13 August, 1892 — Prewett Country Ball — Elysium, Hampshire

Victor had arrived at the country estate in Hampshire already pleasantly buzzed from his weekend excursion but not, he was sure, drunk in any meaningful way. If he'd thought that he was in a position to make a fool of himself, he certainly wouldn't have come to a society party to do it in a more public venue. He might have another glass of water before he trusted himself to be properly graceful on the dance floor, but otherwise he was sure he was capable of comporting himself properly at this affair for however long he ended up being here. The ball was already in full swing when he arrived with a handful of the other gentlemen who had been to Greece with him, and the group disbanded immediately and scattered, most (Victor assumed) in search of young women to beg dances from. Victor planned to follow suit, not because he had a strong inclination to put his name on any particular dance cards but because it was the only thing one could do at a party like this. When he caught sight of one particular lady, however, his intentions for the night shifted.

"Miss Dempsey," he greeted with a wide grin. "I was hoping to see you again. Were you here for the week, or just for the ball?" I was hoping to see you again was perhaps a bit too forward, given how recent and shallow their acquaintance was, but he'd already said it and couldn't take it back now. Besides, he had been hoping to see her again. Their exchange at the party back in June had been interesting enough to stick in his brain, which was more than could be said of most of his conversations with young women. That alone had been enough for him to ask his mother's opinion on her. He'd gotten the full society dossier in return, a catalogue of her faults real or imagined. She was a halfblood. Her family was large and eccentric. Her parents were poets, which Mrs. Daphnel supposed might have given their children a tendency towards romanticism and melodrama. Most damning, she had already been through over half a dozen seasons without (at least to Mrs. Daphnel's knowledge) a singular proposal.

Still, he hadn't dismissed her. She had excited his curiosity, at least.

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@"christabel dempsey"

  

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Fabulous set by Lady!

Ozzy had been adamant that she was not included in his invation to the Prewetts country estate and surprisngly Christabel had been disappointed to have been forbidden from tagging along with her brother and his wife. She couldn't see what harm it would have been to have brought her along, but it had been conceded that she could attend the ball on the final night. It had been terribly unsportsmanlike of him, but she was here.

Mister Daphnal appeared at her elbow and inspite of herself Christabel's mouth pursed into a small smile, trying to control her features into something of a lady like smile rather than a broad cheesy grin. 'Just the ball' she said explained, her brow furrowing a little in confusion as his particularly effusive statement. She had enough brothers, and brothers of especially social reputations, to recognize a gentleman who was 'merry' after a sociable time. 'I assume from your question that you have been making merry elsewhere before stoping by here?' she asked with an amused grin. 'What entertainment had more of a draw than a country party?' She pivoted her body as a footman walked past her and she snagged a glass of champagne, sipping it as she looked for his answer.

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Dress

  

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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

Victor gave a careless you caught me grin. "It's my birthday," he said, as though this were an accomplishment. "Well, yesterday was, but we've just come off the party. Started the day in Santorini — have you been? Wait, no — I wanted to ask you something else," he continued before she'd had a chance to respond to the question about whether or not she had ever visited Greece. She probably hadn't; young women didn't tend to do much traveling prior to getting married, from what he understood, and what limited travel they did indulge in was never to anywhere very interesting or exotic. France and Germany seemed the only destinations anyone had been to, unless they had some family abroad, in which case they forewent Germany in favor of wherever the relations lived.

She had a flute of champagne, he noticed, and he wanted one too (ill-advised though it might have been if he had any intentions of making it to the dance floor this evening), but he'd missed the window of opportunity to catch the waiter with the tray. Drat. A wild but fleeting thought occurred to him and he pictured simply taking hers out of her hand, more to see the look on her face than anything else, but of course he wouldn't do that.

"So you're — how old? Nevermind, the specifics don't matter," he said with a vague wave of his hand, as though dismissing his own question. "But you're not married. Is that by design?"

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Fabulous set by Lady!

Christabel tried to make her expression disapproving, but she wasn't sure it was successful, as he seemed to be enjoying his merry mood which she could hardly fault him for, especially off the back of a proper party with ones friends. Chris opened her mouth to respond to his question, but before she could he was already dismissing it and off on another tangent. Her brow furrowed and she gave a small slightly incredulous laugh - very much at him and his highjinks. It was a rare sort of man who decided to turn up to someone elses party - already pretty smashed.

Chris had her drink to her lips at his next blurted questions, and she gave a very undignified cough into the champagne, causing it to splash out of the glass, her eyes widening in unadulterated shock, and she scooted her legs back to avoid getting the worst of it on her dress. She held the glass, and it's drips away from the easily staining fabric of her red silk dress and allowing the drips to hit the floor. She looked at him a little incredulously - she had never had anyone outside of her immediate siblings ask her so personal a question, and never a gentleman of the ton.

Her mouth formed a shocked 'o'. 'I am six and twenty' she said, her tone, probably more a little defensive, and her rather angular features set in a slightly haughty expression to hide her shock and no small amount of outrage at having been asked. 'and what if I am unmarried?' she asked 'Perhaps no gentleman has been interesting enough to tempt me into the marriage state.' Her answer rather implied she had turned down offers, or had been overly picky. The fact that that wasn't the case - well he wasn't to know that. 'and what manner of gentleman asks a lady those sorts of things?' her mouth formed again into the slightly open mouth expression of shock.

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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

She seemed to dislike the question, but at least she'd managed not to choke on her champagne, so that was something. Victor was too loose to mind that he had perhaps caused offense, and her question rolled off him like so much water off a duck's back. "I do, apparently," he answered with a shrug.

It occurred to him just a second too late: he could have answered an interesting one and that would have been clever. Perhaps clever enough that she would have forgiven him for the impertinent question. As it was, he was still confident she would forgive him, sooner or later, but he might have to take some time and effort to earn it. Hopefully she wasn't opposed to answering questions in the meantime, because he had plenty of follow-ups now that she'd replied to his first question.

"Do you have especially high standards for husbands, then?" he continued with a raised eyebrow. "I was under the impression that most young women were of the same mind about such things."

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Fabulous set by Lady!

At the house party Mister Daphnel had seemed fun and inclined toward merriment but she would never have guessed that the elder brother of the especially uninspiring debutante was this impertinent - and outright rude! Chris was trying hard not to let herself build up a head of steam. The champagne flute still in one hand, the other planted on her hip.

Christabel Dempsey was not a woman renowned for her patience and she thought she should be rather celebrated for her herculean level of reserve and not throw the champagne, or at least the remains of it’s contents into the face of the young man who seemed to have decided that his sole intention at this party was to offend her to nth degree.

Most of the reason for her attempt at reserve and gritted teeth was because this wasn’t her home and indeed not even her invitation. She was here on Ozy’s ticket and was disinclined to make a scene to embarrass the host or her brother. Well Ozy’s embarrassment was less of a concern to her, but she would never want Thomasina to feel that sort of sting of humiliation, the public perception of her marriage to Ozy was more than one woman should have to bear.

’I could not possibly find myself induced into marriage by an especially stupid or dull gentleman, or one without an abundance of good sense or good humour!’ this was hissed, as Chris didn’t think that if she spoke at a normal volume she could restrain herself from shouting at him. ’Although just as there are stupid and dull men, there are also silly or insipid ladies.’ perhaps this nonsense was why his poor sister struggled so in society.

’Mister Daphnel, is your sole purpose at this party to find a lady to vex? And if so, why light on me?’ she herumphed, before he could contrive yet another question designed to insult her. Christabels lips pursed peevishly, her dark eyes flashing in her very best Valkyrie impression.

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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

Despite her tone, he was gratified by her answer. While he certainly agreed that there existed some number of stupid or dull gentlemen in society, he was not. He was afraid perhaps she would launch into some criteria that were truly disqualifying, like a particular alignment of astrology charts or a willingness to indulge in romantic poetry.

Her question genuinely startled him. Victor had to take a moment to puzzle out why she thought he might have come in with the intention to vex her — though if that had been his intention, he could see now he had done quite an efficient job at it. Was this one of those subjects that women forbade themselves to speak of? That seemed counterintuitive, since he knew it was the only thing on most of their minds at society balls like this. Regardless, there was no mistaking the look in her eyes.

"Alright, I've vexed you," he allowed, though he still had not lighted on any good reason why discussing her criteria for marriage would be particularly vexing. Perhaps she was holding onto resentment about when he'd asked her age, but he'd walked that back immediately; she'd volunteered that information on her own, as far as he was concerned. But in any case, it hardly mattered why. "What shall I do to redeem myself?"

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Fabulous set by Lady!

The hand on her hip snaked up to rub at her neck, as though treating the whiplash she was feeling from his sudden changes in tone and attention. Christabel’s brow was still knit in confusion and exasperation. Did he really not appreciate how rude it was to ask these things of a lady, in public, with no preamble and in the hearing of the assembly? The trouble it could cause in all quarters. Even the merist and vaguest mention of marriage, in circumstances less clear than this could lead to an accusation of having led someone on, or of having been especially cruel.

But Christabel was forced to consider why exactly, that she specifically was annoyed with his questions. Perhaps it was because some of her brothers more acerbic comments had taken up residence in the more mean spirited parts of her brain. She didn’t want to be a spinster, but she was rapidly reaching that point and she was not at all looking forward to it. So a gentleman, whose company she had previously rather enjoyed, seemingly taking the opportunity to make fun of the fact that she was till unmarried was leaving a slightly bitter taste in her mouth. She didn’t really want to admit that she was a bit hurt, but his sudden mockery of her stung.

How could he make it up to her? Well she didn’t know. As usual, caught up with her (righteous) indignation she hadn’t actually considered how he might draw back from it, very few of the Dempsey’s seemed to know how to ‘back down’ from anything. ’You have not answered as to why I am being subjected to this interregnum.’ she challenged back, trying to buy herself more time to work out exactly how amends might be made? Could they? What was the protocol here- if it were a novel, she would probably slap him and her brother would challenge him to a duel, which was eminently impractical, mostly because she was sure Ozy would probably take Mister Daphnel’s side and demand answers to the same mean spirited questions [/b]

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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

Victor thought this point was rather obvious, though shied away from coming right out and saying it.

"Because I wanted to know. That's all," he said, just a hint of defensiveness in his tone. She had seemed intelligent enough the last time they spoke, so surely she could puzzle it out. There were only so many reasons a gentleman might want very specific information about what a young lady looked for in a husband.

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Fabulous set by Lady!

Christabel looked a little taken aback – well more than a little and it probably showed. Unthinking, and because it felt right she drained the champagne flute. She turned her body, so she faced away from the largest number of people, but still faced him, as though in so doing she could stop the rest of the assembly hearing him with sheer force of will. Christabel glanced over her shoulders, praying no one was listening and seruptisiouly trying to ensure none of her siblings were in ear shot. She wasn’t entirely sure how being caught with a drunk gentleman discussing marriage would go over with her chaperoning older brother.

’Mister Daphnel keep your voice down’ she said eyes wide, a small tone of panic in her voice, ’people will hear you and think…’ she gave him an expression as though what they would think should be obvious to him, a widening of her eyes rather dramatically. She was trying to discern just how merry he was, was there a point in trying to reason with him, or was she better set by finding the butler and having his carriage called before he splinched himself trying to apparate home. The path of least resistance felt the better one, as no immediate outside assistance was in sight. ’If you have a question piquing your curiosity, I will answer it IF’ and she stressed this vehemently, ’you can manage to keep your voice down and pretend we are discussing a topic that won’t get us both into trouble!’

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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

Victor considered this. He had not thought his voice especially loud before, but otherwise her conditions seemed reasonable enough. She didn't want people to talk. Given how long she'd been of marriageable age, that was sort of cute. If anyone was going to talk, they could find plenty of leverage without taking any of his questions out of context. Indeed, at this point the knowledge that someone was asking her questions about marriage could only have helped her; he might bet that for most gentlemen in her acquaintance the terms marriage and Miss Dempsey no longer came up together in conversation.

"Well," he began, making an effort to lower his voice to meet her demands. "I don't know that you answered my earlier question. Surely you haven't spent however many years unable to find an intelligent man with a sense of humor. I admit there are some outside those criteria, but we're not exactly extinct."

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Fabulous set by Lady!

She nodded in satisfaction at his tone and volume.

Inspite of the circumstances, Chris found herself fighting a sardonic smirk – so he thought himself an intelligent and funny gentleman. Irkingly she didn’t really think he was far off the mark, she had rather enjoyed their interactions and the irreverence she had enjoyed at Mayhews House party had of course now been the cause of public anxiety.

’You’d be surprised Mister Daphnel’ her tone taking on a laconic lazy tone. ’Most gentlemen believe they are intelligent, funny, or both and yet few actually meet the mark,’ she added. Her expression had lost it’s panic mien from before and was both affectedly and becoming a little more relaxed. ’at least not for women who consider themselves to be the same.’ She glanced back over her shoulder. ’That couple talking over my left shoulder.’ she cocked her head to indicate who she was discussing as subtly as she could manage. ’He believes himself a wit, she doesn’t have the sense to know better. They will likely be engaged within the week.’

’I will acknowledge’ she added in a tone that warned against making a big deal out of her next words, ’That you at least, when you are not trying to embarrass me in front of all England, might actually be both amusing and intelligent’ she conceded with an inclination of her head by way of condescension.

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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

One corner of Victor's mouth quirked up at her assessment. He was surprised to hear her say so, not because he doubted his own abilities but rather because young women so seldom said what they meant in situations like this. Merlin forbid anyone speak plainly, particularly on topics such as marriage and courtship.

"Does this mean you're no longer vexed?" he teased. "I thought it would take a little longer than that to get back in your good graces."

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Fabulous set by Lady!

Christabel's eyes narrowed, but this time in something like amusement, or at least amused exasperation. 'As I've already said Mister Daphnel, intelligent and humorous gentlemen are few and far between, too few to give the cut direct to the few that I encounter' she stated with an arch expression, and her voice dropped to ensure only he heard, 'and you didn't let me burn to death, so that gives you an extra point'

'but you are not yet entirely back in my good graces, she warned, 'I just feel much less like I might hex you - and I realised it would be pointless as you'd manage the consequences yourself' her words were full of threats and bluster but the tone was amused in spite of herself.

Her own defensiveness aside, having to think too much about why she had failed to secure a mate was disquieting. It was easy to blame Porphyria, and her choices, but the fact was that by the time she had gotten over him, and realized she would never reconnect with the gent again, her reputation was already set. Her voice dropped to ensure that only he might hear 'In future, if you wish to discuss such topics with a lady do it either in private or with some delicacy - outright and in public I would not recommend , the next lady you ask might turn you over to her brother for hexing.' She didn't explain to him why she hadn't summoned one of her brothers to defend her honour, mostly because she didn't think either would.

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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

Victor feigned a pout. "Well, if all young women are as touchy about discussing the idea of marriage as you are, it's a wonder anyone has managed it at all. I don't know why the topic would be so completely off-limits," he complained. "It's essentially your career as a debutante. It isn't as though I get prickly when someone asks me about the hospital."

Granted, he might if things were going particularly poorly. Which led back to his original question, really: what had Miss Dempsey done to remain unmarried so long? From the sounds of things she didn't have particularly high standards. Had she scared them off somehow, or was there something about her that Victor hadn't yet discovered that made her unsuitable for companionship?

"Do you expect love poetry as a matter of course during a courtship or would flowers do?"

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Fabulous set by Lady!

She wasn't going to go into the detail of why she was so touchy about, perhaps if she was 18, 19, or 20, she might not be so sensitive, but at 26 - well that was a different story. Christabel worried her bottom lip with her teeth. Most of the time she tried not to think about how little attention she had paid to marriage, until it she was already late in the day for her prospects.

'No' she wrinkled her nose in disgust, 'neither Mister Daphnel, all I require is someone who can maintain an intelligent conversation about something other than quidditch or whiskey for a period extending beyond 6 minutes.' she rolled her eyes, the memory of her last caller resurfacing like a bad nightmare, she had never been happier to see her brothers enter a room in her life to save her from a conversation on the finer points of the keepers off side rule in Quidditch. She wondered if it was possible to die of boredom.

'The fact that few men can manage both, and fewer still for more than a single conversation.' she added, almost more to herself than him. 'But women do not have the freedom men to discuss such matters with the opposite sex, we are expected to sit quietly until someone picks us off the shelf like books in a library.'

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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