He could taste tears on her lips, and this was the sort of desperate intimate kiss that they were supposed to avoid — because this was supposed to be gentle, first love, the sort of spread-out kisses that would eventually let him fade into her memory. He couldn't pull out of it, couldn't pull himself out of kissing her any more than he could have avoided loving her in the first place.

He couldn't do this. He couldn't lose her. They'd lost too much already. When they stopped kissing he ought to ask her again, seriously, to marry him — but all he could do in this moment was dig his thumbs into her hips, keeping them as close as possible.

The following 2 users Like Lester Hatchitt's post:2 users Like Lester Hatchitt's post
   Rosalie Hunniford, Sisse Thompsett

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set by Bee!

She couldn't think. Didn't want to think. Thinking meant pain and heartbreak. She wanted to live in this moment, in the fervor of his kisses, in the knowledge that he loved her. It thrummed through her now. He loved her. She could feel it in the desperation, the tightening of his hands around her waist, in the breathlessness between their lips. How could she let the man she loved walk away.

Behind them a man cleared his throat and Sisse immediately froze, lips still pressed against Lester's, heart hammering against her corset, still in his arms as reality crashed upon them.

The following 1 user Likes Sisse Thompsett's post:1 user Likes Sisse Thompsett's post
   Rosalie Hunniford

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The sound of a man's throat clearing was unwelcome and Lester felt as if his heart stopped mdash; but of course it didn't, and he instead let go of Sisse's hips. Extricating himself from her was a little difficult &mdash somewhere in this his back had gotten pressed up against the wall of the house — but he at least was no longer holding her, and leaning back gave him an inch or two of space. He looked up and blanched at the sight of Matthew — no options were good, but this felt particularly bad.

  

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set by Bee!

What in the actual fuck was Matthew seeing? Anger seared up his veins as he watched his little sister practically being mauled by her friend. A boy they had trusted with her. When he had come to fetch her as his father had instructed this was the very last thing he had expected.

He had cleared his throat but by the time Hatchitt had seemed to have half way disentangled himself from Sisse Matthew was quite sure there would be no further gentlemanly actions on his part. Anger raced through his arms, his hands clenching. He took three long strides toward the couple, seeing from his periphery that Sisse had stepped away from the miscrent. Good.

A perfectly formed right hook landed on Lester's face, Matthew already advancing to land another punch. Dimmly he was aware of Sisse's scream behind him but he ignored her. How dare he? How fucking dare he? Was all Matthew could think in his fury.

The following 1 user Likes Matthew Thompsett's post:1 user Likes Matthew Thompsett's post
   Rosalie Hunniford

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Lester's body stilled as well. Sisse could feel heat pulling up into her cheeks, her back, her body as they broke apart. She missed his body immediately but as she turned and noticed Matthew's face a new horror dawned on her.

Matthew was advancing on them, but is gaze was only Lester. She barely blinked and Lester was against the wall of the house, Matthew's fist aiming for him. Sisse screamed in horror and launched herself at the fist but she was too late and it landed with a sickening noise on Lester's handsome face. "Matthew! Matthew, stop it!" She screamed. For once not caring who would hear. Fear thrummed through her body as she tried to grab Matthew again. Matthew was going to kill Lester, her blood sang to her. Oh God, she couldn't let this happen. Let someone hear, let someone come, let this madness end.

The following 1 user Likes Sisse Thompsett's post:1 user Likes Sisse Thompsett's post
   Rosalie Hunniford

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Lester only had time to raise his hands in an expression of surrender before Thompsett's fist slammed into his face. Something cracked sickeningly in his nose, and his head reeled — he didn't want to hit Sisse's brother back, but he didn't know how to get the words out that would help stop the other man. Sisse was screaming. The back door of the house opened, he could hear it, but then Thompsett's fist hit again, this time on the side of his skull, and Lester stumbled back against the house, ungraceful.

  

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set by Bee!

"Matthew!" Sisse screamed again, terror gripping her lungs, her corset tight. Another punch landed on Lester and he wasn't fighting back. Oh God, why wasn't he fighting back. This was insanity. She threw herself between them, arms wide and pushing Matthew away. Her wild eyes met her older brother's but she saw nothing there she recognized. "Stop, please!" She pleaded flinging her eyes wide to protect Lester. Her breath coming in heaving gasps. Her brother's arm was still moving and for a second she thought he'd hit her too. Instead his fist passed her and slammed into the stone of the house. She glanced at it to him and saw horror in his own gaze.

The following 1 user Likes Sisse Thompsett's post:1 user Likes Sisse Thompsett's post
   Rosalie Hunniford

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Sisse was overreacting behind him but Matthew couldn't stop. The little weasel! He'd trusted Hatchitt with his sister for years! How long had this been happening behind his back? His fist slammed into Lester's head this time. He would have gotten another punch in but suddenly Sisse was standing there between them with a look of terror on her face that he hadn't seen since she was a child. And tears. Fuck! Matthew was already swinging he only barely managed to miss the pair by turning just enough that his knuckles slammed into the stone wall behind the boy, bones cracked with impacted and he spun on his heel biting down on a curse (some things even he wouldn't expose to his baby sister to).

Instead of having a moment to collect himself he found himself meeting the eyes of his father standing in the doorway behind him - looking as if for the first time in four years he was actually someone to fear. Behind him was Mrs. Hatchitt herself.

  

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Lester grasped for the siding of the house, head reeling — there was a ringing in his ear near where Matthew's fist had struck. He wanted to tell Sisse to move out of the way, to let him get hit — but it was as if his mind was moving faster than his body, and he grasped helplessly at the air to try to move her. Relief bloomed in his chest when Matthew hit the house instead, in a move that had to hurt, and Lester let himself lean against it. Blood was flowing from his nose. He caught a glimpse of his mother, who was looking stern, and — disappointed, maybe? He couldn't read the expression on his face.

No one had ever hit him like this before.

"I think that's enough, don't you all?" Beatrice Hatchitt said, her sharp voice cutting across the scene. "Matthew, go inside — your father and I will clear this up. Sisse, can you tell us what this is about?"

The following 1 user Likes Lester Hatchitt's post:1 user Likes Lester Hatchitt's post
   Rosalie Hunniford

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set by Bee!

Fuck. Fuck. Fuck. As if this situation needed to get any worse. Anger grew in his veins. Anger at Hatchitt, anger at Sisse, anger at his father, and finally anger at the audacity of Mrs. Hatchitt. "I don't think so." He told her icely. This was his house, his sister, he wasn't going anywhere. He leveled a glare at the woman. It was his father's gaze that stopped him. The man - after four years - seemed to think he could just pick up the mantle of man of the house again, but it didn't mean he was. Matthew had been the one to hold everything together. Not the man standing there demanding he listen.

"Matthew." His father's voice was a warning. "That is enough." Oh Matthew disagreed with him and said as much. "Respectfully, sir, I don't believe it was been." His voice was frozen steel. Behind him he heard Sisse's gasping breaths but he refused to break eye contact with his father.

The following 1 user Likes Matthew Thompsett's post:1 user Likes Matthew Thompsett's post
   Rosalie Hunniford

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Lifting her eyes past Matthew's face she noticed her father and Mrs. Hatchitt in the doorway. But she spared them hardly a glance as she spun around to make sure Lester was okay. He was sagged against the wall, blood pouring down his face. Sisse gasped for air, she couldn't find any as her corset constricted her too much. Her fingers were fumbling for the hankercheif in her pocket, hands shaking she brought it up to his nose, even as her gaze grew spotted and her limbs felt weird. Air. She needed air.

Sisse sagged into Lester as she fainted dead away.

The following 1 user Likes Sisse Thompsett's post:1 user Likes Sisse Thompsett's post
   Rosalie Hunniford

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God, was Matthew going to fight his own father? Lester still hadn't managed to unglue his tongue from where it felt stuck in his mouth, but he felt sure he could find a way to deescalate this — they would manage to talk their parents down and he would leave and maybe the marriage thing would work out, or maybe it wouldn't, but they at least would not be in this garden anymore. He just needed to — clear his head — but Sisse was falling and Lester caught her, holding her up even as he had not yet managed to stand up straight from the house.

"We were seeing each other," Lester said, his voice sharp, almost like his mother's. His tone was off, though, muffled by his nose — it was probably broken, he knew. But there, they'd been caught, he'd said it out loud — maybe Matthew would hit him again and maybe he wouldn't, but hadn't the worst already happened?

The following 1 user Likes Lester Hatchitt's post:1 user Likes Lester Hatchitt's post
   Rosalie Hunniford

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set by Bee!

Matthew Senior looked as if he would cut Matthew down to size but the last time he had done that was before Mrs. Thompsett had died. Matthew (the younger) didn't think the old man had it in him. His father stepped out of the doorway striding through the garden as he did on his way to talk down one of the ministry employees that reported to him. Matthew didn't back down.

There was a gasp, almost a sigh, behind him and the rustle of fabrics. He could see his father's gaze move from him to the pair behind him, the man's face went white, splotching from the red that had already been coloring it. It was that look that struck fear into Matthew and he whirled around to find Sisse collapsed into Hatchitt's arms. Hatchitt at least had had the decency to catch Sisse before she hit the ground - even if it did look like he himself could barely stand. But even that credit would be given grudgingly.

The tone of Hatchitt's voice was sharp, defensive, and strangely like his mother's. But it was the words that delivered the death blow. "You what?!" Matthew could not believe his sister would have done something so risky. She was a proper young lady. She would have done things by the book. She always had been a model lady, despite the influences of her friends. But perhaps he had been wrong this whole time. He had seen Sisse just as equally invested in that embrace as Hatchitt. Anger boiled in him.

Mr. Thompsett had passed Matthew, his heart seizing with fear as his daughter fell. The lad luckily had the wherewithall to catch her, but he looked as if he too needed an assist. He had been moving to take Sisse from him when the lad declared to all assembled an assertion that entirely shocked Mr. Thompsett. He froze, watching young Mr. Hatchitt's arms tighten protectively around Sisse and waited a moment. And all he could think to say was, "Is that so?" His tone was neutral waiting for the other to dig himself in more deeply as he did when he encountered an employee who had done wrong. He honestly had no idea how else to handle the situation.

The following 1 user Likes Matthew Thompsett's post:1 user Likes Matthew Thompsett's post
   Rosalie Hunniford

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Blood was starting to dry on Lester's upper lip, and Sisse was limp and helpless in his arms. He was going to have to relinquish her to her father in a moment, but if he could start crafting the narrative now — could tell as much of the truth as possible now — then maybe he could still manage to protect her. "We were ending it," Lester said, defiant and woozy even as he spoke primarily to the elder Mr. Thompsett. His ears were still ringing, "For her prospects."

His mother had put a hand over her mouth, maybe to hide a reaction.

The following 1 user Likes Lester Hatchitt's post:1 user Likes Lester Hatchitt's post
   Rosalie Hunniford

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set by Bee!

Given what Matthew had seen he sincerely doubted Hacthitt's words. "It certainly didn't look that way when I encountered you two." Matthew's voice could cut with the amount of rage lining it. "From where I stand you were taking liberties that weren't your's to take." Each word was aimed to hit like a punch itself. It occurred to him that his father and Mrs. Hatchitt might have had no idea of what had happened before Sisse had made such a scene. Ignoring the fact that his sister was unconscious he turned to the two "adults" to enlighten them further on just what had happened. "They were hidden here in an intimate embrace." He was struggling so hard to use the proper terms and hoped they understood just how far it appeared Hatchitt had taken his younger sister. Why if he hadn't stepped in Sisse's virtue may have been gone entirely!

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Matthew Sr.'s attention was drawn from the pale limp form of his daughter (so like that of her mother the last moments he had held her) to his son. The boy was crossing a line with that attitude, slinging words at young Hatchitt that made little sense as to why Matthew had attacked him in the first place. "I said enough -" He ground out at his son but was cut off by further explanations.

"Is this true?" Mr. Thompsett's voice was harsher but quiet still as he looked at Hatchitt demanding the truth.

His daughter stirred slightly, her breathe shaking roughly past her lips, her fingers tightening into a fist on Hatchitt's jacket, head nestling in close to his chest. Mr. Thomsett's chest tightened. Memories and vulnerabilities flashing all too clearly through his mind. He looked over at Mrs. Hatchitt for a moment, "Are you able to revive her?" He asked, almost pleaded, genuine worry in his tone. The rest could wait. His daughter's health was of more importance than what might or might not have been happening.

"Matthew, go inside. I will handle this. Make sure to keep anyone else from coming out here." He spared a glance at his son that demanded absolute obedience.

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Matthew's breathes were coming in heaving gasps from the anger as his father pushed aside what was really the issue - and then dismissed him, again. This time though he could see the logic. Someone had to keep the staff, or Henry, or, Merlin forbid, Miss Chattaway from encountering the scene. If they could keep the number of people involved to a minimum there might be a chance to stave of any further ruination.

Clenching his jaw, and only because of the pragmatism of the request, Matthew turned on his heel and disappeared back inside the house.

The following 1 user Likes Matthew Thompsett's post:1 user Likes Matthew Thompsett's post
   Rosalie Hunniford

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Matthew the younger was talking about Lester like he was some sort of pervert, and if the ringing in Lester's ears would stop he might have snapped about it. As it was, he glared at the younger man, and then — Matthew Sr. got rid of his son. Some tension, some adrenaline, went out of Lester's shoulders.

"Lester," Beatrice Hatchitt said, brushing past Matthew Jr. and over to Lester, Sisse, and the older Mr. Thompsett. "Let me take her."

He didn't want to. He wanted to keep a hold on her, keep her safe — but his mother was looking at him with something like steel in her eyes, and Lester carefully handed Sisse over to her. He pressed his elbow against the stone wall, still using the house to support himself. It felt like Matthew had maybe knocked something loose in his ear, in his head.

Beatrice took Sisse and carefully, gently, laid her on the ground. "Rennervate," she said, with her wand pointed at the debutante.

  

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set by Bee!