#she was quiet but she was not blind (isabella // musings)

[crystal-siren]

The Lady & The Sailor (2/?)

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Chapter 2: A Family Affair

Not for the first time did Harold thank his station in life. He was not blind to the opportunities that had come his way simply because of who his family was; it was no different now, he had entered service at the urging of his father and out of love for his country and he had entered as a Lieutenant. It was not unheard of for those of the upper classes to enter service with a high rank. 

His father had been proud beyond words when news of his first posting had arrived and while his mother was not too keen on sending her son to war, she had smiled nonetheless. The farewell had been bittersweet. 

Shaking off the memory, Harold continued on his rounds. Over the weeks since leaving England, he had become quite familiar with the layout of the Exeter, his rounds aiding in that regard and while he had met all of the sailors on board, he had yet to meet many of the other personnel that made up the crew. 

Making his way to the top deck, he took a lungful of salty sea air and let himself smile a little before straightening his posture and folding his hands behind his back. He had been briefed on their mission and had long since been wondering which day would be the one. Looking around him now, he noted all those on deck with him, all partaking in various activities. Harold soon found himself heading towards the stern of the ship; he found watching the wake the ship created to be calming and more often than not, he would be there alone. The solitude did him good and he relished those moments. He had learnt the hard way that being in a position of command did not afford one with ample amounts of rest. A peal of laughter drew him from his own musings and directed his head to a couple standing not too far from where he had stopped. A sailor was speaking with a nurse, who was laughing at a tale he was recounting. Harold narrowed his eyes at the two, while relations between nurses and sailors was forbidden, friendships were not. If that’s indeed what these two were. He made to turn away when the nurse uttered a reply and her voice struck him as rather familiar. Turning back, he took a proper look. His narrowed eyes widened upon recognition of her. What was his cousin doing here? 

“Only you would join up for that reason,” Isabella said, chuckling and shaking her head. 

Tom arched a brow at her and leaned against the railing. “Sorry to burst your bubble, Izzy,” he replied. “I ain’t no knight in shining armour and all that.” 

“Oh I don’t know,” she murmured, her eyes going distant for a moment. “Isn’t that how we met?” 

“That’s different,” he replied, a smirk curving his lips. 

“Oh yeah?” Isabella challenged, her eyes twinkling with a spark of mischief. It relieved her beyond measure to fall back into this banter with Tom. They had only begun on the day they had met, just before her parents found her and pulled her away. “How, pray tell?” 

From his hiding spot, Harold listened to every word. That was Isabella alright, but what was she doing here? As far back as he could recall, Isabella had always detested confrontation and conflict of any kind and preferred to settle matters with words. The sailor she was with, he could not quite remember his name but he seemed to know her quite well or was he like this with the other nurses as well? 

“So,” Tom said, folding his arms, “now that you know my reason for joining up, what’s yours?” 

Isabella did not answer right away. She sighed and looked out over the water for a spell before turning back to him. “Promise you won’t laugh?” 

“Why would I laugh?” 

She bit her lip and looked down. “I wanted to help. To do my bit, as it were. It didn’t feel right not to.”

Tom watched her as she spoke, her hands twisting in the starched fabric of her apron, wrinkling the smooth fabric. Why did she think he would laugh? She had been a shy and quiet girl when he had first met her and yet here she was, years later, all but marching into battle herself. He had a sneaking suspicion that there was more to her tale. “Why would I laugh at that?” He asked, giving her a small smile when she looked up. 

She seemed genuinely surprised at his question. 

“It takes guts to go to war,” he continued. “I know something big must have happened for you to come to this decision. What that is, I do not know. But your reason is far from laughable and while I’m sure you’ve been told that a posh girl like you has no place here, I am most certainly am in no position to judge.”

“You know,” Isabella said after a pause, a sparkle in her eyes. “I’ve been told that I should stay away from you, that you’re quite the troublemaker.”

“Is that so?” 

She nodded, “but I know better,” she stage-whispered. “Troublemaker is an understatement-“ her words were cut off by a sharp laugh as she ducked away from Tom, a grin on her lips. 

“Troublemaker, ey?” A feral grin blossomed to match hers as he made a grab for her, only for her to dance out of his reach. 

From his hiding place, Harold watched in horror as his cousin forgot every social protocol, her laughter sounding closer to shrieks as she continually managed to evade the reach of the sailor. She was a lady! It was beneath her to behave in such a reckless manner. 

They had settled down just as the attention of a few individuals was being directed their way. They were behaving like scolded school children who could not keep themselves from laughing. 

“Nurse Harrington,” he said sharply, stepping forward and making himself known. 

Turning at the sound of her name, Isabelle felt her eyes widen at the man who had uttered it. Harold? Pasting a smile on, she nodded respectfully, “Lieutenant,” she greeted. “What can I do for you?” 

Harold’s eyes narrowed at her and she clenched her jaw. Could she not escape her family’s judgement even in the South Atlantic? 

“I trust you both have not forgotten the severity of our situation and of our mission?” 

Both Tom and Isabella shook their heads, “no sir,” they chorused. 

“If you will excuse us,” Harold said to Tom, “Nurse Harrington and I have an important matter to discuss.”

Inclining her head at Tom’s questioning glance, Isabella murmured a soft, “go on.” She didn’t miss the way Tom looked at her cousin. 

The moment they were alone and Harold was sure that none were watching or listening in, he rounded on her. His eyes, so like his mother’s, glared at her. “Have you forgotten who you are?” He hissed. 

Isabella’s nostrils flared at his tone and she swallowed hard before responding, “what prompts such a question?” 

“Do you ask in seriousness or out of mockery?” 

“I ask because I wish for an answer,” she responded, meeting his gaze and refusing to back down. “Did my parents send you?”

Harold smiled and turned to look out over the water, his hands resting on the railing. “Believe it or not, not everything you do is queried by our family.” 

Clearly not convinced, Isabella folded her arms and simply stared at him. 

“My father urged me to join,” Harold responded, relenting to her piercing stare. How she had managed not to blink in that short time was unnerving to him. “My parents have no idea that you are here.” 

She hummed lowly and fixed her hair. “Will that be all, Lieutenant?”

“You are a lady, Isabella,” Harold said as she turned to leave. “Even out here, please do not forget that.” 

“Out here,” she replied, looking over her shoulder, “it doesn’t matter. War does not care where one stands in the eyes of society, it does not care for one’s wealth or family name. Here I am not a lady, I am a nurse and it is my duty to aid and save lives.” 

“You detest the sight of blood,” he protested, “what could possibly have made you decide to become a nurse?” 

“Since you were undoubtedly eavesdropping on my conversation with Tom, then you would have heard my answer when he asked me a similar question.”

Tom. So that was the name of that particular sailor. “I do not believe that that was the whole story.”

“Whether you believe it or not is not my issue. I have told all that I am ready to say.”

“So you would speak more to a man you barely know rather than your own family?” 

At this she rounded on him, green eyes flashing. “He is not merely a man, he is a friend. A good friend and I would thank you to remember that while we are indeed family and you may be my superior on this ship, that does not give you licence to speak to me in such a manner.”

Harold blinked in surprise. Isabella, as far as he could remember, was known to be soft-spoken, her voice seldom rising. “You surprise me, cousin,” he replied. “I did not think you had it in you to speak in such a manner. It would seem that the common man has indeed influenced you.”

Isabella knew full well that Harold meant no compliment. “Your judgement of me echoes that of my parents, but more so my mother,” she said. “I will not hide behind titles and privilege and I will act as I see fit. If that upsets the delicate balance of your world, then so be it. Now,” she paused and took a deep breath, “I will ask again, will that be all Lieutenant?” 

Eyeing her in silence, he nodded and watched her as she made her way belowdecks. Turning back to the ocean, he felt the gentle brush of the flag against his arm. It was high time he honoured the promise he made to his mother and wrote to her. There seemed to be a great many things to tell her. 

[historianeglecta]

lucrezia: what’s a six lettter word for disappointment?

isabella: father

rodrigo: ......

lucrezia: - it fits!!

[emsie-belleguarde]

concept

a book that combines the main strands of the Academia aesthetic through a group of university friends, closely knit and inseparable

Clara - Darkest Academia (studying Classics) - She’s aloof, arrogant and sometimes cruel. She grew up in England on an old estate in the country, an only child who carries herself with the confidence of one thousand men. perhaps she can be wicked, but could you blame her? she grew up on the wild mores with no companion or play mate, her sole entertainer was the wind blowing the seasons past her watchful gaze. she found company in her studies, and now she finds joy in hours of Latin and Greek translations by the candlelight of her dimly lit university room. she curls up on an armchair, brushing her unmissable auburn hair from her face so she can squint harder at the words she is tracing with her finger, murmuring them as she reads. she scribbles with her fountain pen and deep down she is afraid (although she will never show it) that one day people will discover what they all did last summer. 

Isabella - Light Academia (studying Ancient History) - coming from an old Italian family, Isabella is used to the long summers in Sicily where she would lie by the river making daisy chains. She’s soft and kind, with big, round, bella-donna berry eyes and a wonderful sense of fun. her curly dark hair falls to just above her shoulders and she daydreams incessantly and sketches her friends when they all go to Alfie’s beach house. she is far more wilful than her brother, Dante, and she admires his relaxed and considered ability to deal with situations without getting upset (she always cries when she’s angry). there’s an understated beauty to her which is untouchable. she wishes to move back to Sicily and become an Architect, but for now she is contented with her dear friends and her long elegantly written history essays that sometimes accidentally slip into Italian when she is writing late at night and feeling tired.

Alfie - Chaotic Academia (studying Philosophy) - he has sharp brilliant eyes that sparkle with trouble. Notorious for his gorgeous laugh and his painfully perfect good looks, Alfie wears soft corduroy trousers and can often be found sitting on the grass in the summer or in the library in the winter with Dante, hypothesising over strange and radical pieces of modern philosophy that no one’s ever heard of before. He gets on Dante’s nerves by talking incessantly and being so insufferably loud whilst Dante is trying to read or write, but Dante adores him really. Alfie always arrives late, with a skateboard under his arm and a cigarette between his lips. He’s quick with a joke and even quicker with a clever dare or an idea for a new and complicated game. no one really knows anything about his family, he never talks about them and it’s the one topic he will never smile about if someone else brings it up. He’s irritated by Daphne, he rather frightens Isabella, Clara owns all of his respect but it will always be the quiet and considered Dante that Alfie has the most time for. Alfie may come across as fun and charming but it is his cleverly assembled exterior - he is cunning and far more clever than he’d like people to know. And, more than once now, Isabella has walked in on Alfie and Clara having serious whispered conversations. Alfie is an artistic composition of wry smiles and sly winks, a scuffed up tweed jacket that he stole from Dante’s wardrobe (Dante pretends to be annoyed but it just looks so good on Alfie), and a look on his face that you can only spot if you look closely. A look that tells you those eyes that sparkle with trouble have seen some horrible things, and that face that is more beautiful than any sculpture has been treated cruelly.

Daphne - Art Academia (studying Fine Art) - Daphne is a golden aristocrat. Her father is an Opera singer and her mother was a French woman, an actress who left Daphne’s father and moved back to the French Riviera. Neglected at a young age, Daphne discovered Art. Now, she craves beauty and adores getting involved in scandalous affairs with many young men and women, she never falls in love because it does not suit her style of living - she thrives on passion. she is always clad in ridiculously eccentric designer clothes, it’s hardly a waste of money though, for the only thing more eccentric than her shopping habits are her parties which make the likes of Gatsby look like mothers meetings. She and Isabella are surprisingly good friends, perhaps because Isabella doesn’t require the constant attention that female close friends usually do, and Daphne likes the fact that if she simply isn’t in the mood for Isabella she can tell her so. She finds Alfie fascinating, and hates the fact that he doesn’t treat her with the same adoration that men normally do. More than anything, however, her passion is Art. She lives for the most raging and powerful pieces that exist, and despite her beautiful clothes, her most prized possession is her copy of ‘Ribera: The Art of Violence’. the earth is her canvas, the people she sleeps with are her muses, she is her paintbrush and she wants to see the world burn in a raging fire of beauty. 

Dante - Romantic Academia (studying Poetry and Classical Literature) - he can come across as aloof and serious to those who don’t know him, but his friends know Dante to be considered yet absent minded, firm but fair. there is a quiet peaceful air that surrounds Dante. He never gets exasperated or angry, he is forgiving and patient and will always listen. In the summer terms he can be found lying on the grass of the university in a secluded and private place, reading avidly or writing. he will never show anyone his work (except maybe Alfie, not that Alfie would ever ask), but the last person who he would ever confide in is Daphne. She is the light of his world and the topic of all of his exquisite poems, everyone who knows him can see that Dante is completely infatuated with her. Alfie has told Dante more than once now that Dante only likes the idea of Daphne because she’s like something out of a fairytale. Dante ignores him and feels somewhat jealous of the attention that Daphne gives Alfie. Blinded by love, he is convinced that they are seeing each other in secret. 

comment your favourites and any theories you have about them Let me know if you want to see more content like this/about these characters xx

[historianeglecta]

isabella borgia: i have never taken the high road but i tell other people to isabella borgia: because then there is more room for me on the low road

[historianeglecta]

tag drop for isabella borgia !!