January 22nd, 1891 — Bartonburg Streets

Ford could not have thought of a less enjoyable way to spend the evening. If the situation with his family hadn't been what it was, he mightn't have accepted the invitation at all. He barely knew the host, who had been a coworker of their father's, and he suspected the invitation was issued more out of pity for the fact that they'd only just exited mourning than any real desire for either his or his sister's company. The guest list was filled out with people Ford had only a passing acquaintance with, which was good in theory because it gave them the chance to expand their social circle. In practice, Ford had found that Verity was the only person who had anything interesting to say the entire evening (at least in his opinion), and the only one he would have enjoyed talking to — but of course, attending a dinner party and conversing with your own sister entirely defeated the purpose of having attended the dinner party in the first place.

Still, he'd been relieved when the table had finally been cleared, and had endured the obligatory drink with the gentlemen while the ladies all went to do... whatever it was ladies did immediately after a dinner party; he still wasn't entirely sure. After the group had converged again he'd suffered through one more drink before someone else had made their excuses and paid their farewells, which Ford took as his signal that it was safe for Verity and he to do so as well without appearing rude. The moment they passed from the door to the cool January air of the street, he felt as though his shoulders were several pounds lighter.

"Well, are you sick of society yet?" he teased Verity as he offered her his arm.

@"Verity Greengrass" Melody Crouch

  

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Set by Lady!

Verity was drawn to the glamour of balls like a moth to the flame. Any party involving music and dancing was easily noted as the highlight of her week (and, during the quiet of winter, the highlights of her month). There was a certain anonymity with balls, what with their opportunities for stolen glances, whispered words, and brief grazing of fingers. Now, she wasn't at all naive enough to believe these acts to be declarations of love. There was no romance in a ball for the fresh debutante, but how else was one to entice a man without those acts? How else was she to know of his intentions? Boring small talk conversations certainly held little promise.

Which, unfortunately, was all there was to be had at dinner parties.

The evening had dragged on at a turtle's pace. Each course took hours longer than the last and as the attendees grew full their topics of conversations became duller. Truth be told, she would have chosen to be the first to leave had Ford approached her first, their reputation be damned. Nothing was to be achieved at such a listless party.

"I'm sick of boring dinner parties, for certain." Verity responded with a roll of her eyes. Once the door to their carriage closed she continued on almost incredulously. "I'll not host a single evening as dreadful as that once I'm married. I mean, really, what a terrible evening. Next time you'll have to drag Grace out instead."

  

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set by mj

"Grace isn't out," he reminded her, which was an excellent reason not to bring her to dinner parties. The fact that Grace could also not make small talk to save her life was another excellent reason, but one Ford preferred not to talk about.

Hearing Verity talk about when I'm married was strange. He knew it was imminent (or, at least, hoped so) but that didn't mean he'd really gotten used to the idea that she might, within the course of a year, move out of their shared home, change her name, and start an entirely new life. On the other hand, once she'd finished a honeymoon and could host things herself, it would make it all the easier to get Grace or Clementine out into society.

"And what if your husband hates dancing, and only wants to throw boring dinner parties?" he teased lightly.

  

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Set by Lady!

Verity despised being reminded that Grace hadn't yet debuted into society. Not only would she have a glamorous first season, but she would also get to enjoy her own personal coming out ball — something Verity was never afforded. Sure, she led the ball for the Hogwart's debut, but she was immediately shut away after. How was that fair? Why did Grace not have to suffer at least a year of waiting while Verity got to be the center of attention? (Verity had an inkling as to why, but not enough proof yet to question her brother.) "More's the pity," she huffed.

Come summer, Grace could accompany Ford to the boring parties and socially ruin herself. Then perhaps Verity would be given ample room to shine.

"Do you truly believe I would agree to marry a man who refused to host lavish parties at least once a month?" She returned the question, truly shocked that Ford would think she would marry someone so ... uninteresting. "I've spent nearly two years stuck in a parlor. I'll not spend the rest of my life sitting around a table discussing the boring monotony of day to day living."

  

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set by mj

The way she phrased that, two years of my life stuck in a parlor, was not factually inaccurate, but it rubbed him the wrong way all the same. It was only natural that she might feel a little resentment over her loss of a first season, he supposed — and in hindsight, knowing what he knew now of their financial situation, he thought it really would have been best if she had been out, making the most of things, during those first few months even if she hadn't been able to have all the latest fashions. But to bundle all the time together so crassly when they had spent one of those years mourning their dead father was... a bit much. Their father may have had his faults (his lack of sound financial judgement certainly being one of them), but Ford still loved and respected the man. From time to time, he still missed him.

"Two years ago today, you were in Hogwarts, so that's a bit of an exaggeration," he pointed out. "But I take your point. We'll skip the next invitation we get from them. Maybe turning down invitations will make us seem as though we're wildly popular," he joked lightly. "Too busy for dinner parties, hm?"

  

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Set by Lady!

In truth, Verity never dwelled upon her father's death outside of how it effected her future. And, in the fleeting moments where his absence was easily noticed, she felt nothing but fiery anger. Anger that he wasn't there, anger that they had to make so many changes to their lifestyle, anger that she could no longer enjoy basic conversations with her brother. Even now, as she sat across from Ford pondering their year of mourning, she felt nothing but resentment towards the man she once loved more than anyone else in the world.

"Or that we're snobs, and we most certainly cannot risk that. I fear until Grace debuts we'll have to suffer together." She replied with a sigh. "We'll send Noble with Grace, though. Let them have a taste of the dreary society life."

  

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set by mj

Verity was right; they couldn't afford to turn down invitations unless they really did have conflicting plans, and Ford was not particularly optimistic about being able to hand the tedious events off anytime soon. "Noble wouldn't be caught dead here," he said with a shake of his head, though he was still smiling. "Even if he agreed to take her, he'd disappear into his workshop an hour before it began and not come out until the event was over."

Not that Ford could really blame him; if he'd had the choice between working at something he was passionate about or going to dull dinner parties, he knew what he would have chosen. Besides, this wasn't really Noble's job, the way that it had become Ford's. He was already doing more than he could have been reasonably expected to do, and Ford didn't particularly want to see him burnt out before they got even one of the three girls married — so he was hardly going to force him to handle the more tedious of the events on their social calendar.

  

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Set by Lady!

Noble was just as responsible for her and Grace's marriage, Verity felt. If the situation was as dire as she expected it to be (why else skimp on new dresses and sell their home?) then he had to play his part, too. Even if that part was dreadful and brain numbing. Verity and Ford could hardly be expected to attend every dinner party on their own, after all.

"He does have a way of doing that, doesn't he?" She commented with a shake of her head. Verity was grateful to at least still have her own bedroom. Having to share with Grace would've been a nightmare. "Have you ever been allowed inside?" Verity tried to peek in once but found the door locked.

  

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set by mj

Ford laughed at her question. "It's a workshop, Ver, not a dungeon." Noble may not have been inviting them in for tea, or anything, but it wasn't as though he had a padlock and heavy chains strung across the door, either. Ford wouldn't have gone in without his brother's company — he was quite well aware that the family living there was already an unexpected imposition for Noble, and was inclined to protect his privacy within the house however he could — but he had seen it occasionally.

"It's not very exciting. Shelves and cupboards and lots of labels with very small print," he said with a shrug.

  

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Set by Lady!

She shrugged. A workshop or a dungeon, either way he didn't have to be so possessive of it. In a family of five there were fully private areas. "I rather enjoyed potions. You would think he would be more keen to share." She could brew all sorts of beauty potions with the supplies Noble had amassed.

The carriage pulled to a stop outside their home. "You'll relay the night's events to Mama if she's awake?" Verity asked, though it really wasn't a question at all. "I think I'll turn in."

  

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set by mj

Ford might have had a witty response to that, particularly as Verity was not known to be the best at sharing things herself, but was saved from the possibility of saying something she might not like by their arrival at home.

"Of course," he said, though was by no means relishing it. Hopefully Mama had already gone to sleep. "Night, Ver."

  

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Set by Lady!