An uncertain love interest:
Mr. Lewis is not prepared for how much his SIL reminds him of his late wife… From her face, to the way she walks and talks, and even to how her hair curls, it’s all so very much like Flossie; it’s jarring, no doubt. It stirs memories and feelings he’s been ignoring while trying to run his house, raise his sons, and – nowadays – keep his secret well-hidden. It’s rather unacceptable, how he’s feeling: he
loved his Flossie – enough to marry a step down, society be damned. And now, her little sister – one that willing abandoned kith and kin for some shady brute whom people only know existed because he was unchecked werewolf
(can you see the irony?) – is back, in his home, helping him, hiding him, and
working, but that’s another matter entirely reminding him of his dead wife. Yet, regardless of all else, she's paramount in the success of his new life-long plan - she has to stick around.
Rhoda is, frankly, going through the motions of existence; they lost the love of their life, the one person who accepted them unconditionally and even encouraged their oddities if only so they’d be happy… And it was their fault. Then, a chance at redemption: Rhoda is back in Wizarding England, in Hogsmeade, and they’ve signed themself up to help Mr. Lewis with his “illness”
(and, yes, his household). Despite how droll life is now, they're giving somebody like Ralph a shot at a real life – the kind of life they and Ralph could not and would never get. Unfortunately – apparently – Rhoda has a type and their late sister’s brooding husband (with that glimmer of darkness within him, either born of his curse or desperation or both) at least partially fits the bill. It's frankly regrettable. However, while there is friction between the two (the unpleasant, unfriendly kind), the both are united in a similar goal: to keep this charade up for everyone’s sake… And that might be enough common ground to spark a fire.
There’s already enough tension between the two, as Rhoda chafes against being back in “proper” society and Mr. Lewis tries to keep everything as ordinary as possible to outside observer, so the situation at hand will surely not help. The question is: will the pair fight this? Embrace it? Both, perhaps, with one choosing to embrace their budding feelings while the other rejects the whole idea? Maybe, at some point, the roles might even switch? There are certainly plenty of possibilities… But no matter the decision, the facts remain: their BIL’s “curse” could ruin everything for everyone in the family and Rhoda is a possible weak-link, a historically loose cannon, altogether unknown to him… This could end quite tragically.
And here’s some other notes I have on this idea! (Also
unashamedly plugging the Lewis boys ad again - please read the
'food for the thought' blurb of it if nothing else <3)
For starters, I'm open to this becoming an end-game kind of deal… or completely crashing and burning; as this is only a starting point, nothing is set in stone (and I’m flexible enough for plans to change from one option to another, if we change our minds as we go!).
I see this
attraction first dawning on Mr. Lewis, sparked mostly by the superficial ways the Rho reminds him of his lost wife – he will realize that Rhoda
isn’t Flossie quickly enough, but the implications of that are open to interruption (and I’d love to brainstorm with you if you want); I also see there being a bit of an inverted Florence Nightingale effect on Mr. Lewis, at least at first, where the continued care given to him
(however begrudgingly) by Rhoda fuels (to whatever degree you see fit) these blooming romantic feelings for them as time passes – but whether that lasts or not is anyone's guess. Rhoda will slow on the uptake of their attraction, because they really don’t want to admit that stuffy, proper Mr. Lewis – so different from rowdy Ralph – could stir their somewhat dormant heart.
