The Voyage (On Hold)

Chapter One

The voyage of discovery is not in seeking new landscapes, but in having new eyes.” – Marcel Proust

London, England 1830

Winifred drifted through the perfumed, gaudily-dressed bodies of Ton members, making polite greetings and batting her fan until she could finally see the top of her beloved friend, Emily's illustrious auburn bun.

"Lady Lambert!" She called, waving a gloved hand over the heads of others until Emily finally turned and noticed.
Her gorgeous face immediately lit up in excitement and she pounced forward.

"There you are!" She whispered loudly with mischievous blue eyes, reaching for Winifred's hand, "I've been searching for you all over. The gentlemen here have all been fawning over me and I need my wing man."

Winifred took a quick glance around, surveying the men who were lingering only feet away, pretending to be conversing, all the while sliding their gazes back to Emily. Others were already walking forward, prepared to disrupt their conversation to ask her for a dance.

It simply couldn't be helped. Lady Emily Lambert was a beauty of the highest caliber. With a tall, slender frame, shining auburn hair and perfectly milky skin that accentuated her radiant blue eyes, many considered her more a goddess than just a mere mortal woman. She even walked with a natural grace that made her appear as if she practically floated across the floor whenever she moved.

Although Winifred never felt any animosity or jealousy over her closest friend's popularity, she did sometimes feel invisible. Yet it was hardly any fault of poor Emily. With a short stature, dull green eyes and hair the color of pissed-in snow, she was simply too plain to garner much attention with or without being in the shadow of her stunning friend. She loved Emily dearly and she knew Emily returned the sentiment entirely. From growing up next door to each other, to attending the same finishing school, they had always been the closest of friends. They shared secrets, laughed and cried together and grew up into two distinguished ladies of nobility together.

Their personalities were as opposite as day was to night. Where Lady Emily Lambert was an outgoing, romantic dreamer, Winifred was much more sensible. She considered herself as prudent as she was plain. She never broke the rules, never spoke out of turn and always, always kept her head centered on sensible things such as her stitchery, learning how to run a household, and maintaining a pristine reputation.

She even possessed a fiancé already, thanks to her parents. Since little, she had always known that she was bound in agreement to marry Lord Fenwick: an elderly gentlemen who cared not for her existence. Therefore she truly had no reason to harbor any fantastical dreams of knights in shining armor or mysterious foreign princes like the books she used to read.

Her life was set in stone. Her future already decided. She would marry, provide a few heirs and live a simple life of comfort. that was all there was to it. Practical. Sensible.

"Winnie, are you listening to me?" Emily's sweet voice disrupted her thoughts. Snapping her eyes up, Winifred smiled apologetically.

"Apologies, Ems. Why don't we sequester to the group of chaperones over there. I doubt these gentlemen will prefer to get caught in any of their clutches and be treated to talks of the weather."

Emily laughed a musical laugh that garnered the attention of several men close by. "An excellent idea!" Slipping her arm through hers, she walked alongside Winifred towards the hoard of older women.

On the way over, a dashing gentleman known as Lord Cuthbert, with wavy blonde hair and russet eyes, approached them, blocking their escape. "Good evening, ladies." He remarked politely in a smooth voice.