The Greatest Thing

One Day I'll Fly Away

The season had come and gone and Estelle walked around like an empty shell of herself. London seemed less interesting, less like home without Christian. The only solace she had were her talks at William Cavanaugh's house. She spent most of her time there, now. Sneaking out by saying that she would be visiting with Annalise. They were lies, but only Mary really knew, and Mary didn't have the heart to give her up. She could see the tension between her sister and her father. Mr. Devereux's disappointment was palpable in the air whenever she came back without having a marriage proposal or at least an intention of courting from someone. He'd set her up on countless outings with the sons of his business partners, and she had managed to ruin any future with them all. His disappointment came to a head one morning at the breakfast table.

"Estelle, you're running out of eligible men in London, and you are ruining your name. Do you wish to become a social pariah, child? Because if you keep this up, you won't last another season," he huffed, watching his daughter pick at her breakfast.

"They're not suitable, father," Estelle replied.

"They may not be suitable to you, but they are suitable to me," he shot back.

Estelle looked at her father with such scorn, the likes of which Mary had never seen before. "Yes, well, you are not the one marrying them."

"You are my daughter, and I will give you to whomever I deem fit," he replied. His words were cold, but they felt like a hot slap across the face, shocking at first, and then a searing pain settles in.

Estelle calmly stood up from the table and left.

"Where do you think you are going? You haven't been dismissed," her father commented.

Estelle shook her head and continued out the door. "Prior engagement."

Mary sat in stunned silence. No one had ever walked out on her father before.

"She's too much like your mother," he sighed. "She'll ruin us."

Mary looked at her father for a moment, as if seeing him for the first time. Quietly, she asked, "May I be dismissed?"

He nodded.

She got up to leave, pausing at the door. She turned back to him and asked, "Ruin us, or ruin you?"

Her father swallowed and she left to catch Estelle before she left.

"Elle!"

"Mary, I don't want to hear it. I need air. I'm going for a walk," she replied, her hand on the front door.

"I know. Just... be safe and tell Will and Anna I say hello," Mary smiled.

Estelle nodded before going out the door. In truth, there was no prior engagement. She just needed to breathe. Her house was suffocating. She was being crushed under the weight of her father's expectations. Her social card was no longer her own these days. Her nights, however... those were a different story. She spent more time at Grub Street than she did sleeping, but she didn't care. Why dream of freedom in her sleep when she could live it? Her feet carried her on their own accord to just outside of William's building. She shouldn't be here, not in broad daylight. No respectable woman would be seen here, and her father would be furious should he find out.

"Fancy seein' you here, sweetheart," a voice called from across the street.

Estelle turned towards the voice and grinned, spotting its owner in the window of the building opposite. "Poppy!"

"Been seein' a lot of you lately out my window at night when I'm... preoccupied," Poppy smirked. "Come on up. Let's catch up."

Estelle looked around the street. A whorehouse. She was about to enter a house of ill repute in the middle of the morning. This might as well happen. Swiftly, she made her way over and into the house. The smell was oppressive, and the house looked like it needed some repairs. The wallpaper was peeling off the wall, and there was a layer of dust around the chandeliers, but she could tell that it had been nice at one point. Cautiously, she made her way up the stairs which creaked under her feet. She walked past open doorways, catching glimpses of naked women either sleeping or in other states of relaxation. Then, she found Poppy, smoking a cigarette while looking out her window. Gently, Estelle knocked on the door.