March 11th, 1894 — The Lady Morgana

Sera never knew what to do with herself at The Lady Morgana. She had not made deep friends here when she was Under, and she had not been much of a conversationalist back then, either — people expected her to be dull. So whenever she came here, which she did because it was expected of her, she spent a half-minute in the doorway, trying to figure out her best option to sit with.

She picked Mrs. Ambrosia Selwyn because Mrs. Selwyn was known to have a complicated relationship with her husband. If things ever got publicly complicated with Henry, Sera wanted to be surrounded by women who may be sympathetic.

"Always a pleasure to see you here, Mrs. Selwyn?" Sera said, (she was unsure if they had ever spoken before.) "How did your family fare in the blizzard?"

She dropped into the seat across from the other woman, casual.

Ambrosia Selwyn

  

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If it were not for the fact that her feckless husband, self-indulgent brothers-in-law, and genuinely terrible sons were banned from entry Ambrosia probably would never have bothered with the Lady Morgana. It was a pleasant enough place, but she had learnt to distrust the other woman of society, being always party to the suspicion that her husband had fucked one of the ladies that was offering her tips of her floral arrangements.

She very much doubted he had fucked Seraphina Bythesea though. Beautiful she might be but she was dull as ditch-water and even Trystan was not that shallow, surely? (He was, there was no getting around it, but she still didn’t think he had bedded the younger woman.)

“Perfectly well,” she replied. “Fortunately the house is large enough that one can take shelter without having to spend too much time together.” She smiled tightly and put down the newspaper she had been perusing. “And yours, Mrs Bythesea?”

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   Seraphina Bythesea

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Ambrosia's got 99 problems but this hot af set from MJ ain't 1 of them

Seraphina did not remember enough about the Selwyn family to know whether or not Mrs. Selwyn usually made jokes about spending time away from her family. She smiled in response, in case this was normal. She could certainly relate.

"Everyone remained intact," Sera said, "Although I felt rather cooped up and ended up on a bit of a floo network adventure." Her time stuck with Mr. Harvey had certainly been interesting; if Sera had felt cooped up in the Bythesea household, his house was certainly much smaller. But he also was not her husband.

  

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“Oh?” Ambrosia asked politely. She never used Floo if she could avoid it: the thought of tumbling out of a fireplace covered in soot like an oafish sweep plagued her mind far too much for it to sit easy with her.

“Nothing too adventurous I hope?” She added, distractedly wondering whether Trystan had been on an adventure of his own using their fireplace and whether she ought to have it boarded up at the earliest possible time.

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Ambrosia's got 99 problems but this hot af set from MJ ain't 1 of them

"Oh, I intruded on a stranger's hospitality," Seraphina said, with another light laugh. This was how she had presented the situation to her husband as well. "But at least I was not out in the elements." That snow could kill people, she was sure — she was just glad she was not one of them.

  

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“Surely you did not go out deliberately?” She asked; her mind had taken a moment to snap into gear, surprised as she was to be approached by a woman that usually kept to herself, and then another moment to realise what she had said. Was Mrs Bythesea a little more interesting than she had thought? Or simply mad? Cooped up or not Ambrosia would have rather put up with Liliana than go outside in that torrent.

  

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Ambrosia's got 99 problems but this hot af set from MJ ain't 1 of them

Sera was delighted to have gotten another question out of Mrs. Selwyn; that had to mean that she was being surprising, or at least interesting. She smiled. "I took the floo network," she answered, "And it was a little less functional than usual."

  

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“I cannot claim to be aware of it’s usual functionality,” Ambrosia said haughtily, with the air of somebody who could, and did, simply appeal wherever she pleased without troubling herself to worry about how others might do so. “I’ve always much preferred to apparate,” she added. “My family require keeping on their toes sometimes.”

Especially, or more specifically exclusively, her husband.

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Ambrosia's got 99 problems but this hot af set from MJ ain't 1 of them

Sera knew that Mrs. Selwyn's relationship with her husband was complicated, but could not remember many of the details. She smiled knowingly as if she did. "Apparating upsets my stomach," Sera said, knowing she sounded quite dull. She had liked apparating back before she was Under, but it seemed like a skill she had not kept up when she was not herself.

  

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“Charming,” Ambrosia replied without a smile. Perhaps she had been right about the other woman in the first instance? Lovely face, admittedly, but a decidedly hollow mind.

  

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Ambrosia's got 99 problems but this hot af set from MJ ain't 1 of them

Sera shifted in her seat, uncomfortable in her own skin. "Do you play cards?" she asked, after a beat where she had tried to figure out what she could possibly manage to say.

  

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“No.” Ambrosia replied bluntly. What on earth was wrong with the woman? They had barely said two words to each other in the past and now she was…oh dear lord, was she trying to befriend her? Was this what friends did? “Are you feeling quite well, Mrs Bythesea?”

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Sera bit her lip. "Yes," she answered, simply. "Although I suppose I should leave you to your newspaper?"

  

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Ambrosia did not deign to reply, instead she flicked up her paper and proceeded to ignore the other woman. Socialising was not in her remit at the best of times and unsolicited socialising? Even worse.

Still, she thought as the other woman left the table, it was worth keeping an eye on that one. Women didn’t try to befriend others unless they wanted something and Mrs Bythesea was just the sort that would fuck her husband and find it entertaining to befriend her too. Perhaps this was Trystan’s attempt to bring her into the illicit world of bed-hopping?

Mrs Bythesea was definitely one to watch.

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Ambrosia's got 99 problems but this hot af set from MJ ain't 1 of them