i feel like i'm cornered off. Who: Genevieve Albrecht and Divina Marcos What: Tea & quandaries. Where: Albrecht estate. When: Earlier in the month. Rating: PG. Status: Complete.
Divina had not had the opportunity to speak with Genevieve at the atrocity that was the latter’s engagement ball. As soon as she was able, the fell knight therefore sought to remedy the oversight. After sending word in advance via her communicator, she arrived promptly at the Albrecht estate.
The butler might have been unsettled by so notorious a visitor, but, to his credit, the man smoothly allowed the knight passage. The countess would be with her shortly, he confidently assured as he settled Divina into one of the sitting rooms. And, indeed, it was not long before a footman opened the door to reveal Genevieve.
“It has been too long,” Divina said by way of greeting.
When the missive from Divina came, there was little Genevieve could think of that would be considered a sufficient excuse to decline. It had been too long since they had spoken in privacy, and though she knew that the young woman would likely wish to discuss what had happened at Genevieve’s party, there was nothing pressing enough to put it off. She replied that Divina was welcome to come by at any time, as Genevieve would be spending the day at home.
When the knock on her door came, she allowed Michel to lead her to where Divina awaited.
“It truly has,” she replied, shutting the door behind her. Michel would ensure that refreshments were sent along quickly; it would be a short wait, she knew. True to form, a knock sounded not even a moment after she had closed the door and Lillith appeared with a tray of tea and fruit.
Once the tray had been settled on the table, the two women were left alone.
Genevieve poured the tea into the the cups and took a sip. “I trust you have been well, Divina?”
Ever a slave to her insatiable appetite, the young woman reached for a piece of fruit first. The question was met with a nod. “There have been no particular excitements of late,” Divina said. “I have, however, been—” It was not a topic she had yet to broach fully with even those closest to her, but to make mention of it to a woman in a position similar to her own (for there were not many other noblewomen who erred on the side of scandal) would surely cause no harm. “—evaluating my options within the Guild. Professionally.”
(There were not many other noblewomen who condescended to work, either.)
“And yourself?” was asked swiftly thereafter.
That was not something she had been expecting; Divina seemed to revel in being an outcast, and while Genevieve had never fully bought the act, she could not deny the relief she felt at the revelation. “I see,” she said thoughtfully. “Have you come to any conclusions as of yet?” She did not ask if the knight’s mother knew of this - there were many things that she and Divina had in common aside from their noble blood.
For a brief moment, Genevieve considered offering to put the other woman in touch with one of her elder brothers. Both were members of various groups within the Fighters’ Guild, but she would not wish them upon her worst enemy. It was not that they were pompous, but that they too often became wrapped in the tedium of their lives to know when attention paid them was out of politeness and not interest.
“I have been well,” she replied after a moment. “Aside from my latest debacle, though I expect that it is old news at this late date.”
“Your particular intentions in that regard?” As she asked the question, the younger woman’s bearing seemed to shift, as might a cat once it has caught sight of its quarry. That there was some self-interest in the inquiry, Divina would not deny. She had watched Gale settle into an unwanted arrangement, and to watch Genevieve ease into the same only furthered Divina’s determination. She had spent her life fighting against the force of others’ wills; she would not fold now.
In that vein, her options, as Divina saw them, were whittled down to two. But even then, there were many considerations to be made and no certain answers to be offered. And so in response to the countess’s earlier query was given, simply, “No.”
It seemed a popular question - what exactly did Genevieve intend to do about her unwanted betrothal? The most honest answer was not one that could be given to most; murder was not taken lightly, and she had not yet concocted a way to make it appear accidental enough that no one would suspect her. Nor had she figured a way to frame one of Orsinio’s enemies - two birds with one stone, really.
“I will not go through with it,” she said carefully. “Count Calibri seems to be mistaken in his attempts to force me into something against my will.” Genevieve took another sip of her tea. “I have not yet solidified how I shall escape this fate, however.”
She would need to get in touch with Evander, she knew. The man knew the law like the back of his hand, as was proper for a Judge Magister.
A nod was given at Divina’s reply. It was a difficult consideration, she knew. Her position and class would not make her the most welcome amongst any of the task forces in the city, despite her proficiency. A pity, really, though Genevieve could not fully fault those Pharists who could not see the person behind the mask. It had taken her more time than she cared to remember to truly come to terms with it, though she had never stopped reaching out to Divina or defending her from her detractors.
And now, she was faced with a similar situation in Aspel, though it was her past and not her present. A different circumstance, though no less complicated for their differences.
“What does he—do they—hold over you?” Divina said.
From what Divina understood, Genevieve was inheritor to both title and estate. Among the older woman’s siblings and their families, she had no lack of options through which to continue the succession were she not inclined to a raise a child of her own. Moreover, she had taken to such mercenary activities as trade; distasteful though it was to high society, these means afforded the countess independence and influence beyond the scope of the name ‘Albrecht’.
For all appearances, Genevieve Albrecht was not a woman to be pressed into anything outside her volition. And yet, as though her accomplishments amounted to naught, here the countess was to be shackled to a marriage she’d neither wanted nor chosen.
(Should Divina be successful in her present ventures, it was important, she thought, to understand what factors might undermine a similar self-sufficiency.)
She considered her words carefully. The years she had spent building herself up and fighting for her independence were ones that she looked back upon with mixed feelings, yet they were just as important as her formative years. Her parents had instilled obedience to her family and title into her from a young age, but Alistair’s death had forced her to reevaluate those lessons, and she had found them wanting.
“Regardless of my independent means,” she started, voice painfully neutral, “I am still the property of Alistair’s family, as I had married into it. A woman is not expected to survive on her own wits nor well received when she proves capable of such. They hold my gender over me, as the title is mine to keep, but law dictates that I am property.”
A frustrating thing, truly. She had thought herself free of these machinations due to her age, even further from consideration for a remarriage for the scandals she cultivated and perpetuated. “It is a truth that we as women of means must accept and learn to circumvent. I had miscalculated; now I must fix my error.”
Having finished her fruit, Divina reached to take a sip of tea. Fine eyebrows raised over the cup in a prompt for Genevieve to continue. No doubt such an illumination would be valuable for any woman of their station—or those women, at least, who valued more than the artifices the nobility held so dearly.
She understood the prompt, although she was at a loss on how to proceed. There was much of her life that could be shared when edited carefully, but there was little she could do to cloak her intentions regarding Orsinio. Informing Divina of such plans would be a calculated mistake, she knew; though the younger woman herself was an outcast, she was still a member of the Fighters’ Guild, and such knowledge would either ensure Genevieve’s incarceration or present Divina an unfair moral quandary.
“Though I doubt he will be amenable, I intend to speak with him,” she said calmly. “Should that fail - and I quite expect it to - I have already begun to look into the laws.” It was at least concrete, though she doubted it was what Divina expected.
The younger woman considered this for a moment before nodding. “Best,” Divina said.
In this regard, there was little else to be offered.