January 1st, 1893 — Afternoon — Malfoy Residence, Wellingtonshire
It had been hours since Melody had broken the news to him, but Ben didn't feel like it had caught up to him yet. He hadn't had an emotional reaction to the fact that she'd been in bed with someone else, but it wasn't as though he didn't care. At some point it would hit him and he'd be — angry, betrayed, depressed, something — but it hadn't happened yet. When he'd internally admonished himself to try and handle the situation like Aldous would have, he'd been expecting that he'd hear something that would make him want to punch someone and he'd have to talk himself down. He hadn't expected to spend so much time feeling like this was happening to someone else.
In Ben's mind this was happening to Nora. It was something Melody had done (willingly or not) to their daughter, and he was only concerned with managing — minimizing — the fallout for her. Someone had to be thinking about her, because whatever Ben and Melody had done to each other, however fraught their marriage had been, Nora had never deserved this. She deserved better than both of them.
He'd flooed over directly after he received Nova's return letter confirming that he would be welcomed. Before he left, he'd pulled the nurse aside and asked her to alert him immediately if Melody took their daughter out of the house. He didn't think she would really do something so drastic as trying to take their daughter somewhere else, but — he had not expected her to leave the party last night with another man, and Melody had always been unpredictable when she felt trapped. If she heard him leave and anticipated the worst... it wasn't impossible that she would do something rash.
He took a seat in November's sitting room when invited, but he was too tense to actually sit; he looked more as though he was waiting to spring. It wasn't until the door was firmly shut and the two of them were fully alone that he unspooled all at once: a long exhale, a droop of his shoulders, his eyes sinking to the floor, a gentle shake of his head accompanied by a deep frown. "I don't even know where to start."
In Ben's mind this was happening to Nora. It was something Melody had done (willingly or not) to their daughter, and he was only concerned with managing — minimizing — the fallout for her. Someone had to be thinking about her, because whatever Ben and Melody had done to each other, however fraught their marriage had been, Nora had never deserved this. She deserved better than both of them.
He'd flooed over directly after he received Nova's return letter confirming that he would be welcomed. Before he left, he'd pulled the nurse aside and asked her to alert him immediately if Melody took their daughter out of the house. He didn't think she would really do something so drastic as trying to take their daughter somewhere else, but — he had not expected her to leave the party last night with another man, and Melody had always been unpredictable when she felt trapped. If she heard him leave and anticipated the worst... it wasn't impossible that she would do something rash.
He took a seat in November's sitting room when invited, but he was too tense to actually sit; he looked more as though he was waiting to spring. It wasn't until the door was firmly shut and the two of them were fully alone that he unspooled all at once: a long exhale, a droop of his shoulders, his eyes sinking to the floor, a gentle shake of his head accompanied by a deep frown. "I don't even know where to start."
MJ made this <3