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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
2008-08-12 07:38 am UTC (link)

"Oh, of course," Lady Gwendolyn said, allowing a hint of her natural Irish lilt to inflect her voice. Ha! He was the Earl of Gourock after all. And, for some reason, ashamed of his Scottish background. This was worth investigating. "It is a very great pleasure milord. I hope you do not miss Scotland unduly. I know Mr. Dundas, on the Cabinet though he is, is always very keen on drowning his homesickness by downing some good scotch malt." She dipped into a curtsy.

"Oh yes! It is simply ravish is it not? The Hursts always do know how to throw a party. I am very glad of it; poor Lady Patience did need cheering up. Did you see the paper the other day? Simply shocking! Poor Patience had her reticule stolen, and Antoine de Laurent had to chase the thief down."

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ex_rakehell186
2008-08-12 10:26 am UTC (link)

Antony was suddenly thinking that he knew well what it would be like to be a dog and to get his nose hit with a rolled up newspaper. He bit the inside of his lip and raised his eyebrows as he once again bowed in return to her curtsy. If she knew who he was, and she obviously did as she made the remarks about Scotland, then she must know of his reputation. And he had been doing so well to put that behind him now that he was back in London.

"My Lady, if you knew who I was to begin with you could have saved me from making a fool of myself." but he was smiling, he could not be upset with her, it took a lot to upset Antony and this was nothing. Just an embarrassment, which truthfully, happened a great deal more often than he would have liked to admit. "That is actually why Mr. Dundas is here, he drank all the scotch malt in Scotland so we had to hand him over to the English until more can be made. I'm just pleased he managed to find himself gainful employment."

He quickly glanced about, as if looking for the girl, but he quickly returned his eyes to her. "I did hear something about that, the poor dear, how lucky that London is now crawling with helpful Frenchmen." Whether this was a dig at the French invasion or just more of his low opinion of Englishmen, was unclear and he left it up to interpretation.

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lady_gwendolyn
2008-08-12 04:46 pm UTC (link)

Lady Gwendolyn laughed. "Oh, come, come my lord! It does a man good to have a little scandal attached to his name. The Duke of Dorset is universally known to seduce only married women and everyone still likes him. And Fox! Poor Fox gambled away several fortunes before he was twenty, drinks like a man dying of thirst and lives with one of the most notorious courtesans in London but everyone adores him. Well, except Prime Minister Pitt, but Pitt doesn't like anything but Mr. Pitt doesn't like anything but drinking."

Hm. Interesting, interesting. An insult to England or France? This required careful investigation. "Yes- and all turning up their noses at roast beef and begging for frog's legs. I suppose you prefer a nice haggis, but have you ever tried frog's legs? La, I almost prefer the snails."

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ex_rakehell186
2008-08-12 05:16 pm UTC (link)

"Ah, but it is only because they have the advantage of being male in this day and age. A man does something scandalous and everyone just shrugs their shoulders and says 'Oh well.' Could you imagine the castigation if all of these men were women? Though I will say that the House of Lords would be far more interesting if they were all women." he wasn't M. Rochester by any means, but he did think that many of the social restrictions on the fairer sex were terribly unfair and unjust.

He wrinkled up his nose at the mention of frogs legs, "I used to catch frogs as a boy, and keep them as pets, I have not been able to make the leap from pet to gastronomic delight just yet. Honestly, I am rather thankful I have not, I am told they have the strangest texture. But you are right, I do enjoy a nice haggis, so I suppose I cannot speak upon what is good food and what is not."

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lady_gwendolyn
2008-08-12 10:50 pm UTC (link)

Lady Gwendolyn gave a little shudder. "Like poor Lady Derby! You know, as long as no one else knows about it, a little extramarital occupation is all well and good but when you do something so monumentally foolish as leaving your husband for your lover- well!" She shook her head again. "Living on a pittance on the outskirts of society- well! I wouldn't've thought her such a right eejit. Lady Jersey manages everything so neatly! She's slept with half of London and since she's the mistress of the Prince of Wales no one can speak ill of her. It really is who you know and how you orchestrate it, but of course you are right- the rumors are never really proven one way or another. If they were, poof! Gone from the Devonshire House Circle in a flash!"

Gossip reported, Lady Gwendolyn was inclined to listen very calmly and politely. "What exactly does haggis taste like? In Ireland there are only potato dishes if you are lucky, and platters of grass if you are not."

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ex_rakehell186
2008-08-12 11:28 pm UTC (link)

"There are exceptions, of course." he agreed with a little nod. Not that he kept up with most of the small woman spoke about, but he knew enough to carry on a conversation if he had to. He hated reading the gossip columns, finding them ridiculously intrusive, but he continued to do so on the off chance he would find himself with nothing to talk about while in a crowd.

He smirked, trying to think of the best way to describe it as he had heard many a person's opinion of it, most of those he would not dare repeat in front of a lady. "It is interesting... Well, I quite like it. It is sort of like very well seasoned beef, or perhaps it is more sort of sausage-like in it's texture and taste. I've heard a good few say that they do not care for it, but I believe it is only because they have not had it cooked properly, or they are not prepared for such a strong taste. It is only a pity that it so hard to find someone willing to actually make the dish here in London, but perhaps they are worried for being tossed into the Thames due to the smell."

He was forgetting himself, he quickly realized, "My dear, forgive me, your lovely face has made me forget my manners. Would you, perhaps, be in want of a drink?"

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	lady_gwendolyn 2008-08-13 09:49 am UTC (link)
	"The smell?" Lady Gwendolyn asked, sounding a little unsure. "Is it really as bad as all that?" She was almost greatful that centuries of English oppression had so robbed Ireland of its livelihood there weren't any really horrifying national dishes, or indeed, many dishes that did not involve potatoes. "Oh, you are very kind. A glass of champagne, perhaps?" (Reply to this) (Parent) (Thread)

ex_rakehell186
2008-08-13 07:51 pm UTC (link)

"It depends on the quality of goods, but there is always a certain smell..." he said diplomatically. It wasn't the best of smells and he knew that, but he was not going to come right out with it to her. He did not want to put her off, but he knew that the dish itself was enough to put anyone off. He believed that most managed to eat it only by forgetting what it really was.

He bowed to her once more, leaving her only a moment to retrieve her a glass. He was nearly pulled off course by a woman he was sure he knew from somewhere but could not place. She called him Tony and batted her eyelashes at him, but he was a man determined, giving her a nod he quickly returned to Gwendolyn. He handed her the glass, another bow of his head following immediately after she took it, "There you are, my Dear Lady."

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	lady_gwendolyn 2008-08-14 10:36 am UTC (link)
	"I toast to your remarkable persistence in the course of duty," Lady Gwendolyn said, raising her glass. "I daresay I am quite the envy of every lady present, and I thank you most sincerely for it. I am even inclined to try haggis." (Reply to this) (Parent) (Thread)

ex_rakehell186
2008-08-15 11:48 am UTC (link)

He chuckled lightly. "As long as you do not come looking for me if you try it and do not like it, that is wonderful." He was a little surprised that she was inclined to try it, as he did not think he had given her a very good impression, but he admired her bravery.

"Oh no, I would not go that far." he shook his head, still smiling. "If you are the envy of every lady present, it is because your beauty is unparalleled, and I am certainly the envy of every man in the room because of it."

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