Noble hadn't balked at this — or at least, he hadn't refused. Ford allowed himself a beat of relief before he considered the question. Obsession sounded dangerous — obsession was the sort of word one used about people who were desperate and did desperate things. Infatuation didn't feel exactly right either, but it was closer... and seemed less likely to backfire spectacularly, at any rate. The last thing Ford wanted was a sister who had her own version of the coatroom incident and still wasn't married.

"Infatuation," he decided. "Something strong, but subtle. Maybe something that builds up," he continued. He didn't know if potions building up was a thing; he'd more often heard about potions becoming less effective with repeated use, as people's bodies built up a tolerance to them, not more effective. But presumably if the potion didn't do any sort of build on its own, they could make it happen artificially, by bringing up the strength or the dosage. "Something that would get someone to propose to Clementine."

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The following 1 user Likes Fortitude Greengrass's post:1 user Likes Fortitude Greengrass's post
   Aldous Crouch

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Set by Lady!

Noble found Clementine charming. She was his favorite; sometimes he thought she was the sister who was most like him. She was also stubborn, too clever, liked to quote pamphlets, brash, and snarky.

She was not an ideal debutante.

"We start them on a low dose," he said after a beat. "They'll overlook her rougher edges. By the time he proposes — he might as well actually be in love."

Noble would make sure the man was kind. He would make sure he was smart. He would make sure that when Noble stopped dosing him, he would still be a husband Clementine could tolerate — one who would allow her activism and her freedoms. Surely that was better than letting someone random propose, waiting this out, letting them slide into debt.

"It'll take time," Noble cautioned. "For it to be believable."

The following 2 users Like Noble Greengrass's post:2 users Like Noble Greengrass's post
   Aldous Crouch, Fortitude Greengrass

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set by Bee

When Noble talked about it, it sounded plausible. It might have been illegal (he assumed drugging someone into marriage was illegal; he hadn't bothered to check) but compared to sneaking out of parties in order to rob people who were attending them this seemed downright reasonable.

"That's why I wanted Mama — distracted," he admitted, somewhat sheepish. "One less person to convince." He fully intended for Grace to be out of the house by the time this was in full effect, which meant Mama was the main sticking point. Jemima didn't know Clementine well enough to notice if something happened that was out of character, he didn't think, and of course Noble would know what was going on. Even then Ford understood they couldn't move too quickly; Clementine had friends, presumably her husband-to-be did too. But it would have given them much more leeway if Mama had been off in the country, contented with being updated through letters as a 'whirlwind romance' begun. Mama was a romantic, too, of course — he'd been hoping that by the time she returned to the scene she'd be too in love with the grand story of it all to get stuck on the little details that didn't add up.

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Set by Lady!

Noble wished they could have afforded the club dues; a club would have kept Mama plenty distracted. He was wary that even if the man actually did fall in love with Clem, Mama would have objections, because it would give her something to do. (Noble had... a lot of opinions on their parents, and knew that he had them.)

"Let me think about Mama," he said, "And — I get input on the bachelor."

He had more power here than he did in the Grace situation — Ford wouldn't be able to get love potions without him. Given the antagonistic relationship between Ford and Clementine, Noble thought this would generally be helpful for him.

  

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set by Bee

It seemed a bit like a vote of no confidence that Noble had to add the bit about getting input on who they used the potion on. Ford thought himself fully capable of choosing an unobjectionable brother-in-law — and certainly thought he'd do a better job than Noble. He was still a little rankled by Noble's earlier comments about Grace, as though Ford had made the remark about governessing lightly and thoughtlessly. He had put a great deal of thought into both of these schemes, with a view towards what was actually within the realm of possibility and might leave both of his sisters happy. Grace couldn't have survived being married to someone who didn't cherish her, he was sure — something like this love potion idea applied to Grace would have left her miserable for life. Clementine, on the other hand, was strong-willed enough to forge her way through a match that was merely tolerable, and Ford thought she would enjoy the freedom of being a married woman as much or more than she would enjoy a sentimental match.

But Noble hadn't asked for complete control, he'd asked for input — and Ford did want his help. He had an alternative plan, if Noble hadn't agreed to make the potions, but — this was better for everyone. So he nodded and bit back what he'd been thinking. "I had some ideas already," he admitted. Then, because this seemed strange without an explanation, added, "I've been thinking about this for a while, but —" But if he'd put it into motion before he had a solid route to get Grace out of the house, then Grace would never leave. He needed the threat that none of them would ever be welcome in society again to help leverage Grace into the governess role; it didn't work if Clementine was actively being courted by someone in the next room. But he didn't want to bring Grace up again with Noble, so instead of explaining he just shrugged.

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Set by Lady!

Ford agreed. Noble rolled his shoulders to release some of the tension. He didn't like that Ford had been thinking about this for a while — he did think that Ford's plans were going to fuck them all — but he could get Clem happily settled. And if Ford was going to go ahead and burn everything down, then maybe Noble could go ahead and do whatever he wanted.

"Who are you thinking?" Noble said, so they could crack into it.

  

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set by Bee