewhere. He could have only thought how awfully dirty Boston was if she was comparing it to London; he'd been to some American towns, but none had been all that awful.

"Well, I hope you enjoy your time here," he offered cordially as she very quickly decided she needed to scurry off. (Which was fine with him; he wasn't here to keep debutantes entertained.) "It was nice to meet you, too."

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— set by MJ! —