December 21st, 1894 — Masquerade Ball

August's invitation to this Malfoy ball had been personalized, and that was the invitation he needed to feel like he had overcome Miss Adebayo's shooting him down, at least with the debutantes. He had also found the debutante to be charming, and was hoping to see her tonight.

A masquerade did, in fact, make seeing her more difficult. He tried to as subtly as possible ask about the whereabouts of Miss Malfoy, while feeling awkward behind his raven mask. He followed some directions given to him by the other guests, taking his time, until Leon shoved him in front of a blonde woman.

August said, "Forgive me, he's very — something. Do I have the pleasure of speaking with Miss Angeline or Miss Estelle Malfoy?"

(He had not heard good things about either of the other sisters. But people didn't hear good things about him, so — it would be fine.)

Angeline Malfoy

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   Victoire Malfoy

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For a moment her eyes narrowed and Angel, forgetting herself, almost snapped at Mr Echelon-Arnost through her harlequin’s mask. Even with another face surely her figure made her more notable than Estelle?! And the fact that people were not scattering from her like a stink bomb had been dropped amongst the refreshments and wallflowers. Then she recalled two things in quick succession:

1. She and Estelle had agreed to be kinder about one another in public, and
2. Mr Echelon-Arnost was an unmarried gentleman.

The second was far more important but she was willing to adhere to the first if need be.

“Angeline,” she replied with a pert smile. “I hardly need to guess who you are.”

  

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time of death: when MJ dropped this heart-stopping set

Angeline. So not the sister with a reputation for being unpleasant, but the... other one. August knew enough to know that there were things he ought to know about each of the Malfoy sisters — reasons they were unmarried, et cetera — but not enough to know what they were. And he had his own reputation, so it was not as if he was in a position to be particularly judgmental.

"I'm pleased to make your acquaintance, Miss Angeline Malfoy," August said, with a smile that was slightly sheepish for his not having known her immediately. "My apologies for not knowing you as immediately as you knew me."

  

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set by Bree

It was a forgivable sin, she supposed, though it did strike a chord with her that she had spent much of the last week thinking of nothing but men such as him, whereas he had only given her and her kind a passing thought. Merlin, what a bluestocking she was becoming! Far too much time for thinking when one was unwed.

“Someone once suggested that it was difficult to tell my sisters and I apart,” Angel replied with a light laugh, recalling the incident and still mildly smarting from it. “Imagine his surprise when he met us and realised the opposite was true.” He had never quite recovered from Estelle, she was sure of it.

August Echelon-Arnost | Cassius Lestrange

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time of death: when MJ dropped this heart-stopping set

"I have enough brothers that I can imagine how frustrating that must be," August said, smiling softly at her joke. (He supposed that it had to be something in the neighborhood of a joke, for all that he had sort of mistaken her for Estelle. At least he had not claimed they all looked alike?)

"I hope you're enjoying the night so far? You throw a very well-done party," he said, trying to change the subject from mild awkwardness to compliments.

  

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set by Bree

“We try our best,” Angel replied with a lilting smile. By which she meant that her mother did, though she and her sisters had spent enough years learning at her feet that they could – theoretically – do the same thing. Of course, she was rapidly running out of time to become the lady of her own house and throw parties – the way she was going the first one she got to throw would be her mother’s funeral.

“After so many seasons I worry people are becoming weary of our themes.”

And of us, she didn’t say, though he probably knew that feeling all too well.

  

A startled smile worked its way onto August's face; he huffed out a breath. He wasn't sure how to respond to her, to this turn towards speaking of her and her sisters' ill-fortune — he'd understood it to be one of those things that one did not discuss, like how people did not bring Lyra up to him.

"Well," he said, trying for charming, "I have a hard time imagining how one could grow weary of you three."

  

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Angel smiled politely at the praise but inside she felt Mr Echelon-Arnost lost a little of his shine. It shouldn’t be so difficult to make conversation with gentlemen – she had been doing it for so long now, after all – but if she was worth no more than empty flattery then surely there had to be something wrong with her? And if there was something wrong with her then did that mean her sisters were doomed forever too?

“Yes, I suppose if not especially successful, we are at least memorable.”

  

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time of death: when MJ dropped this heart-stopping set

She was still talking poorly about herself and her sisters, and August truly did not know what to say. He was saved by the change of the music, as it were — Miss Malfoy had someone on her dance card for the next waltz, and August was able to go back to looking for her sister.

  

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set by Bree