Domitian had hardly expected his words to be met with raucous enthusiasm, so he was not surprised by her reaction. He settled back in his chair, abandoning his tea on the table for the moment. He rested the tips of his fingers lightly against his lips as he watched his sister, waiting for his words to fully sink in. He would not insult her intelligence by laying out all of the evidence to support his assertion, unless she insisted on pretending ignorance. No matter what story they presented to the rest of the world, however, Bellona could not have thought that Fitzroy Prewett had chosen to elope with Camilla. She had already said (vehemently) that she was not Camilla and she had no intention of treading the same path, which meant tricking or forcing a pureblood man to marry her was out of the question. And if she wanted someone who truly respected her, perhaps even loved her, she wouldn't find the like on the membership roster of Black's. Pureblood men had prejudice as their earliest and closest bedfellow, and he ought to know. He'd been the same way, until ten years ago. He knew the way pureblood men saw the world, because he'd been taught to see it the same way.
Bellona may have been young, but she was not silly; she could certainly see the sense in his words. Whether she would be willing to act on them, however, remained to be seen... particularly since their father had ingrained into them all for so long that the only way to secure his love, affection, or respect was to continue existing in this pureblood world they didn't really belong to. Choosing intentionally to diverge from the path their father had laid out for her would take courage, certainly, but it might be her only path to happiness. Otherwise, she was in for several more seasons of stress at least. The best that could be hoped for was that she would find herself backed into a corner, as Camilla had been, acting out of desperation to win what she thought she wanted. Not even that was assured, however — as Calliope's growing belly daily reminded them, their position in their father's esteem was not guaranteed for the future.
"There is a certain give and take," he eventually allowed. "There are things you might stand to lose, if you chose that path." Their father's esteem, for one, to whatever extent she actually had it presently. Admittance to a certain brand of society events, perhaps, though she might have already seen herself excluded from such events due to her own blood status. "Which is why I began with the question I did. It comes back to that — to what you want. Whether you believe securing a husband who cherishes you, who truly respects you, is worth the risk of losing more — superficial things."
Bellona may have been young, but she was not silly; she could certainly see the sense in his words. Whether she would be willing to act on them, however, remained to be seen... particularly since their father had ingrained into them all for so long that the only way to secure his love, affection, or respect was to continue existing in this pureblood world they didn't really belong to. Choosing intentionally to diverge from the path their father had laid out for her would take courage, certainly, but it might be her only path to happiness. Otherwise, she was in for several more seasons of stress at least. The best that could be hoped for was that she would find herself backed into a corner, as Camilla had been, acting out of desperation to win what she thought she wanted. Not even that was assured, however — as Calliope's growing belly daily reminded them, their position in their father's esteem was not guaranteed for the future.
"There is a certain give and take," he eventually allowed. "There are things you might stand to lose, if you chose that path." Their father's esteem, for one, to whatever extent she actually had it presently. Admittance to a certain brand of society events, perhaps, though she might have already seen herself excluded from such events due to her own blood status. "Which is why I began with the question I did. It comes back to that — to what you want. Whether you believe securing a husband who cherishes you, who truly respects you, is worth the risk of losing more — superficial things."
