[color=9400D3][H2][center]Lady Northam[/center][/H2][/color] [hr][hr] Sunlight poured into the bedroom just enough through the cracks in the curtains to disturb Cora’s already disturbed sleep. She spent the night hiding under the sheets and covering her head with her pillow trying to drown out her fear of the manor. The strange melody she heard kept playing over and over again in her head. Every time she’d finally fall asleep the tune would creep into her dreams and she'd wake herself up. She grumbled as the rays of light reminded her she couldn’t stay hidden all day. She crawled out of bed with a big huff. She heard people stirring downstairs reminding her she should look presentable and can't spend all day in bed or getting ready. She had a rather extensive wardrobe designed to fit her particular tastes. All of her dresses had ornate perfume buttons sewn onto them to prevent her love of perfume oils from ruining their fabric (for reference https://www.perfumebottles.org/virtual-museum/18/victorian-bottles/1558/perfume-buttons ). She threw on her undergarments hastily lacing up her corset…leaving it a bit looser than she normally would…and layered a green dress over it. She looked in the mirror…her lack of sleep showed. But she did her best to compensate. She undid her braids and brushed her long waves out. Too tired to do anything fancy…she suddenly missed having her sister, mother and maids around. They'd make the chore of getting ready each day go by much quicker. Her humble beginnings had made her very insecure, and she had procured an appreciation for finer things in order to try to fit in with those whose titles were their birthrights. She grumbled to herself while reaching for her hair pins...she wasn't thrilled with all of the pretenses and expectations put upon her by her family . She only pinned up the front of it…letting the rest of her long reddish blonde hair fall down her back. She dabbed her neck and her wrists with her own special perfume mix of orange, lavender, and rose oils from an ornate perfume bottle she kept in her top drawer making sure to saturate the special buttons on her dress with the delicate flowery fragrance . She pinched her cheeks to try to brighten herself up a bit before slipping on a pair of gloves in the same shade and fabric as her dress. She crossed the room and was getting ready to head downstairs when she noticed something that wasn’t there when she went to bed last night. Laying on top of her corset she had thrown on a chair was sheet music. Cora knew before she even started to hum the notes what the tune would be. She shivered and then got a bit agitated in trying to rationalize it. Surely it must be her new husband or one of the staff trying to play some sort of elaborate prank on her to get under her skin. Sheet music still in hand, she headed for the door and made her way toward the commotion in the kitchen. Lady Northam straightened herself smoothing back her hair over her shoulders as she entered the kitchen. Looking over at the staff standing around… [color=9400D3]“Good morning ladies. I’m starving…is there anything for breakfast?”[/color] She then turns... rather annoyed and curious to Lord Northam [color=9400D3]“Did you leave this in my room for me as some sort of joke? If so it wasn’t very funny keeping me up all night trying to scare me…and your piano needs tuned. Your A key is a bit sharp” [/color]as she holds the sheet music in her hand up to him.