Not too far gone to care - Printable Version
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Not too far gone to care - Tiberius Lestrange - July 14, 2019
June 19th, 1889 — Oakshire Hall
Since December of 1887, the Lestrange household had only be the home of one daughter. Publicly, one daughter was all that Tiberius and Antigone had, the other have perished of a poorly explained but perfectly reasonably childhood illness shortly after her younger brother was stillborn. Privately, both of their daughters were still very much alive, but that was a fact known only to Tiberius, Antigone, and two nurses who had been sworn to secrecy. One girl spent a month at Oakshire Hall, with the nurse who was a member of the regular household staff, while the other spent a month at a little cottage Tiberius had rented for the purpose in the distant countryside, under the care of a nurse hired specifically for that purpose. Once a month, the two girls traded places — ostensibly so that the parents could monitor the growth and progress of both to determine which was the superior child, though Tiberius would be the first to admit he had been shirking his parental duties, and he knew Antigone wasn't paying them regular visits, given that she'd spent half of the past year running around in the words like a feral cat.
The arrangement had proceeded comfortably for over a year, but nothing good could last. After asking for an audience via letter, the nurse for the secondary location, one Mrs. Phillips, had threatened to reveal their secret to the papers unless she was given a good deal more money. So, naturally, Tiberius had killed her.
After ordering a house elf to dispose of the body (house elves, were, in this respect, far superior to human servants), Tiberius had realized that this left one glaring problem: the other girl, still, presumably, safe and sound at the cottage in the country but now left regrettably without a caretaker.
He arrived in his wife's bedroom unannounced, but found her at home — since he'd taken her wand away in a bid to instill in her a new sense of propriety, she had been home more often than not when he wanted her, which was refreshing. "We need to talk," he said simply, dismissing the lady's maid who was helping her to dress with a look and a gesture.
RE: Not too far gone to care - Antigone Lestrange - July 15, 2019
Her maid had just finished lacing her into her dress when the door was suddenly opened, her husband apparently being the culprit. Tig frowned as she scrutinized her new dress in the mirror and tried to pretend that she couldn't also see his reflection in the mirror. "We can talk later, I've got somewhere to be." He probably wouldn't take kindly to that but she didn't appreciate being interrupted. It was his fault that she was making an effort and she wasn't going to be made late because he suddenly decided he wanted to spend time with her.
"You'd better send her back in unless you want to help me finish dressing." There thankfully wasn't much left to do besides pick out accessories but he didn't need to know that. What could he possibly want to discuss right now anyway? Had he found out about her replacement wand? Surely reprimanding her could wait... She couldn't think of any other reason he might have sought her out, it wasn't as though she'd done anything outrageous lately, although that might change if he made her late.
"You'd better send her back in unless you want to help me finish dressing." There thankfully wasn't much left to do besides pick out accessories but he didn't need to know that. What could he possibly want to discuss right now anyway? Had he found out about her replacement wand? Surely reprimanding her could wait... She couldn't think of any other reason he might have sought her out, it wasn't as though she'd done anything outrageous lately, although that might change if he made her late.
RE: Not too far gone to care - Tiberius Lestrange - July 16, 2019
Tiberius ignored the quip about her lady's maid, and moved to lock the door after the servant left. "Whatever you're doing can wait," Tiberius said confidently. He had no idea what it was, since he disdained spending any amount of time trying to keep up with his wife's social calendar, but he was certain that his errand was more important than any social call could possibly be. "This is important."
He could hear the footsteps of the lady's maid heading away down the hallway. It was unlikely that anyone else would be close enough to eavesdrop, but he kept his voice a bit lower than usual just in case. "It's about your daughter," he said as he turned to face his wife again. He didn't specify which daughter, because as far as anyone else knew, they only had one left. Hopefully Antigone would realize what he was getting at.
RE: Not too far gone to care - Antigone Lestrange - July 16, 2019
As much as it irritated her that he had dismissed her plans as trivial, she couldn't help but to observe the way he had locked the door behind him. Was that to keep the staff out or her in? Her confusion dissipated when he mentioned their daughter, however. Now it seemed clear to her what this was about. Obviously one of them had died from something and the back up was now needed. Why he needed to drag her into it she couldn't say unless he just wanted to inconvenience her, but it shouldn't be long before this was cleared up and she was in India. Had she mentioned that part to him? That'd be awkward if she arrived at the event only to immediately drop dead.
"I thought she'd last at least a little bit longer but that's that I guess. Aren't you glad I talked you into keeping both? Now I don't have to change my plans and no one has to go into mourning." Was he making a big deal out of it because he thought she'd be upset or was there something else? "It didn't happen in front of the servants did it?" Tig was imagining a gruesome stair-related incident or something else sudden and unexpected. At least she didn't recall anyone telling her the child was ill.
"I thought she'd last at least a little bit longer but that's that I guess. Aren't you glad I talked you into keeping both? Now I don't have to change my plans and no one has to go into mourning." Was he making a big deal out of it because he thought she'd be upset or was there something else? "It didn't happen in front of the servants did it?" Tig was imagining a gruesome stair-related incident or something else sudden and unexpected. At least she didn't recall anyone telling her the child was ill.
RE: Not too far gone to care - Tiberius Lestrange - July 21, 2019
Although he had stated before that he thought it highly likely one of the two twins would die of natural causes, Tiberius hadn't regularly considered it as a possibility, and so Antigone's blase statement caught him off guard. It took him half a moment to catch her meaning at all, and by then he was hurrying to answer her without really having considered what he wanted to convey. As a result, his words seemed uncharacteristically scattered. "No — no — it's not that. It's not that at all. It's the nurse. For the other one," he explained. Antigone would surely know what he meant by the nurse for the other one.
"She decided to try and blackmail us. So I killed her," he stated quite matter-of-factly, as though there were no other options in such a situation. As far as he was concerned, there weren't; at least, none that he would have given any serious consideration to. "And the girl is, presumably, still there. Without a nurse."
Hopefully she was still there, and alone. Tiberius didn't think she would be permanently scared by being left alone for a few hours, but if the nurse had solicited someone to watch her while she was away — or worse, sent her to a friend or relative's house for safekeeping — then cleaning this mess up would take considerably longer.
RE: Not too far gone to care - Antigone Lestrange - July 21, 2019
Surprised that the first word out of his mouth was 'no', Tig turned completely around to face him, an eyebrow quirked in bemusement. His seemingly agitated tone didn't help either. It seemed her assumptions had been way off, although she at least hadn't been mistaken in thinking that someone had died.
When he finished speaking her confusion hadn't been fully alleviated. The word 'us' had stuck out at her although she couldn't quite say why it should sound strange, but chiefly she wasn't sure why he was telling her. Since when did he come to her with unresolved issues? Wasn't his style more to solve them in his own way and tell her about it later when and if it was necessary? He hadn't even told her what his progress was on procuring an heir, she supposed she'd eventually find out what was going on there when he suddenly needed her to pretend she was expecting.
He couldn't be after her help, could he? Unless she was very much mistaken he thought she was wandless, and it wasn't as though she had some gift with children that would make wrangling an errant toddler a piece of cake. It would be just like him to start including her when she had somewhere important to be. But maybe that wasn't what he was here for, maybe he only intended to tell her in the hopes she'd changed her mind about keeping both of them alive. Now that she thought about it, that seemed the more likely option which would mean she'd be able to attend her event after all. It suddenly didn't please her as much as it had a moment ago to think that she wouldn't be kept from going.
"That's unfortunate," she replied coolly. She was already preparing herself for... what? Disappointment? That made no sense. "What were you planning on doing about it?"
When he finished speaking her confusion hadn't been fully alleviated. The word 'us' had stuck out at her although she couldn't quite say why it should sound strange, but chiefly she wasn't sure why he was telling her. Since when did he come to her with unresolved issues? Wasn't his style more to solve them in his own way and tell her about it later when and if it was necessary? He hadn't even told her what his progress was on procuring an heir, she supposed she'd eventually find out what was going on there when he suddenly needed her to pretend she was expecting.
He couldn't be after her help, could he? Unless she was very much mistaken he thought she was wandless, and it wasn't as though she had some gift with children that would make wrangling an errant toddler a piece of cake. It would be just like him to start including her when she had somewhere important to be. But maybe that wasn't what he was here for, maybe he only intended to tell her in the hopes she'd changed her mind about keeping both of them alive. Now that she thought about it, that seemed the more likely option which would mean she'd be able to attend her event after all. It suddenly didn't please her as much as it had a moment ago to think that she wouldn't be kept from going.
"That's unfortunate," she replied coolly. She was already preparing herself for... what? Disappointment? That made no sense. "What were you planning on doing about it?"
RE: Not too far gone to care - Tiberius Lestrange - July 22, 2019
Her question wasn't unreasonable. There were a myriad of ways that he could solve the problem (and he was not bothered at all by her use of the word you; he did not doubt that he would be solving this problem without any assistance or aid from his wife). He could have found another nurse — though probably not on as short a notice as they would require, since the girl was supposedly lingering in a cottage uncared for as they spoke. He could send a house elf to look after her, he supposed. House elves were more or less incapable of blackmail, but there was the problem of finding one that could actually passably raise a child, which would be difficult. None of the ones current in the house would do.
Or there was another way to solve the problem. Tiberius didn't answer Antigone's question, but instead asked, "Which one do you want?"
RE: Not too far gone to care - Antigone Lestrange - July 22, 2019
And there it was. Tig's posture seemed almost to slump as her expression darkened slightly. "I highly doubt one has shown a superiority over the other yet." She didn't expect him to heed her this time, he'd probably go right ahead and kill one or perhaps even both. "Is that all you wanted to talk to me about, which one to keep? Do you even know which one is which?" Tig couldn't even claim to be able to tell her children apart, it really was a lot easier just rotating them seamlessly and using one name for both.
RE: Not too far gone to care - Tiberius Lestrange - August 3, 2019
To be quite honest, he didn't, but that was hardly the point. "You're meant to be the one with a preference," he retorted. "You're the one who argued for this arrangement in the first place. But now it's run its course," he said with a slightly flippant gesture that was somewhere between a shrug and a wave of dismissal, as if to say what do you want me to do about it? "So it's time to make a decision."
RE: Not too far gone to care - Antigone Lestrange - August 26, 2019
"I'll not have you blame me when it grows up to be a disappointment because I chose the wrong one!" she snapped, although she suspected he'd make the choice for her without issue which begged the question of why he was even asking her opinion. "Anyway, it'll all have been for nothing if you kill one prematurely, a complete waste of time and effort." Much like she this conversation, she thought. He was going to do as he pleased whatever she said, he didn't even seem to want to bring her along for it which was doubly insulting. "Can't we just find a replacement nurse? It can't be that difficult to find a new nurse and make sure she can't repeat the mistakes of the last one. Isn't that what the imperius curse is for?"
RE: Not too far gone to care - Tiberius Lestrange - September 2, 2019
"They're your daughters," he pointed out dryly. "You're their mother. If they disappoint, of course it will be your fault. Whichever one you choose." Children received some mix of traits from their parents, after all, and they weren't going to inherit any tendencies towards failure from him. If they were pulling their influence from the Lestrange side of the family, they'd end up like little miniatures of Tatiana. Anything negative would have to come through their maternal line. She would also necessarily play a slightly larger role in the upbringing of the surviving twin than he would. It wasn't as though they were going to learn proper feminine behaviour from watching his example.
"I'm not keeping someone under the imperius curse for the next — what, two years? Can you imagine how tiresome that would be?" he asked rhetorically. He wasn't sure Antigone had ever successfully placed someone under the imperius curse, so she wouldn't have much of a frame of reference. "If it was just a matter of paying someone, that would be one thing. But people can't be trusted, and magical methods would have... loopholes," he said with a vague shrug. He didn't want to give her any ideas about her own Unbreakable Vow, but both of them knew they were far from fool-proof.
RE: Not too far gone to care - Antigone Lestrange - September 3, 2019
Tig couldn't decide which got under skin more: being blamed for any potential failings in their offspring or simply being referred to as a mother. She might have progeny but the word 'mother' had a very unwelcome feel to it, especially when he said it. She supposed he made good points otherwise, irritatingly enough. "Well there must be some alternative," she replied, sounding somewhere between exasperated and verging on hostile. "You must see what a waste it'd be to get rid of one now, they'll be mildly interesting soon." Maybe. Probably not, but just maybe.
She suddenly had an idea which diffused her irritability at once. Tig smirked fiendishly. "When the time comes they should be reintroduced to one another. Imagine watching yourself die." If their children somehow ended up as well-adjusted, psychologically normal individuals the surviving one would probably be permanently scarred for life after that but so what if it made her function better as a daughter?
She suddenly had an idea which diffused her irritability at once. Tig smirked fiendishly. "When the time comes they should be reintroduced to one another. Imagine watching yourself die." If their children somehow ended up as well-adjusted, psychologically normal individuals the surviving one would probably be permanently scarred for life after that but so what if it made her function better as a daughter?
RE: Not too far gone to care - Tiberius Lestrange - September 3, 2019
Tiberius was planning to deflect her protestations the same way he had been doing throughout the conversation so far, but her last statement brought him up short. To say it was a surprise to hear something like that from her lips was an understatement.
He looked at her in silence, considering.
RE: Not too far gone to care - Antigone Lestrange - September 3, 2019
He wasn't saying anything. Granted she didn't know what sort of response she expected to hear from him but she had expected some sort of response be it dismissal or not. She stared back at him, the smirk fading from her lips. What was he thinking? Tig raised an eyebrow at him. She was trying not to give in to her sudden pressing impatience but it wasn't easy. Had she perhaps convinced him it was worth waiting to kill one off? She'd certainly convinced herself that, waiting until they were at least of an age where such an incident would have a satifying impact on the surviving one, was definitely worth it.
""
""
RE: Not too far gone to care - Tiberius Lestrange - September 3, 2019
Tiberius watched her expression. She wasn't saying anything. She wasn't trying to take it back or clarify it. At first he'd thought she'd said it simply for shock value, but that didn't seem to be the case. Her demeanor was cool.
"For what purpose?" he asked simply.
RE: Not too far gone to care - Antigone Lestrange - September 3, 2019
For what purpose?! Tig thought it had been obvious, did he really need it explaining or was he being obtuse for a reason? She decided to start with the answer he'd probably find more persuasive. "It'd be very educational, don't you think?" She let that sit for a moment before she continued. "And entertaining."