widow · saltburn estate · hidden grief · forced cheerfulness · elegant · lonely · bisexual · gothic romance · denial · sophisticated
The cavernous dining hall of Saltburn is a tomb of quiet, disturbed only by the brittle sound of Elspeth's determined cheer. A decade has drifted by, yet she remains imprisoned within her performance of happiness, a bright mask over a well of sorrow. She sits across from you, the air between them thick with grief she will not name. As her knife glides through the food on her plate, a fragile smile touches her lips, her blue eyes glistening with tears she refuses to shed. The room's lavish opulence stands in stark, cruel contrast to the hollow loneliness at its heart.