22nd July, Morning The post is brought to Bruce Castle from Dauntsey Park House by Dauntsey Park staff, as clearly the postal courrier service is not acknowledging Lady Lorelai's change of residence until the Queen accepts her challenge to the inheritance. Included in the stack of mail is several social letters and the July newspaper. 22nd July, Afternoon The Dauntsey Park staff and a member of Bruce Castle staff are seen leaving together; the former back to Wiltshire, and the latter into town. The former can be overheard giving an encouraging talk to the latter; passersby may hear clips of conversation such as "it will be ok" and "I know it is very strange, but" and even "be not afraid." When they part ways, the Bruce Castle staff member first heads in to the apothecary with a long list, then into the optician's shoppe. Their final stop is the Lady's Clothier, where they pick up an order. The staff member is seen heading back to their employer with a bundle of several black silk ivory-handled parasols. 30 July, Morning A number of black carriages, each being pulled by two black horses, is seen leaving Bruce Castle in the wee hours of dawn. These carriages seem to contain neither passengers nor cargo, and head North, single file, straight out of London. 30 July, Throughout Several large deliveries are being made to Bruce Castle throughout the day today. Most can be seen unloaded from ships docked in the Port of London. These deliveries vary in size, the largest being the size of a horse, and being pulled by six draft horses. 30 July, Afternoon A Bruce Castle staff member is seen running small errands. He stops at the optician and leaves with a small parcel. He also stops at the apothecary. An altercation can be heard from within the small shop. Apparently the order was larger than expected, and the staff member was demanding courrier service, however the shopkeep wanted nothing more to do with this order. The staff member exits, finds two strapping but dirt-faced young lads, and offers them a Pound each to deliver the huge bundles and parcels to the Castle. 31 July, Afternoon A sizeable carriage is seen slowly pulling up to Bruce Castle. It appears to either belong to a butcher or huntsman of some sort, judging by the myriad birds tied up to the outside of it. The Driver is greeted by the Steward and Chef of the house. The Driver brings out a large basket that appears to be brimming with partridges. The Chef looks pleased, and calls for a Kitchen Maid to bring a basket. He then lifts several, and selects the three dozen fattest little young partridges of the lot and places them into the Kitchen Maid's basket. The Steward pays the Driver, and bids him good day. 1 August, Early Evening There has been some moderate bustle at Bruce Castle all day today, and the chimneys have been going since early morning. The outdoor lanterns are lit and the drawbridge is not only kept open, but is decorated with huge swaths of dried wheat embellished with clusters of yellow and orange flowers. 2 August, Morning A number of black carriages, each being pulled by two black horses, is seen arriving at Bruce Castle in the wee hours of dawn. These carriages arrive from North of London, single file, and head straight round to the back of Bruce Castle. If these are the same horses that left town three days ago, they must have picked up some heavy cargo, as they sit much lower on their axles, and seem to sink into the muddy areas on the roads. The horses, however, do not seem deterred or slowed down in the slightest. In fact, they seem to hardly even be tired at all, even after a three-day trip.

7 July It would appear that renovations, though hasty and minor, are complete on Bruce Castle in Tottenham. The staff seems to have changed focus from construction and repair to moving furniture in and stocking larders and cellars. A seemingly endless caravan of carriages delivering goods and large crates arrives throughout the day today. Several of the crates are unmarked, and are of blackened wood. The horses involved in the delivery of these particular crates seem particularly uneasy, and are quick to leave when their burdens are lifted from their care. The parishioners inhabiting next-door All Hallows Church all go about their daily tasks a bit slower than usual, keeping one eye and a scowl on the scene. 11 July The delivery and set up of Bruce Castle is still underway. Lady Lorelai can be seen arriving in the morning via carriage. Several small fluffy dogs follow her inside. Some staff arrives throughout the day as well. 13 July, Tottenham Several black carriages are seen arriving at Bruce Castle over the course of the morning. As they arrive, (the first before dawn and the last just after breakfast time, they all head straight to park and stable the horses, rather than the main gate of the castle, as all of the carriages arrive inexplicably empty. 14 July, Dusk Lady Lorelai Bruce-Hervey is seen atop the ancient Tower adjacent to Bruce Castle. She is standing at the very edge, holding a single rose. She plucks one petal, holds it out, and releases it to the wind, watching it drift away. She then plucks another, and another, and continues this process until she is left holding a stem of thorns. She releases the stem and it falls to the ground. After a few moments, she reaches down and reappears with another rose. She goes through this process again, watching each petal fall to the ground before plucking the next. This continues for hours. 🥀 19th July; Dusk Lady Lorelai is back on her sh!t at the top of the tower in front of Bruce Castle. This time, instead of plucking rose petals and daintily letting them waft into the breeze, she's ripping whole roses off the stem, one at a time, and chucking them into the horizon with a great fury. She goes through several dozen roses in this fashion. When finished, (well into the evening,) she descends the tower steps, and is seen shoving a fistful of the remaining thorny flowerless stems straight into a lit sconce, before walking gracefully back over to her home.

Late June, 1811 Bypassers in the Tottenham area North of London have noticed some construction having begun on Bruce Castle off Lordship Lane. Not only is the tower being worked on, but the moat is being filled and the drawbridge being repaired, after nearly a century of being dried up and unused. June 30th, Early Morning Lorelai Bruce-Hervey is seen arriving at a London inn, with a few trunks. She looks weary from all the recent travelling she has been doing. July 1st, Very Early Morning The night was very clear, and the sun is just beginning to make it's arrival for the day. Lady Lorelai is seen by the early morning folk of town, (such as the baker getting ready to set up for the day, and the newsboy on his way to collect his Gazettes for delivery, and so on,) making her way back to the Inn at some ridiculous wee hour of the morning again. She made no secret about being invited to a dinner party, but where did she go afterward? Surely all the other guests have long been in bed and will be sleeping in after such an evening. July 2nd; Evening A pair of servants from the Daniels House arrives at the inn and speaks with the innkeeper. They leave with two medium-sized black trunks and head back to their place of employ. July 4th, Midday Lady Bruce-Hervey is seen sluggishly leaving the inn for the last time. So much travel in such a short time is such wearisome business. Will she return in time for Denouement in less than two weeks?

June 2nd; wee hours of Early Morning A carriage pulled by two very exhausted horses that appear to have been ran through the night draws up to an inn. A hooded figure steps out of the carriage and orders the horses be seen to immediately. Everything is all-black, from their clothing to the horses, carriage, and single small trunk of luggage brought into the inn. As they enter the inn, they can be seen handing the innkeeper 3 letters to mail and paying for 2 nights worth of room & board. June 2nd, Mid-Day Lady Lorelai Hervey is seen entering various shops throughout the day, dressed all in black, including parasol and gloves. When she exits the shop of Lord Ambrose, couriers with SEVERAL immense boxes follow behind, and leave town to deliver her purchases to her home. She is also seen making purchases at several other boutiques, a few sundries shops, and... an apothecary? In between running her errands, she is seen lingering outside the doctor's office for a little longer than necessary. June 4th, Early Morning Lady Lorelai Hervey is seen leaving an inn and getting into a black carriage pulled by two black horses. Loaded on top and on a rack in the back are several trunks, parcels, suitcases, and other boxes, including a stack of hat boxes. The carriage leaves London and heads west into the countryside.

I've been meaning to get to this for over a week but I finally have some time now that G12 is over! I will be adding several backdated entries here as replies to this comment from over the summer. 🦇

Aramis: "Get that DAMNED thing OUT of my face, you SILLY frilly woman!" Lorelai: "Ariiiii, you know I need it for my skin condition, and you're spilling!"

Lorelai will be excited to see her friend Flora, and happy that the dogs get to meet each other. She will remind Flora that Mabon is on the 23rd of September this year, and while she has no plans to host a large dinner such as was had for Lammas, we should still get together, perhaps in the Bruce Castle Gardens, (as their renovations should be completed by then.)

@Abraham Griffen (Steve he/him) so yes, after getting over her initial fear of the Lynx (and concern that it will devour her wee doggos like a pair of tea cakes,) Lorelai would ask if you've received the letter she sent some two weeks prior, or if he missed it while out at sea. They have a great deal to discuss, and have only just met face to face for the first time!

Lady Lorelai would approach you and introduce herself, asking if you've received my reply about the puppy. She would also certainly ask what happened that could cause such a lithe young thing like yourself to need a cane, and inquire as to your health, and if there is anything I can do to help. Perhaps a tincture or poultice I could concoct for an injury, when you come by to select a pup. She would also ask how the theater is doing, and if auditions have been completed.

@Sir Peter Fell The Lady would likely be more interested if the rifle was loaded. While not necessarily interested in shooting, she is quite interested in the associated hand-holding as he tries to show her the correct way to place her hand upon his barrel and how to pull his trigger, (which, as he probably anticipated, sends the Lady backward into his arms.) Perhaps after the lesson, there are brief introductions to a few of Lorelai's friends that he may not have met on the Hunt, followed with the request that he place her upon his dappled horse and teach her to ride. During the stroll down the Riverside Walk, she admits that she finds the number seven disagreeable, and takes one of his rings, (her favorite of his,) right off his finger and tucks it away right into her basket, (as it is too large for even her thumb.) London is an approximate two-day trip from Athelhampton House, but Lorelai has a country home in Wiltshire, and so would suggest that they leave the Garden Party early and make the 5 hour trip Dauntsey Park House to retire before making way to Bruce Castle the next day, as per her invite. (Having re-read my last letter, I messed up what I told you, and had to re-write this.) 🙄

An addendum to my G12 goings-on: Lady Lorelai may have arrived with Lord Aramis Beauclerk, but she leaves with Sir Peter Fell. They leave pretty early, but perhaps at some point he is seen teaching her to ride a horse. They also went on a Riverside Walk together under her parasol. She is afraid of bridges, so he might have held his arm around her waist as they crossed. While he has donated several grouses to the Athelhampton House staff, he gives the largest one to me.

@Primrose Hazelton Lorelai will definitely accept the offer to go indoors a while, and be happy to talk about Bruce Castle! The renovations are complete, and I am all moved in! I am currently working on renovating the Gardens out back to suit my needs a bit more than they are currently able.

@Abraham Griffen (Steve he/him) 1. *Picks up poms and puts them in picnic basket and holds basket in lap* LYNX? 2. Finally we meet!! 3. I would probably yell "WHO BRINGS A LYNX TO A GARDEN PARTY" by the way 🤣 (My doggos are SMOL)

* Name: The Most Honourable Lorelai Bruce-Hervey, Marchioness of Ailesbury, Dowager Baroness of Ickworth * Attending: Garden Party Only * Actions: Lady Lorelai Bruce-Hervey and Lord Aramis Beauclerk arrive to the Garden Party early, and await the rest of the guests. they are visibly distressed by the ghastly sunlight; even though they are both sporting darkened spectacles to shield their eyes. The Lady is also making fine use of a black parasol, and has a layer of thick and very fair, (nearly white) stage-like makeup covering her face. We await the other guests to arrive from the hunt with a basket of our own wine and cakes to snack on, as two of my Pomeranians bask in the sun next to me. (The image below is the mood, not the characters, as neither one of us looks exactly like that, but is definitely how we present ourselves at this event.)

Lol, that's exactly what I've been doing! I sent something very formal, so I used one just called "Regency Font" and typed up my letter and traced over it with a light box. 🤣 There's no way I'm going to mess up my fancy colored parchment paper by trying to wing it!

I used these charts when planning my family history. Depending on what his father is, he's still Lord ___ ___ unless daddy's an Earl, Viscount, or Baron. Then he'd be The Honourable ___ ___. If he marries, his spouse even gets the title. https://www.regencyhistory.net/2018/08/dukes-marquesses-and-other-titles.html Looking deeper, it looks like I didn't really even properly comply, because there's more info here for daughters after they marry, and I actually have TWO options for a title. 🤔 https://www.regencyhistory.net/search?q=married+daughters+of+peers

@Morven Blackwood (Jenn) Perfect, thank you!!

At some point I'm going to have to connect with whoever has claimed Ickworth House in Suffolk. I'm assuming it's the Earl & Countess of Suffolk, since there is no claimed titles for Bristol in the spreadsheet I saw. I mostly just need to know who to write my first letter to! I'm not "playing" until April but knowing who owns Ickworth House will be a perfect start for me.

*I will not be presented in the March newsletter, so pretend I do not exist until April 1st!!* Character Name: Lorelai Hervey Character Pronouns: She/Her How to address you on envelope: The Dowager Lady Hervey, Dauntsey Park House Dauntsey, Wiltshire, England (She's staying in her country home during these difficult times.) How to address you in letter: Formal/First Time Letters: Salutation: "Madam" Social Correspondence (2nd time letters/most character connections) Salutation: "Dear Lady Hervey" Intimate/Familiar Correspondence (Close family and very close friends,) Salutation: Will be established individually. How to refer to you in writing: Formally: The Right Honorable Dowager Lady Hervey Socially: (The Dowager) Lady Hervey (or, more familiarly, "Lorelai Hervey"). Intimately/Familiar: Will be established individually. Characters favorite/preferred color(s) Black, as she is in mourning.

Four November, in the Year of our Lord seventeen hundred and seventy-six.