"Oh, your idea of me blown away, away
Something's telling me I never could have ruined everything you want in life
Because you never put in effort, and the truth is you were never doing it right"
— Here For Nothing - With Confidence
30 Song Challenge

March 16th, 1888— Lupin Household

Elsbeth had adored the idea of the Celtic Street Fair from the moment she'd heard of it. She'd spent the majority of the day there, experiencing everything that she could manage. She'd been passed over for the handfasting demonstration multiple times, which had been frustrating. She'd consumed several pints of ale, however, which was a welcome change from the firewhiskey she ususall drank. There had been so much energy, excitement and mischief in the air! With flushed cheeks and scents of Irish food clinging to her hair and clothes, she'd returned home just in time to change and dress for dinner. She'd over complimented her lady's maid's appearance, but thought nothing of it. Her blood was pumping and she felt alive, which was a rare feeling these days. It wasn't too much of a stretch to think it would encourage her to be a bit more exuberant about some things.

Sat at dinner with her husband now, her cheeks had returned to their normal hue. Her exuberance about life was renewed, which is likely what spurred her on to ask genuinely, "How was your day, husband?" It was likely that he had spent it drinking, gambling or partaking in other debaucheries that she preferred not to think about aside from business. (Not that her spending the day freely drinking and partaking in Celtic festivities to be above reproach either.)

  

Leon had spent the week in Aberdeen attending to  business, though dutifully returned to Hogsmeade on Friday for dinner and to spend the weekend at "home". Honestly he surprised himself by how easy it was to appear as a good husband. Then again when the majority of business took place out of town it was easy to mix in a little pleasure behind the scenes as well. Not that Elsbeth would have a leg to stand on if anything became public or she suddenly cared about his shenanigans, he was discreet when he needed to be.

Exhausted upon apparating to the Hogsmeade estate, Leon had every intention of heading straight to bed, but truthfully he was famished and apparently dinner was only a few minutes away. At least it was likely that he could eat quickly and see Leo all at once. Not that seeing his son was much of an imposition really, but usually it meant that Elsbeth wasn't far behind and there it was, as soon as he took his seat at the head of the table.

"As expected, I would say." He answered nonchalantly, taking a sip of the thankfully full wine glass stationed at his seat. "Will Leo be joining us?" Honestly Leon forgot if the tyke was even old enough to join them at the table, but he supposed it would behoove him to start learning some manners sooner or later. Not that his nanny was slacking, Leon had taken great care in choosing a nanny that was going to hopefully instill morals into his son that Elsbeth (and frankly Leon himself) lacked. He wasn't sure how that was going however, so he should check in at some point. "And your own?" Not that Leon was all that interested, but he figured it wouldn't kill him. Probably.

---

  

---

“Like ships in a squall,
we rise and we fall.”

deep quote code by Soph ♥

"No," She pursed her lips with a degree of concern, "He's barely four. He can't even hold a fork properly." There were many things Leo needed to accomplish before he could be expected to join them at the dinner table. He had yet to earn the right to join Elsbeth for luncheon at 10 o'clock (if she was even awake at that time.) Though Elsbeth enjoyed seeing him, the hour she spent visiting him in the nursery a day was plenty of time with him. He grew bored and naughty after that. It was behavior that Elsbeth hadn't the patience or wit to deal with.

"My day was enjoyable, actually," She smiled over her wine glass, "I spent it down at the Celtic Festival celebration. You should see it, you'd enjoy it." Elsbeth hadn't planned to tell him where she'd been all day, rather dedicated to playing the role of doting housewife, but didn't think Leon would care overly much. Though their marriage was solely one for convenience, he at least gave her more freedom than a typical upper class husband might. It was difficult to believe that Headmaster Black would give Mrs. Black such liberties.

  

Leon rolled his eyes so hard that if there were an accompanying sound it would have been jarring. Though not extremely well-versed in parenting, he still thought he had a better grasp on it than Elsbeth. At least he had the sense to hire someone with the know-how anyway. So he simply nodded in response and chose to ignore her comment for the most part.

"Glad to hear it." At least she was occupied. A bored Elsbeth was never a good thing in his book. It usually meant trouble of some kind. "I'm sure it was entertaining." Leon had a specific idea of what kinds of things he enjoyed and while he enjoyed socializing, he wasn't entirely sure what was essentially a street party, was not really his cup of tea.

Thankfully he was spared saying anything else as dinner was served and he took a moment to tuck in, trying not to let on as to how hungry he actually was. Savoring the roast, he washed it down with his wine and leaned back between bites. "I'll have to stop in to see Leo before I retire." Honestly he preferred the tyke's company to his wife's.

---

  

---

“Like ships in a squall,
we rise and we fall.”

deep quote code by Soph ♥

"Of course," Her brows knit together in befuddlement, "I don't entirely understand your need to do so, but I find it endearing." Where had that come from? She never spoke like that to anyone, especially her husband! Had she really just told him she found him (gulp) endearing?! Perhaps she'd had too much alcohol. She should give up alcohol altogether if this was what was going to happen. It may have been difficult for some to believe (August, particularly), but Elsbeth did have a filter, weak as it was. If that filter was entirely gone...

In an effort to avoid the perturbed look Leon was undoubtedly sending her way, she finished off the wine in her glass. The staff was well trained and she hadn't even had a need to request a refill before someone had flicked their wrist and magically poured for her.

  

Leon nearly dropped his wine when she called him endearing.

The confusion was clear on his dark features as he leaned forward ever so slightly, as if he hadn't heard her, but really, he  was flabbergasted as hell. "Did you just call me endearing? Because I keep up pretenses about our son?" He asked because he really wanted to make sure he wasn't hallucinating. The staff knew all of their drama anyway, it must have been one hell of a gossip ring around the house, but Leon made damn sure it stayed in the house.

Besides, the tyke was better company than Elsbeth most days, even if he was a bit of a terror. Leon would mold that out of him eventually, once he grew up a bit. Unless Elsbeth went and opened her big mouth, Leo didn't need to know that Leon was not biologically his father, it wasn't as if the sperm donor was going to show up and ask for lineage. Saved Leon from having to actually provide an heir and frankly, the kid had grown on him. Leon was lacking in morals sure, but he wasn't a completely waste of space.

---

  

---

“Like ships in a squall,
we rise and we fall.”

deep quote code by Soph ♥

Rather than respond straight away, she lifted her wine glass and drank until it was empty. Again without delay, the glass was refilled. Wine glasses that refilled themselves would have been a great magical invention. Perhaps she should look into having someone make that. It would save the household some money not having to employ a servant for it...

The pregnant silence had gone on for too long. She would deny it. That was the plan. She'd say he misheard. Elsbeth attempted to arrange her face in an annoyed look, but instead oddly found herself nodding sheepishly and... was she blushing?! Oh for fuck's sake!

"I did, but I don't think it's pretenses. Maybe it was at the beginning, but not now. I think you do care about him."

WHAT?! WAS?! HAPPENING?!

  

Leon had to purposefully set down his glass and fold his hands in front of him. What in the name of Merlin's beard was she going on about? She wasn't wrong but  when the hell had she gotten so observant? It was eerie actually! He was going to have to start shaking things up.

"Why do you care again?" He asked calmly, though he was honestly curious. As far as Elsbeth should have been concerned he was a god-damn godsend for scooping her up out of actual ruin and letting her continue to run around as she pleased, or well, at least in the background of their otherwise relatively "normal" marriage.

---

  

---

“Like ships in a squall,
we rise and we fall.”

deep quote code by Soph ♥

"He's our son. I care about everything that has to do with him," She blinked, surprised that she needed to even explain it. Belatedly, she realized that she'd called him 'theirs' instead of 'hers.' That was a first. Did she really think of Leon as Leo's actual father? Yes, she supposed so. He was better than whomever his biological one was, surely. Leo never needed to find out the truth, so she might as well accept it as her own. That was all it was. Right?

In an attempt to ignore the thoughts that pressed at her, she lifted her glass again - this being her third full glass - but was unable to get the liquid into her mouth before it blurted out an entirely unnecessary and humiliating, "I also care about you and I enjoy it when you're around." SADFPASDIJAW9E8IFO;SD!!! Stop! Stop it right now! She would drown herself in this wine right now before she could admit to anything else! Elsbeth attempted to do so, eyes squeezed shut as she drank so that she couldn't see his reaction. If she could sink beneath the table and just crawl out of the room to save face, she would.

  

Leon tried to mask his surprise, but did a poor job of keeping the expression from his face. He had  never, ever, been under the impression that Elsbeth actually harbored any affection toward him. The situation maybe, as it afforded her quite a few perks, but honestly he couldn't say he gave much thought her outside of when he was confronted with her at dinner like this. He had been under the impression it was they appear outwardly to be a typical married couple if anything about Elsbeth could be considered "typical") and then behind the scenes they went their own separate ways. As long as they were discreet in their extramarital adventures, it worked out perfectly.

He opened his mouth to say something and found himself at a loss for words. That was highly uncommon for him. Leon always had a quip of some kind on the tip of his tongue. "Are you drunk? High? Where is this coming from?" He leaned back into his chair so as to exude an air of nonchalance. In truth he didn't care all that much if she was developing some kind of strange affection for him, but it could potentially be problematic, so he best have all the information he could get.  

---

  

---

“Like ships in a squall,
we rise and we fall.”

deep quote code by Soph ♥

Maybe she could just skip dinner all together and make a dash to her room. She'd humiliated herself as it was - revealing feelings that she'd only recently realized that she'd been harboring. She hadn't even managed to come to terms with them yet. Deny, deny, deny and ignore until they go away. That wasn't going to happen now that she'd mysteriously blurted it out. She most definitely did not want to have feelings for him. He undoubtedly held none whatsoever for her, so she had now set herself up for the sting of rejection. Lovely.

"I wish I were drunk!" She studied a spot on the tablecloth, "I can't seem to stop saying things that are ridiculous," Her cheeks burned hotly, "But true. It's awful. Even the wine won't stop it from spilling out." Stop gushing before you say anything else stupid! "This is horrifying. Let's just pretend it never happened?" Elsbeth forced herself to meet his gaze then, her face likely the same shade of magenta as her dress, "We'll pretend you don't know that I love you and everything will be fine."

  

Well if he hadn't been surprised yet, he sure as hell was now!

Leon blinked a few times, trying to process the words coming out of her mouth, but failed to really hear much of her explanation. "What?!" He spat out at her last sentence. "You've got to be kidding, this is some elaborate prank. You don't love me, that's ridiculous." The laugh that followed wasn't meant to be cruel, he was honestly amused. There was something oddly laughable about her just spewing out her apparent love for him.

He didn't do love. He did lust and he did it well, but not love. That was messy and unnecessary and it ruined a pretty good, functioning, agreement.

---

  

---

“Like ships in a squall,
we rise and we fall.”

deep quote code by Soph ♥

Ouch. She hadn't known what she was expecting, really. Well... that wasn't entirely true. With this honest streak she seemed to not be able to control and was single-handedly ruining her life with, she had expected a reaction exactly like this. She knew he wasn't in love with her, but a small part of her had hoped that he'd have handled it differently. Instead, he'd laughed at her, just as he'd laughed at her that one time she'd tried to seduce him years ago.

She was unable to hide her wince, "Yes, it's ridiculous." That at least they could agree with. "As I said, I can't lie to you at the moment, and to avoid drinking myself to death, I think I'll retire early. Leo needs his mother." Elsbeth didn't know much about magic, but she was confident that she'd been cursed by someone with a sick sense of irony. What if this development was permanent? She'd never be able to lie again. Her entire life would be in shambles - her secrets spilled out everywhere for all to see. That... or she could cut her tongue out. Awful as it was, it may have been her only option.

  

Whoops, perhaps that hadn't been nice. She looked almost distraught, which was almost as unnerving as her confessions. The honesty was coming out of nowhere, but he supposed since she was being so, he could be too. "Oh come now. I don't mean anything by it." He waved it off, his half-apology, half-hearted at best. Leon really did think it was ridiculous, but he wasn't completely an ass (sometimes), he hadn't meant to upset her.

"We have a pretty decent arrangement," To say it was truthfully a marriage was a stretch, but it had been working. "Feelings and emotions, they just complicate things; they're messy." Leon was trying to be reasonable without being a twat about it. "Why mess with a reasonably good thing?"

---

  

---

“Like ships in a squall,
we rise and we fall.”

deep quote code by Soph ♥

She wished he'd have just let her go and stew alone in her humiliation. It would have been far better than her heart giving a pitiful little flutter at his willingness to smooth things over. He at least cared for her feelings somewhat — or perhaps only about appeasing her so that their arrangement could continue without issue from her. If he hadn't, he wouldn't have said anything and would have let her go.

"Look, I'm not wanting to change the arrangement - I expect nothing from you, I hadn't even planned to tell you. Ever. But I must be cursed or something now - I've been slapped in the face with the bald truth," She admitted as stoically as she was able, "I've no notions of returned feelings or romance on your end. Honestly, I wouldn't even know what to do with that nonsense. I just..." Elsbeth sighed and leaned back in her chair in defeat, "I'm in love with you, you bloody bastard, and I've been since the start... and now I've gone and ruined everything."

  

Frankly Leon would have been better off not know all of this, but if she had been cursed like she said she had, he supposed this wasn't all her fault. He knew she was not at all knowledgeable about magic in general, but he wouldn't be surprised if something had influenced her sudden honesty; it was entirely out of character for her.

He was relieved to hear she had no expectations of him, because he certainly wasn't sure what to do at the moment, nor how to handle this in the long run. Perhaps he needed to chat with August about it...

"Well," He started, unsure of how to proceed. "Let's just forget it happened and move on then." Maybe that would work? He could certainly do that, but right about now he wasn't sure what Elsbeth would be able to handle. She had said as much just a few moments ago, so maybe it would be the best course of action for the moment.

---

  

---

“Like ships in a squall,
we rise and we fall.”

deep quote code by Soph ♥