How Do You Stop A Sexcapade?

[Ursula Black]

DATE: November 1st, 1884
TAG: Elladora
WORDS: 434
NOTES:

After the encounter with Thomas Pettigrew at the Halloween Ball, Ursula had hoped desperately that she would wake up the next morning as if it had never happened. Perhaps she might have succeeded had he not infiltrated her dreams but she would never know. What she did know was that she didn't want to revive their affair; she had sworn to be faithful to Phineas and she didn't want to feel as she had after things were broken off ever again. At the same time, she longed for him desperately. She was no longer so miserable that she couldn't bear to the leave the house but she wasn't happy either and even if it only lasted a short time, she knew Thom could make her happy. Her mind was determined to forget him and be the perfect, chaste wife Phineas wanted but her heart (or was it her body?) ached for rekindled love.

Ursula had blamed her first affair on Phineas - he had neglected her, she reasoned. Her second she considered the fault of Darcy Potter and the brandy - they had seduced her in a moment of vulnerability. Her third, Thom, was love. She had scoffed at the thought of love before but he had opened her eyes to it. She had been willing to go forth and break her marriage vows again because it pleased her. Now... Now she felt for the first time ever that she was at risk of doing something she didn't want to do. She had felt so very close to losing control last night... What if Phineas had been right? What if she had a chronic case of nymphomania? What if she was a slave to lustful urges and had been foolish enough to think she was in control when all along she was controlled by something else? It didn't make sense then why the operation hadn't cured her. What if her case was incurable? If that was true, she couldn't let Phineas know, he'd commit her again without a second thought. What could she do?!

There was only one person she could turn to. Elladora. Her sister-in-law was an old maid she clearly knew the secret to ultimate chastity. So once she had eaten her breakfast, that was precisely what she set off to do. Ella would set her on the straight and narrow somehow, she was quite obviously immensely wise on the matter of keeping one's legs together. She wandered on down to the parlor and thankfully found her sister-in-law there. "Ella, I am in grave need of advice. You simply must help me."

  

[Elladora Black]

Of the many things Elladora found quite acceptable about her lot in life, having the luxury of breakfasting alone was amongst them. It wasn’t every morning of course – when Phineas returned she was only too glad to share his company as he was quite fine compnay – but with him at Hogwarts, Sirius and the baby in the nursery and Ursula taking advantage of her married status to eat in bed Ella enjoyed blissful, uninterrupted silence whilst she are her porridge. It was an indulgence of sorts, albeit a simple one, and it was one she craved each morning more and more with each passing week of her life.

Today, sadly, was not a day that seemed to be interested in her getting her quiet time.

At least this morning she had made it past breakfast before Ursula’s latest crisis. Last time her sister-in-law had looked quite so distressed she had ended up with what could only be described as the soup of Ursula’s innards on her shoes so this morning intrusion could only possibly go better and she wasn’t entirely opposed to seeing the other woman, especially seeing her now she wasn’t quite so rotund and mysterious to Elladora’s sensibilities. She understood the mechanisms of birth of course, but to see even some of it up close had been quite enough for her and confirmed to Ella that she had chosen her course of life wisely.

“I dread to think dear,” she sipped her tea delicately and placed it on the side-table as she settled back in her seat by the window overlooking the gardens. The other side had the misfortune of looking over the street and though it was a superior street, a street was still a street and the garden was better. Of course the last time she had been in a garden with Ursula… she tucked her feet underneath the chair.

“Would you like some tea while you explain?”

  

[Ursula Black]

DATE: November 1st, 1884
TAG: Elladora
WORDS: 162
NOTES:

Almost hesitantly, Ursula came to seat herself across from her sister-in-law. Now she was there, she wasn't sure how she was going to communicate her problem without revealing that she had had another affair or without making Ella think she was currently involved in one. She'd somehow have to make it sound as though she was pining for Phineas.

"Forgive me for the topic I am about to broach and any vulgarity I may speak with, it cannot be helped." Oh Merlin. "How is it that you... How do you restrain yourself from indulging improper feelings? What I mean is, how do you resist... you know." Ursula flushed slightly at her own words in her embarrassment. What if she didn't know? What if Ella hadn't cottoned on or been told? It would make sense, she'd never been married thus never required informing. She kept her eyes trained on Ella, fearful that she was going to be given a response she wouldn't like.

  

[Elladora Black]

It took Ella longer than she would have liked to admit for her to realise what on earth Ursula was babbling about and when she did realise she immediately stifled her smirk by sipping her tea for a prolonged period of time, making a show of dabbing at the corner of her lips with her napkin until she was sure there was no trace of amusement on her features. It wasn’t that Ursula asking was intrinsically funny – indeed the humour was rather easily quashed when she considered quite why her sister-in-law might be asking – but the clear awkwardness Ursula was feeling at having to ask her.

Ella would have almost taken pity on her sister-in-law if she didn’t know the suppression of such urges was hardly likely to be in response to Phineas’ presence.

“Resist?” She raised an eyebrow. “My dear I fail to understand you. I take small pleasures where I can in the form of visiting friends and indulging my hobbies but surely anyone with any sense of decency would never have the need to resist anything untowards.”

She placed her teacup down and turned her gaze more directly upon Ursula, her mouth setting into a harder line.

“What is it you wish to avoid?”

  

[Ursula Black]

DATE: November 1st, 1884
TAG: Elladora
WORDS: 258
NOTES:

Ursula watched her sister-in-law with great agitation, wondering on a scale from one to ten how much she was going to regret this. Finally, she responded though not in the way she had hoped. It was probably a stretch to think she might have gotten away with prizing information from Ella without arousing suspicion or provoking a question about why she was asking the questions she was.

She couldn't admit she was longing for a man that wasn't Phineas, that would be opening a monstrous can of worms, but she could hopefully convince Ella that she was merely lusting for her husband and wanted to restrain herself for fear of him receiving it badly. Which she was sure she would if she made a romantic advance on him. The problem was Elladora wasn't easily fooled.

"I long for- For-" she lowered her voice to a conspiratorial whisper for a moment. "intimate company." Dissatisfied with the way that sounded, she added, "That of Phineas. Ardently. I am possessed with a violent longing for his close company and I am quite clearly disturbed, what can I do?" That sounded convincing enough, it was entirely true too if Phineas' name was substituted for Thom's. "You must have some wisdom to impart, some advice as the most virtuous woman I know. Phineas would be disgusted if he knew. How do I suppress it? How do I make it go away?" She was still flushing with embarrassment despite the intensity with which she spoke. Surely her sister-in-law had experienced some form of lust?

  

[Elladora Black]

Her suspicions confirmed – well, some of them at least – Ella began to enjoy herself quite a bit of the expense of her sister-in-law’s embarrassment. She had never felt the overwhelming need for another, at least not in the last ten years and even in her youth the odd moment of longing had been fleeting and easily dealt with.

Ursula, as Ursula always seemed to be, was a different matter and Ella sighed as she placed her tea cup down decisively. She dearly hoped that her sister-in-law was speaking of Phineas knowing, as she did, that it had not always been so. Ursula certainly seemed perturbed over something at the moment though and Ella, despite her own better judgment, decided that for the moment it was best to take Ursula’s meaning at face value.

And then keep an eye on her to see what she did next.

“I take it the situation is serious enough that you cannot wait until he is able to return to us?”

It was only a matter of six weeks after all and Ella could scarcely imagine being so desperate for such company that one could not even wait till then! It spoke of a level of indulgence of pleasures of the flesh that she had never understood.

“May I suggest some kind of occupation to fill up your time and tired you out? I would suggest charity work but such exposure to others may only make the matter worse – have you considered embroidery?”

Although on second thoughts the rhythmic motion was somewhat unseemly in context…

“Or reading?”

  

[Ursula Black]

DATE: November 1st, 1884
TAG: Elladora
WORDS: 218
NOTES:

Ursula was starting to regret mentioning it at all, it wasn't at all as though she were doing anything wrong but what if Ella mentioned their conversation to Phineas? She might not be doing anything unseemly with anyone but Phineas likely wouldn't be pleased to hear she was still suffering from her unladylike desires. Whether she did or not, it was too late to take her words back now and she truly did need assistance. Better to finish what she started and give Ella no reason to think she was troubled by someone other than her husband.

To the suggestions Ella made, Ursula couldn't help but shake her head dolefully. If only such things would divert her mind completely but concentration on such activities was difficult at present. As for the dismissed notion of charity work, the idea disgusted her - yes it was a thing society praised a woman for but Ursula didn't have a generous bone in her body and she would much rather spend her efforts selfishly. "I have tried reading but novels excite the imagination too much and I haven't the concentration to read anything else. What is your secret?" Surely she had some meditation ritual or even better, some sort of magical object or substance to keep her mind from inappropriate topics?

  

[Elladora Black]

Ella leveled her gaze steadily on the other woman as she sipped her tea casually, having no intention of giving away the true secret to her lifetime of control to Ursula, but quite why her sister-in-law was so desperate to hear it when she had never troubled herself with control before was intriguing. Ursula's inability to keep herself under control had been a problem in the past - if it was resurfacing as one then it was certainly something she needed to worry about. Of course she couldn't just ask Ursula, if she was wrong and it got back to Phineas that she had doubted his wife it would be her that seemed at fault and she could never have that!

“I have no secret dear, simply a lifetime of common sense to help me along.”

The fact that, to Ella’s recollection, she had never truly desired anyone’s company but her own probably didn’t hurt her ability to remain abstinent of course, but that was hardly something she was going to share!

“Of course if you’d like to talk about it I’d be quite amenable…? And I believe there are potions one can take to help.”

  

[Ursula Black]

DATE: November 1st, 1884
TAG: Elladora
WORDS: 151
NOTES:

No secret? Ursula couldn't fathom that as a possibility. How could Elladora have not yearned for indecent closeness with a man? Was she truly suffering so violently from nymphomania? Was there really something so deeply wrong with her? It couldn't possibly be that Ella was the one with anything wrong for she was propriety incarnate.

The mention of magical help did much to raise her hopes. "What sort of potions?" she inquired, eager to find out what she could do to instantly suppress the undesirable feelings. Of course the thought that she might be get herself into any sort of trouble like the laudanum incident was as far from her mind as it was possible to be. She avoided the invitation to talk, she found the subject embarrassing enough without elaborating and she didn't want to accidentally give her the wrong idea and end up with a suspicious husband again.

  

[Elladora Black]

Momentarily overwhelmed by the more callous nature of her notorious lineage Ella considered how gullible and desperate Ursula might actually be and the variety of potions, both experimental and intentionally vile that she could feed her philandering sister-in-law before the other woman became suspicious. Because though she was not certain in her convictions the nature of Ursula’s questioning – and the fact that the other woman had never asked her such things before – made her question the fidelity she had believed Ursula to be practicing lately.

“Well,” she said slowly her eyes glinting. “I doubt they’d be especially pleasant and I imagine they could spoil the enjoyment of your marital bed in the long run,” she smirked to herself as she took a sip of her tea. “And I would hardly think it wise to condemn you to that and I doubt Phineas would thank me for rendering his wife unfeeling.”

  

[Ursula Black]

DATE: November 1st, 1884
TAG: Elladora
WORDS: 169
NOTES:

Ursula was, for a brief moment, quite confused. So there were potions that could be taken but she was being advised against them? That Elladora thought her marriage-bed to be in any way enjoyable was quite laughable - there weren't enough enjoyable moments in bed with Phineas to count on one hand. "On the contrary, I'm not so sure Phineas wouldn't prefer it that way." Whenever she had shown too much enthusiasm, it seemed to be met with a less than pleasant reception. Except that one time.

But it wasn't really Phineas who was the problem, it was her and her damnable feelings. If Elladora could truly rid her of them then surely a little short-term unpleasantness was better than potentially doing something she regretted and living the rest of her days out in a lunatic asylum? "There aren't any other potential side-effects, are there?" she asked as an almost after-thought. If it rendered her infertile, that would be a bonus but if it did something terrible and permanent...

  

[Elladora Black]

Oh Merlin, she wished there were. She was generally perplexed by her sister-in-law, and had been more or less since Phineas had taken Ursula as a bride but the thing that usually bothered Ella most of all wasn't so much Ursula's occasional lapse of moral decency. No, instead it was that the younger woman clearly thought she was stupid.

"I don't know dear, I've never had cause to take them," she said sniffily as she sipped her tea. "I've heard of illness and bleeding though-"

No, that was no good. Ursula was ludicrous enough that she might still do it to herself for whatever the reason was, and Ella was increasingly gathering suspicions that this had nothing to do with Phineas at all.

"And one becomes with child very easily I'd assume."

  

[Ursula Black]

DATE: November 1st, 1884
TAG: Elladora
WORDS: 136
NOTES:

Ursula visibly grimaced at the prospect of increased fertility. The potential illness and bleeding was bad enough to start with but a little blood and queasiness was infinitely preferable to pining after Thom Pettigrew a moment longer and certainly better than landing herself in an asylum for the rest of her life. Not that she intended to let on to Phineas.

"Perhaps not then." The prospect of having another child at all, let alone so soon after the last one, was one she didn't welcome in the slightest. Perhaps she could find some other way, perhaps the feelings would fade away after a short while; it wasn't as though she had any reason to spend any time with Mr. Pettigrew in the future, she could just avoid him for the rest of her life, couldn't she?