August 20th, 1892 — Dempsey Estate Ireland

He had said he would call tomorrow, and Christabel had lain awake all night thinking of what that meant. What it could really mean and had worked herself up into an anxious frenzy. She had said nothing to anyone in her family that Mister Daphnel has said her would call and certainly nothing about having kissed in an empty drawing room after being chased through the fluu network like a deer. It made her heart quicken in her chest at the thought and she hoped she hadn't misinterpreted everything he had said. In a moment of overblown passion and Romantic imagination she hoped she had not inferred something on the moment that it was not. Merlin she hated this!

She had tried reading, she had tried writing, she had tried playing the piano - heaven she had even tried needlepoint - a sure sign she was desperate for something to distract herself with. The door opened and she stood, suddenly at attention, her shoulders a little straighter than normal - and she might have taken just a little longer with her hair that morning than she did most days.

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Victor Daphnel

  

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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 had gone through the motions of the party the night before after she'd gone home, but he had been wholly distracted with thoughts of... not her exactly, but about what ought to happen next. Things had taken a leap forward, and while it wasn't an unwelcome jump, it did mean things were moving faster than he'd planned. He had to mentally catch up to the change in circumstances in order to feel himself fully in control of things moving forward. He had elected not to say anything to his family just yet, concerned that the timing — coming off of a rather unconventional and probably ill-advised party — might give his mother cause for undue concern. And the concern would be undue, he was sure. He might have slipped past the bounds of propriety the day before, but they hadn't gotten into any real trouble — and she was a good choice. It wasn't as though he'd kissed someone in the heat of the moment without having ever considered the implications; he'd already been thinking of this. The kiss had simply accelerated things.

He'd left the house after breakfast and picked up a sprig of blue hydrangea that reminded him of her dress the day before, then consulted a floo directory to find the nearest public floo to the Denpsey house. Ireland wasn't as well connected as many of the places in the English countryside, and he had some way to walk after he left the inn, but eventually he found himself at the Dempsey estate.

"Miss Dempsey," he said with a broad grin as he was shown into the sitting room. "I hope you're feeling much refreshed?" Not that she needed it, but he thought it best to begin by subtly letting her know he'd followed her directive as to her excuse for leaving the party.

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Fabulous set by Lady!

It was indeed Mister Daphnel

'Mister Daphnel' she greeted, biting the inside of her lip to stop herself from smiling in a way that was a little too broad or uncoquettish.  She wasn't entirely sure how to behave in a moment like this.  How was it other ladies knew how to handle the attentions of callers?  She had had a few over the years no one especially serious or interesting but somehow she had forgotten how to manage the situation. 

She rang the bell for a maid to bring refreshments.  'Thank you for asking, my headache has quite passed' she said but couldn't help the small laugh that followed. Her ladies maid, who was acting as temporary chaperone, in the corner of the room, was falling asleep in her chair, and honestly didn't think there was much to be feared for the virtue of a woman of Christabel's age. But she liked the temporary reprieve from other duties that chaperoning duties afforded her.

'And you Mister Daphnel? Was the party diverting after I left?' she asked, 'I heard that some of the game got a little out of hand and the fluu authority put an end to it. Are you now a wanted felon?'

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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 chuckled at her question. "I am not a criminal, no. I assume you might be disappointed if I was locked up this afternoon?" he teased. This was a step farther than might have been considered appropriate based on their level of acquaintance, but it didn't seem as though anyone was around who might be paying attention and caring. As they had kissed yesterday — more appropriate perhaps to say as she had kissed him yesterday — he doubted that Miss Dempsey herself would mind the familiarity.

"The night did have an early end, but by then anyone worth talking to had already gone home," he continued with a playful and flirtatious grin. He was a bit surprised by how easy it was to slip into flirting with her, given how little experience he had with this. The experience he did have wasn't exactly relevant, since when directed at other men there was a much lewder bent to anything he implied. Probably any of that sort of flirting would have gone straight over her head, he imagined. "So it wasn't much of a loss, and the floo authority had the attitude of a disappointed mother rather than a constable."

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Fabulous set by Lady!

His comment about the interesting people all having left made her smile, she would have rolled her eyes at the heavy handed compliment but its attempt was endearing and she could appreciate the humour behind it, although aware that she didn't really know Mister Daphnel well enough to know how he would take the action. She thought he might take it in the spirit of jest it was meant but he also might have his pride affronted, since he had said it within the formal confines of 'paying calls.' Men in this context really were very much a mystery to her, but she knew she enjoyed seeing him smile, which he seemed to do easily enough.

'It's a pity you've not come to tell me you are to be put on remand or tell me how big your bail is, I'm reliably told that criminal gentlemen are considered very dashing. she snickered, a faux disappointed expression on her face as she indicated the couch opposite to where she was stood, inviting him to sit. 'and if you were transported I should have someone interesting to write to and now you've had the bad luck of disappointing both the fluu authority and me.' Chris quiped back, clearly amused, England hadn't transported anyone in almost 40 years - but still.

She rang the bell for tea, and the scurrying of the footmen to make the place ready would no doubt alert other members of the family to the fact that they had a guest- and a caller no less. She prayed neither her eldest brother nor Porphyria were home, as either would be more inclined to make sport of the situation.

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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

"Oh, don't be too disappointed in me," he returned with spirit. "If you're looking for a penpal, I'll let you send me letters even if I'm not exiled anywhere." He was teasing but it occurred to him that perhaps they should start writing letters. It would be a good show of his dedication to following through on his intentions, and perhaps they could get away with a little more frankness in letters than could be allowed in a chaperoned parlor (even if her chaperone was not paying a good deal of attention). He wanted to get through all of the particulars and ensure they were on the same page about the logistics moving forward, but he was aware that going through it all point by point as if checking boxes off a list could not be considered very romantic. He wondered if she would mind — did she have expectations of grand romance, or only of mutual affection? If she was hoping that their kiss would have transformed him into a veritable Romeo moving forward, she was bound to be disappointed. She seemed to like him well enough without his having to put on airs and pretend, though, so maybe she wouldn't expect so much frippery.

"I'm afraid I simply don't have time to become a criminal, however dashing it might make me. I have to be at the hospital on Monday morning," he continued playfully. "And I think it might worry my mother, besides. I daresay mothers have a different opinion of the impact a criminal record might have on a gentleman's reputation than a young lady does."

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Fabulous set by Lady!

'Well why don't we start with a singular letter and we might assess the quality of your writing before we commit to a long term correspondance, otherwise it might be painful for us both.' she teased. She found that she rather liked the fact that he worked, indolence was not something she could tolerate in herself, nevermind in others, and no one could claim a healer to be lazy. It perhaps made her more practical than either Lycoris or Porphyria, both of whom were more inclined to Romantic behavior than Chris was.

Chris had, of course, not told her mother that the person who had upset her at the Prewetts garden party was Mister Daphnel. She was fairly sure that that would have a more dire impact on Lowri Dempseys opinion of Mister Daphnel than his having a criminal record. 'I'm sure you have little trouble charming both young ladies and their mothers' she joked, she didn't think she needed to tell him that she had been charmed - she had allowed him to get away with offering insults most women wouldn't have tolerated - oh and of course they had kissed (if asked she would categorically deny that she had kissed him first)

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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've been informed I'm an excellent correspondent," he replied. A slight twinge of regret somewhere in the back of his mind at having said so — it was Hector Cartwright who had told him so, before Hector had died. It had been long enough since his friend's disappearance though that the wounds were not so fresh; he kept his smile in place on his face.

"As far as charming young ladies and mothers — since I am neither, I must leave you the judge of that," he teased. "If you have any notes towards my improvement in the area, you can deliver them at your leisure. How did I do with the flowers?"

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Fabulous set by Lady!

'Then I await your first missive Mister Daphnel, I'm sure they shall put Horatio Nelson* to shame.' Chris remarked, as the footman brought in a laden tea trey. She poured for both of them, and gave the footman a nod to let him know he was excused to stand in the hall. The sleeping chaperone doing all the duty that was needed.

She gave him a teasingly, skeptical look, 'I'm sure after yesterday that you are sure that I am suitably charmed' she quipped laconically. She was also completely convinced that Mister Daphnel was almost completely aware of how charming she, at least, found him. She had forgiven him his drunken impertinence, and engaged in their little game of hide and seek that had resulted in their kiss. Yes Chris found him charming - and he was well aware of that.

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*famous/infamous in the 19th cent for his letter writing

  

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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's smile went a little lopsided at that remark. "Perhaps," he allowed. He had initially wondered if she'd kissed him because she liked him or because she had plans to trap him, but given her demeanor since then he had settled on it being the former. Just because she was suitably charmed at the moment didn't mean that she would remain enamored of him in the future, though, at least not without some effort on his part.

"Or perhaps after yesterday you think me more of a romantic than I am, and I'll be obliged to step up my performance in order to satisfy your expectations." It had become clear by now that they could expect nothing in the way of actual oversight from her chaperone, and consequentially Victor was eyeing the vacant seat next to her on the couch. He moved there on the pretense of adding an extra bit of sugar to his cup of tea, then let his arm edge closer to her when he leaned back into the cushions. He offered her a mischievous smile. "In fact, it's possible I'll outperform myself at every juncture, and you'll have to see me less and less often as I take increasingly long periods trying to plan how to impress you. For today... I'm not much familiar with this part of the countryside. Perhaps after our tea we could go for a stroll?"

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Fabulous set by Lady!

She nodded sagely ’naturally’ she quipped, smiling between closed lips as she tried to maintain the vaguest sense of decorum between them even as the irreverence that had marked their entire acquaintance threaten to raise its head in the relative intimacy of the drawing room. ’and based on your obvious penchant for competition , I expect you to be more than capable of meeting the mark’ she teased. She had to admit she is referred the irreverence, but if he was paying calls he was clearly also trying to adhere to social norms.

He was sitting next to her now, the boldness clearly part of his personality, and she smiled in approval of the move. ’as to the grounds, she craned over the chair, pivoting her body towards him and gesturing to the grounds, ’we could but it would be a lot less private than here. There was a chance that porphyria or Lycoris would be in the gardens, and she had exactly no desire for her siblings to be in anyway aware of Mister Daphnels intentions in the house. Lycoris wouldn’t be too bad, but the others were bound to be insufferable or try to humiliate her. It was a lame excuse to dissuade him for going for a walk, but she couldn’t think of a better one.

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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's understanding of the typical courtship rituals was that a promenade was supposed to be slightly more intimate than a call in a parlor, since a chaperone often walked out of earshot rather than sitting on a chair between the two would-be lovers. Of course, it would be difficult for a chaperone to provide any less actual oversight than this one, so he was sure she was right. The Dempseys were a larger family than the Daphnels, so presumably she meant they might be interrupted by or perhaps even accompanied by her family members.

"Oh, no bother. I know one of your brothers and I'd like to meet the rest of your family, sooner or later," Victor said with a dismissive wave of one hand. He could understand her reticence, given what he remembered of her older sister's demeanor at school, but he wanted to put her mind at ease. They'd already kissed; he wouldn't be so easily scared away now by odd relations.

"Unless there was something you wanted to do that required such privacy," he teased. He had no intention of taking advantage of her in the drawing room, sleeping chaperone or not; picking the position next to her on the sofa was as bold as he was inclined to be on their first formal meeting. That said, he did wonder if he could make her blush.

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Fabulous set by Lady!

She swatted the air with her hands, an expression of stop. 'the cheek!' she exclaimed in mock outrage at his insinuation, mild as it was all things considered, but she did infact blush 'nothing of the sort, It's just my mother rather like her roses and we clearly cannot be trusted alone with the flowers.'

The rest of what he had said gave her pause, 'which brother?' she asked, as casually as she could manage, she didn't thinking it likely, but it was not beyond the realm of possibility that this was some elaborate trick by her brother, was it really beyond ozy to have one of his friends feign courtship for the sake of some cruel joke at her expense.

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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 chuckled. "You're the one who can't be trusted around rose bushes. I rescued them," he pointed out. True, he'd also put her up to casting the flame in the first place, but technically speaking she had been the author of all floral damage that evening.

"Endymion," he replied. "I've met the others at the club but he's the only one I could claim to be on friendly terms with. I hope you're not about to tell me that he's your least favorite sibling," he teased lightly.

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Fabulous set by Lady!

Chris couldn’t help but feel relieved when he said Endy. She was sure Endy would respond with appropriate levity but with no real malice or attempt at actually sabotaging her. She didn’t think Oz could have helped himself from messing with her. Even with his expressed desire to rid himself and his eventual inheritance of the burden of spinsters sisters.

Her relief was expressed in a hearty laugh, ’not at all I love all my siblings, we’re a close family’ - it wasn’t untrue, they saw a great deal of each other bickered as they had done as children. Indeed she had no idea how true that statement was with several of her siblings and mother listening from the next room. ’but we are also a family prone to teasing, so I dread to think what he might have said in a misguided attempt to be taken for a wit’’

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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 chuckled. His siblings had their share of minor disputes through the years, so he thought he understood what she meant. "He did begin the conversation by asking if I'd come to lodge a complaint," Victor recalled. "Though what he planned to do if I had was unclear."

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Fabulous set by Lady!