February 2nd, 1892 — Morning — Dempsey Estate

Oz woke at eight-thirty that morning, and immediately knew something was wrong. He never set an alarm when Sina had the night shift, because she seldom failed to invade his room to wake him up. She'd perch on the foot of his bed and deliver catty comments while he rubbed the sleep from his eyes and pretended to be annoyed with her, or she'd throw a pillow at his head, or she'd slide into the bed besides him and claim she was only there because her own room was freezing, and curse him for not bothering to tell the servants to keep a fire lit for her. In any case, he only ever slept in when she was actually annoyed at him, so that was his assumption when he woke later than usual that morning. He didn't know what he'd done, but intended to go find out. If they were having a real fight, he was nearly physically incapable of letting it rest; he'd pursue it until she either exploded on him or forgave him (or both).

Only she wasn't in her bedroom, and it didn't look like she had been there recently either. He was bemused by this, but undeterred in his quest to find her. He did have to stop long enough to actually get dressed, though — if he found her out wandering the surrounding hills he would be sure she acknowledged what an inconvenience it was for him to have to get dressed without knowing what it was she wanted. He poked around the rest of the house, without finding any sign of her, and he might have continued on outside if he hadn't spotted her cloak in the hallway. She wore a different one when going to and from work, and it wasn't there — so if she'd gone storming around the countryside to work off whatever she was angry at him about, she must have done it without having changed out of her healer's robes first. That seemed out of character for her — after a night shift she was usually eager to get out of her robes and into bed.

He was starting to have a bad feeling about this. Rather than wandering the grounds aimlessly in search of her, he decided to go on a fact-finding mission, starting with the breakfast table. "Has my wife decided to grace any of you with her presence this morning?" he asked as he entered, with clear sarcasm in his tone.

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Invitational: Porphyria Dempsey Don Juan Dempsey @"Christabel Dempsey" Lycoris Dempsey, or anyone else who could feasibly have been at the house for breakfast. No post order if multiple people join <3

  

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MJ is the light of my life <3

As a single woman she was expected down stairs promptly each morning to have breakfast with the men - only her mother and Thomasina got to stay in bed with a tray. Their father had grabbed some toast, read his letters and then absoconeded with the paper, retreating to his study. Belle was idly chewing a piece of toast with her coffee and flipping through her few letters.

'No' she said flatly, clearly unsure as to why there was even a question, 'Was she expected to join us?' Belle asked aloud to her brother but she also looked to one of the footmen who shook his head, indicating that there was no information in the servants hall that anything was different this morning to the arrangements for any other.

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I am my mother's savage daughter, The one who runs barefoot cursing sharp stones

I am my mother's savage daughter, I will not cut my hair, I will not lower my voice
MJ made glory

“Didn’t you hear? She’s moved into Don Juan’s room,” Phyri added idly, more interested in the words she was busy scribbling down the margins of yesterday’s Prophet she’d brought down with her than their eldest brother’s proclamation or Christabel’s question.

And it sounded like their brother had only come down to make a scene – he and Thomasina had a certain talent for making ugly scenes – but as a matter of fact, Porphyria had not seen her anywhere this morning either, so if he wanted to, it would be wasted on the rest of them.

And his wife clearly wasn’t sitting at the breakfast table with them all, but presumably Ozy had enough of a brain to notice that for himself, eventually. Unconcerned, Phyri scratched her nose thoughtfully with her quill.

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   Ozymandias Dempsey

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a sublime set by Lady! <3

If there had been something within easy reach to throw at Porphyria's head in response to that comment he might have, but the only thing nearby was a candlestick, and he didn't want to do any actual damage over a snide remark. "You've got ink on your nose," he said instead. He might have looked her over in search of something else to snark at her over, but Thomasina's absence was a much more pressing matter at the moment.

"She's not in her room," he explained to Christabel, who had at least had the decency to answer his question even if her answer wasn't helpful. "And her cloak isn't in the closet. She ought to have been home an hour ago."

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   Porphyria Dempsey

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MJ is the light of my life <3

Christabel snorted into her coffee, choking on the mouthful of hot liquid she had already started to drink when her sister quipped. She quickly recovered from the nose full of hot liquid, and tittered softly behind her teacup for a moment, finally managing a mouthful of the strong black coffee, brow furrowing when her brother confirmed that his wife was missing.

It was perhaps telling that her first thought was that her sister in law had left - finally absconding from the marriage that didnt seem to make her or her brother particularly happy. Although it didn't seem appropriate to voice that at this moment when her brother seemed to be expressing what was almost concern for the woman to whom he had pledged his troth.

'Worth fluing the hospital? Perhaps there has been some disaster that has kept her there' she suggested, picking another piece of cold toast from the rack.

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   Ozymandias Dempsey, Porphyria Dempsey

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I am my mother's savage daughter, The one who runs barefoot cursing sharp stones

I am my mother's savage daughter, I will not cut my hair, I will not lower my voice
MJ made glory

Porphyria wrinkled her nose defiantly and absently-mindedly speared a piece of bacon for her plate. She was pleased Christabel saw the humour in it, though didn’t really see why she was even bothering to humour him with seriousness: everyone knew their brothers, as a set, were not to be indulged with any solemn attention unless there was some dire necessity.

She was listening along enough, however, to hear her sister’s suggestion, and enough to wonder why Oz was even asking – but, no matter how hard she did, she could not find the slightest issue with the situation. “Some disaster, like her marriage,” Phyri put in under her breath, but then glanced up at her brother properly, eyes narrowing. “Well, Merlin forbid she spends a whole unaccounted hour out of her husband’s company, whatever will she do without you?” she intoned, sardonic, before going back to her bacon-and-verse. “Maybe she’s fled the country.”

It would be the reasonable thing to do, probably.

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The following 3 users Like Porphyria Dempsey's post:3 users Like Porphyria Dempsey's post
   Christabel Daphnel, Marlena Scamander, Ozymandias Dempsey

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a sublime set by Lady! <3

In the space between Porphyria's first comment and her second one Ozymandias had wandered from the doorway towards the breakfast table, so this time he actually did follow through on throwing something at her head: the nearest folded napkin. Not the most aerodynamic projectile, but he assumed the attempt made his point well enough regardless.

"Was there anything in the paper?" he asked, towards Christabel. Porphyria had made it clear that she intended to be unhelpful, so there was no point asking her, and Christa was likely more interested in the news that Phyr was anyway. "If it was enough of a catastrophe to merit her staying a whole hour late, it would have been news. Though I suppose perhaps too late-breaking to make print," he mused. He leaned one arm on the back of an empty chair and frowned in the direction of the windows. "If I have to trudge all the way to the hospital to find her and she's not covered in blood I'll be annoyed. She could have at least written."

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MJ is the light of my life <3

Belle didn't add anything to her sisters voicing the thought that was at the forefront of her own mind, but she did look at Porphyria through her lashes. She hadn't been able to say it but was rather pleased that her more abrupt sister had. She would be surprised if the thought had not occurred to Ozzy.

Belle set down the toast, and flicked the paper over so she could take him in entirely. She shook her head, 'Nothing even remotely noteworthy' she remarked and flicked the paper towards him, incase he wanted to check for himself. 'Although it would have gone to print before 1am' she wasn't sure what shift her sister in law was meant to be working, so it was possible that the paper had printed before the incident had occured. It seemed a long shot however, especially given the fact that Sina hadn't made any communication, not even a quick owl or flu to let her ladies maid know that breakfast plans would be changed.

As her brother spoke, Chris could feel her mouth dropping open, 'My goodness, are you really worried Oz?' It was as much statement as question, but she found herself rising from the seat and almost on auto pilot pouring him a cup of tea. A useless gesture he was unlikely to be interested in but offering tea to someone in distress was almost as automatic as saying 'bless you' following a sneeze. 'You know I'm sure there is nothing the matter'

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I am my mother's savage daughter, The one who runs barefoot cursing sharp stones

I am my mother's savage daughter, I will not cut my hair, I will not lower my voice
MJ made glory

"I'm not worried," he snapped immediately. And he wasn't, mostly. It was unlike her to be this late returning from a night shift, but there were still dozens of reasons that might explain her absence. "I'm annoyed that she didn't tell anyone she wasn't going to be home." By anyone of course he meant himself, but that was too telling. If he failed to specify, maybe his sisters would think he was irate about the inconvenience caused to the servants for making up her room and delivering breakfast. It would have been out of character for him to devote any particular care to the servants' lives — they did get paid for this, after all — but not particularly strange for him to find something innocuous to use as fodder to fight with Sina. In fact, if she'd walked in the door this minute he probably would squabble with her about the inconvenience to the servants, so.

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MJ is the light of my life <3

Unconvinced, Belle finished pouring the amber liquid into the china cup and slid it to the end of the table before returning to her seat and her own cup. Taking a drink of her own drink - which was coffee rather than tea, strong and black. She swallowed and returned the cup to it's saucer.

'Perhaps she can't let you know Oz,' she said referring still to Sina working at the hospital, but perhaps realised it could be taken to refer to lots of scenarios - some of them more sinister than others. 'But perhaps going to check at the hospital might be a good idea. - to settle the matter.'

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   Ozymandias Dempsey

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I am my mother's savage daughter, The one who runs barefoot cursing sharp stones

I am my mother's savage daughter, I will not cut my hair, I will not lower my voice
MJ made glory

The napkin thrown at her face was enough to quiet Porphyria for a little while, so she huffed and she let Christabel get on with it. For all her sister could often be irksome in her own way too, something had to be said about her impressive patience for unravelling a mystery, even one quite so ridiculous as this.

(Casually pouring Ozy a tea as if he were a swooning matron having a morning fit of hysteria nearly did make her cackle, too.)

But Phyri was apparently still listening more intently than she had planned to, because before long she was piping up again. “Yes, and they can transfer you to the asylum while you’re there,” she added airily – less in explicit pursuit of annoying her brother this time, and more because she was beginning to think he might need to be checked out, medically. “Did you and she have something terribly important planned today, or do you just have nothing better to do?” (Than obsessively stalking your wife’s every moment out of spite, she didn’t say.)

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   Ozymandias Dempsey

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a sublime set by Lady! <3

The most obnoxious thing about Porphyria's question was that he had no answer for it. He hadn't had particular plans today that involved his wife (it would have been foolish to plan anything after a night shift; she would have been too tired to really enjoy it if he'd deprived her of her sleep) and he didn't want to bother inventing any. On the other hand, he took his sister's point — if he had no plans with his wife, it was rather neurotic to be so preoccupied with where she was and whether she was late coming home.

He glanced down at the teacup that Christa had pushed in his direction. They definitely thought he was being neurotic; Phyri's barb about the asylum had a seed of genuine sentiment in it. Oz scowled.

"Thank you both for being such an enormous help," he bit off, then stormed out of the room.

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MJ is the light of my life <3

Christabel pursed her lips as her brother flounced from the room rather dramatically - as one of the families non-writers he had a shocking flair for the dramatic - he ought to consider a career as a playwrite. 'Ought we worry?' she asked her sister, her brows knit and her eyes fixed on the now closed door to out of the dining room, dutiful shut by the footmen to make good the Dempsey heirs dramatic exeunt.

'He's a touch hysterical - but she hasn't come home and hasn't even dramatically screamed her threat of divorce at him' as she said it she realised that perhaps her brother and his wife might be rather well suited - even if only in their sense of drama.

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I am my mother's savage daughter, The one who runs barefoot cursing sharp stones

I am my mother's savage daughter, I will not cut my hair, I will not lower my voice
MJ made glory

Phyri shrugged at Bel’s question, and shook her head soberly, following her sister’s gaze to the door. Their brother could throw all the fits and tantrums he liked, but he could not have it every way – loathing his wife and then missing her when she was not there, let alone shoving either or both of those problems down everyone else’s throats. He might as well go mad pacing around his own room, and let the rest of them enjoy their mornings.

She nibbled another piece of bacon, to that effect, before returning her gaze to her sister. “She’s more than capable,” Phyri argued, of Thomasina. (If something was wrong, she could probably look after herself – no doubt better than her husband could, at least.) “Ozy’s just –” she waved her quill in a dramatic spiralling motion, in some illustration of unravelling, and decided she had wasted quite enough breath on this catastrophe drummed up out of nothing.

Well, maybe one breath more. “Men,” Phyri pronounced, with a last roll of her eyes.

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a sublime set by Lady! <3

Porphyria made a good point of course - the former Miss Pomphrey had proven more than capable of going toe to toe with Oz, there was no reason to think that she had been waylaid at all, and by anything other than by her own steam. She smiled at her sisters impression.

'He'd best be careful' Bel remarked, taking a sip of her coffee and retrieving the paper from where she had tossed it for Ozy's perusal. 'With dramatics like this at breakfast, people will begin to think he is French.' She opened the paper and went back to a rather interesting article on Scottish Universities Commissioners ordinance authorising the provision for the education and graduation of women for the first time.

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wrap?

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   Ozymandias Dempsey, Porphyria Dempsey

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I am my mother's savage daughter, The one who runs barefoot cursing sharp stones

I am my mother's savage daughter, I will not cut my hair, I will not lower my voice
MJ made glory