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Tweak says, "We've only been together 1h45m"

Lord Tobias Hurst, Duke of Devon (lord_hurst) wrote in toujoursliberer,
@ 2008-08-08 21:41:00

Entry tags:

aime_laurent, antoine_laurent, beatrice_stanley, beth_downing, constance_mosley, demetri_blake, georgina_rochester, gwendolyn_linley, harry_fisher, jacques_belmont, katerina_ashcroft, marie_hardwick, melisande_auclair, nell_abbot, patience_hurst, piper, plot, rupert_aveline, sergius_petrov, slater, thaddeus_chadwick, theodore_berteaut, thérèse_du_labarre, tobias_hurst, vivian_thorpe

Lord Hurst: A Ball In His Honour
Item: An invitation sent out by Lord Hurst to many of those in the upper portion of society
Who: Lord Hurst on behalf of Sergius Petrov
Warnings: TBA
Open to: All of the nobility, friends of the Hurst family, those being blackmailed by Sergius, plus Constance, Slater, and Harry.

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	lady_gwendolyn 2008-08-09 08:00 pm UTC (link)
	"Why, my dear Lord Chadwick!" Lady Gwendolyn exclaimed, extending her gloved hands to him at once. "How exceedingly kind of you. We all must do what we can before the Duchess of Devonshire blows us all out of the water. How very well you look this evening! I could almost mistake you for a Whig." (Reply to this) (Parent) (Thread)

mayor_of_london
2008-08-10 05:50 am UTC (link)

He inclined his head to her, smiling slightly, "And I could almost mistake that for a compliment, my dear Lady Linley. Perhaps later in the evening I will think of it as such," after a few more glasses of good wine, "After I find my soirée feet again." He said aloud offering her a slightly braver smile.

"I am afraid I will probably not be the best of company this evening, my Lady." Sarah would have enjoyed this. She was a Whig, secretly, he knew, despite her father's politics, and she would have happy talked with Lady Linley the evening through about dresses and debates and the Irish Problem. "Any interesting news from the social circuit in my absence?"

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lady_gwendolyn
2008-08-10 07:25 pm UTC (link)

"Oh my dear Lord Mayor, how can you think I should ever have the heart to do less than compliment you?" she chided him mildly. Lady Gwendolyn was extremely interested to see his timidity; his wife as well-known to have run off to Europe with her lover. Lady Gwendolyn lightly touched him on the sleeve. "Come, sir, I am not quite so heartless as all that!" Not when there was good gossip to be had.

"London goes on- there is not much to say. Katherine Rochester's fiance died, which brought great joy to everyone, the Duke of Devonshire remains the only man in London not in love with his wife, Pitt drinks still, the abolitionist Wilberforce's anti-slavery bill did not pass by six votes- oh! And! All summer a committee at the Crown and Anchor have been fundraising all summer and have astonishingly raised over sixty-one thousand pounds to pay off Mr. Fox's debts. Quite a sum, is it not? I trust all your children are well, Lord Chadwick?"

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mayor_of_london
2008-08-11 04:40 pm UTC (link)

"If I were any man but the Lord Mayor I think you would have the heart to do much worse, Lady Linley, than compliment me." He said with a wry smile. "There are few things terrible that can befall a man in his life tile- to be complimented by a beautiful woman of the wrong political is affiliation is one of the worst. Does he give in and allow himself to be charmed, and no doubt loose some of his political passion, or does he remain cold and aloft and lose himself the company of a wonderful woman?" He shrugged, still smiling slightly, although he hardly felt amused or happy, and perhaps that showed in his eyes.

"Pitt still drinks? Goodness." He said, taking a swallow of his own drink, "But the day this country has a politician who is not openly a drunkard, the nation will collapse." He took another sip, finishing off the glass, and continued, "The children are doing very well. They have a new tutor, and seem to be enjoying their lessons." He smiles sadly, "It keeps them occupied."

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lady_gwendolyn
2008-08-11 05:11 pm UTC (link)

Lady Gwendolyn laughed. "Oh, and you have me pinned down so neatly, milord! I shall have to surprise you somehow." She made a great show of thinking, a gloved finger to her chin, her head tilted to the side. "Hm... ah ha! I have hit upon it! I shall be serious at you."

She paused and said, with more gentleness than she ever showed, "I was very deeply sorry to hear of your wife. Aside from your alarming prediliction for Tory politics, you are a very decent sort, and you are not nearly ton enough to accept something like that easily. If you will accept my advice, poor as it is- simply do not mention it! If you pretend nothing is wrong, all others will take their lead from you. The children too, most likely." Lady Gwendolyn extended her hands to him. "There. Now, dance the minuet with me and I shall promise to keep off of politcs for the entire set. Such sacrifices I make for you, sir!"

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mayor_of_london
2008-08-11 05:27 pm UTC (link)

Thaddeus nodded. "Perhaps that wicked Whig tongue of yours does speak the truth on some occasions, my Lady." He agrees, having thought over her words. The children did, he had to admit, only ask after their mother on the days he was the most tired, stressed, upset. He would, one day, have to tell them their mother was not touring the cities of Europe and the East with her sisters, but not yet. He would wait to see if Sarah returned before the end of the year. After then, he would tell them the truth. They would be old enough to accept it then. "Sometimes it astounds me," He managed, taking her hand and leading her to the dance floor, before carefully positioning himself in the set pose to begin the dance, "that a mother could abandon her children like that. But we are all animals, deep down, are we not? Self-survival and the rest of it."

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lady_gwendolyn
2008-08-11 06:27 pm UTC (link)

"Oh, Lord Chadwick! I shall have you know Pitt was a Whig until he became Prime Minister. I am quite convinced office makes Tories of everyone. But I shall still my Whig tongue as promised!" She covered her lips with her hands, careful not to get lip-rogue on her gloves.

The music began and Lady Gwendolyn dipped into a graceful curtsey. "That is a very grim look at humanity, milord, but I supposed it only to be expected after your trial. Goodness, she did not care much for her social survival." she turned for a figure of the fdance and when they turned to face each other again, Lady Gwendolyn said, a little reflectively. "I suppose some women are berift of maternal instincts. Or I suppose one may be so carried away be passion it overwhelms the senses." She sounded highly doubtful, however; Lady Gwendolyn had never experienced any sort of passion to eclipse her good sense. "Like the Countess of Derby! Poor woman fell head over heels for the Duke of Dorset and was stupid enough to leave her husband and children for him. Total social outcast now, Dorset doesn't speak with her, and her husband is the well-known platonic lover of an actress. They are only waiting for the Countess's death before they marry. Poor dear- not a soul wishes her alive. At least Lady Chadwick had the good graces to leave England."

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mayor_of_london
2008-08-14 02:44 am UTC (link)

"My dear lady, that is because the only sucessful political policies that work in this country are Tory policies." He explained with a smile, feeling a little better for her company and conversation. It had been a long time since he had been able to talk with a woman, his wife or otherwise. Especially one who was politically astute.

"True enough." He admitted, leading her by instinct and hardly thinking about the movements. "Staying here with him would have ruined her children's reputations, although it is quite clear she cared little enough for mine. Perhaps it is all for the best." He smiles again at her, "Although if she does return, I do not know what I shall do."

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lady_gwendolyn
2008-08-14 10:53 am UTC (link)

"Oh, and here I was, behaving and keeping my scandalous liberal opinions to myself!" she scolded, following along in the steps to the dance. "It is your own fault for beginning a political discussion when I only meant to condole with you and discuss the poor Countess of Derby."

The next turn of the dance separated them, but when they came back together, Lady Gwendolyn said, "Besides, the only reason the Tory policies work is because no one has ever bothered to implement the Whig ones!" She felt very smug. "Well, milord, if she does not return, divorce her as quietly as you can. Or, if you want to make her suffer, refuse to. In any case, it is no fault of your own that your wife has a very European taste and not enough good sense to hide it."

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mayor_of_london
2008-08-14 11:25 am UTC (link)

"Forgive me, Lady Linley. Clearly I can't not stick to promises I make others keep. I will not say anything further against your party, you have my word." He promised her, before they were parted. Their separation gave him a moment to think, but he hated to muse on politics when it was not necessary, and so he quickly forgot his thoughts, just in time to meet with her again.

"Whether it is a taste for Europeans that she has, or simply a distaste for me I could not say, Lady Linley, but for the sake of our children I could not make her suffer. Oscar hardly knows his mother, and that is too cruel a thing for such a child to suffer."

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lady_gwendolyn
2008-08-14 11:57 am UTC (link)

"I suppose it is," Lady Gwendolyn said, thinking of several other things she could say about Oscar besides the cruelty of his growing up motherless. "However, he has a nanny or a governess or something, I assume? There can be replacements for a bad mother. Even a kindly tutor could fill the role to perfection. And come now! You are too hard on yourself. Many a lady has been lead astray by the sound of an Italianate vowel landing on her upturned ear."

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mayor_of_london
2008-08-14 12:20 pm UTC (link)

"A good tutor. A Cambridge boy, but a good one. Isaac adores his lessons now, and I can hardly say I am not glad for it. Bianca, I feel, is trying to form a romantic attachment to the poor man." He said with a small smile. Oscar could do with a female influence. He had a nurse, and there was the house-keeper, but it was simply not enough, not good enough, for his son. Whether or not Oscar was his son was not something he was ever going to consider.

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lady_gwendolyn
2008-08-14 01:53 pm UTC (link)

"Ooh. Cambridge?" asked Lady Gwendolyn. "I would never have thought you would hire someone from Cambridge. Then again, Cambridge is Pitt's constituency, so perhaps your Tory sensibilities lead you past school rivalries. At any rate, at least your children are happy."

She was almost desperate to say something on the subject of Oscar, whom almost everyone held to be something of a cuckoo in the nest. "If that fails, you can always marry some pretty, simple-minded thing from the country and introduce her to your offspring. Oh, that would require a divorce first, which you may not like...." She trailed off, at something of an impasse.

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