January 9th, 1891 — Macnair Residence, Scotland

Mariana was in her greenhouse tending to her plants and waiting for her eldest son to arrive. She'd sent a servant to fetch him for her several minutes ago without giving a reason why. However, he'd attended a dinner with Tatiana last night so he'd probably have some idea of her motives.

She had very mixed feelings about Tatiana's courtship situation. The only complaints she could make about Charles Macmillan were his status as a second son and his being a widower with a child. These were overlooked easily enough, but what she was having difficulty accepting was the possibility that Valerian and Tatiana might not happen after all. Tatiana couldn't overlook the fact that Valerian was all that Charles Macmillan was and more! The only difference was that Macmillan had a flashier job, but Valerian was a first born, had never been married, and he was family. She hadn't yet asked Tatty about it but she had been wondering if she was encouraging Macmillan to provoke advances from Valerian. If that was the case her son didn't seem to be doing anything about it.

"Oh good, you're here." She smiled and made a subtle gesture to a couple pots with what appeared to be old tree stumps nestled in the soil. "Come help me with the snargaluffs, the pods are ready."

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Valerian Macnair | OUTFIT

  

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Though in his youth he'd done all he could to appease his mother and more, he was not so naïve to believe that her sudden request for him to visit was without ulterior motives, even if it was to the garden where he'd spent much of his youth studying plants. He was not usually called to do bidding for her business, but when he was it was because she couldn't manage it herself. However, snargaluffs did not seem like the type of thing her mother would need help with. Hm.

"I assume you have something you need to discuss with me?" he began, rather than letting her wallow on about whatever until she reached the point, "or are these snargaluffs bred to be particularly difficult for one person to handle?"

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Just as she had thought - her son was no fool. "Don't be cheeky," she chided, shooting him an unamused look that was mostly in jest. "Now you know snargaluffs are cumbersome without a second pair of hands, but by all means you can do both on your own if you'd prefer. I'll hold the bucket and watch you dodge the tentacles." She was quite happy to wrestle the plants by herself but she wanted to talk and he may as well be useful. He didn't need his hands free to flap his jaw.

She'd get the talk underway once he was making himself useful.

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Valerian Macnair | OUTFIT

  

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Valerian did not particularly enjoy dealing with snargaluffs, but he loved his mother. A smile on his face, he rolled his eyes and slid on a pair of the gardening gloves. Working in the Potion & Plant Poisoning ward meant he was frequently exposed to odd plants—very often he needed samples to cure the poisoning—but that didn't stop him from struggling. His brows furrowed and he grunted and began prying the tentacles back so his mother could grab the pod.

"I don't know what could possibly more interesting than snargaluffs," he said, his voice thick with sarcasm—though his frustration was clearly directed at the plant rather than his mother.

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"Last night's dinner party, perhaps?" she said by way of segueing into what she'd really wanted to discuss with him. She watched on in amusement as he fought the plant into submission. "Have you got it steady?" He appeared to have the plant under his control but if he was about to let a tentacle slip she didn't care to find out the hard way.

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Last night's dinner party and snargaluffs did not meld very well together, except perhaps for the fact that Valerian struggled to get ahold of the tangles of both. He'd never been one for society parties or dinners, yet he'd gone to keep an eye on Tatiana—or more specifically, Mr. Macmillan. It was a generally decent evening with good food and pleasant company, even if he would have replaced certain guests with others...

"What about the dinner party?" he asked with a grunt, finally managing to subdue the tentacles (for the time being).

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He seemed to have the plant under control and so Mariana reached for the first pod. "I know you didn't end up in Ravenclaw but you're not a simpleton. You know what I'm asking about." She retrieved the pod and placed it carefully in the large bowl she'd grabbed earlier when Olive hadn't thought of it yet. Mariana didn't give him a chance to respond before she went ahead and asked the question straight up anyway. "Was anything said or did anything happen last night that I would be interested in hearing about?" Obviously she wasn't expecting a marriage proposal at someone else's dinner party, no what she wanted to know was what Valerian had observed that might prove a useful addition to her steadily growing mental dossier on Charles Macmillan.

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Valerian side-eyed his mother but made no immediate response. Plenty of things had happened—small talk, card games, talk of husbands and friends and jobs. Of course, Mr. Macmillan wouldn't have been so bold as to make advances in front of half a dozen acquaintances, and his mother knew that.

"Mr. Macmillan is a busy man, apparently," he said dryly, unamused by the gentleman's lack of... well, anything interesting. The only thing he had going for him was his handsome broodiness, and Valerian would not admit that to his mother nor anyone else. "I'm sure Tatiana has her reasons for allowing herself to be courted by someone so..." He made a vague gesture with his free hand, but almost immediately had to push down once again on a stray tentacle.

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   Mariana Macnair

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"So...?" He restrained another tentacle and Mariana took the opportunity to grab another pod. Clearly Valerian didn't find Macmillan improved the more time he spent in his company which was only a pity if Tatiana did end up marrying him, but otherwise it was most reassuring to Mariana. It was entirely possible that Valerian resented the man for no other reason than jealousy and if that was the case Mariana would do all she could nurture it. That wasn't to say she was only interested in pushing her son and pseudo-daughter together if it would be a love match but it would certainly be easier to light a fire under Valerian's ass if he thought he was going to lose the love of his life.

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   Valerian Macnair

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"So.... uninteresting," he grunted, shoving the vine into submission for the second time. He held it down with his elbow and looked up at his mother, a little confused with why she had a sudden interest in his thoughts of Macmillan. From his experience (of being one, socializing with them, and being attracted to them) men could dislike each other on a personal level and respect each other simultaneously, or vice versa. Surely his personal opinions of Macmillan did not mean much in the grand scheme of things.

"I only mean to say that Tatiana has such depth to her," he explained, shoving back the tentacles to reveal the pod he sought. "And Macmillan just... seems to have a snargaluff vine somewhere he ought not to, if you know what I mean." It was crude, but it communicated his message—and it was relevant. He reached down and grabbed a hold of the pod and looked to his mother for assistance.

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   Mariana Macnair

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What he'd said wasn't very gentlemanlike especially not to say to one's mother but then Mariana's subsequent snort of amusement wasn't very ladylike either. Of course wrangling a violent plant wasn't exactly the sort of thing a proper lady was supposed to do in her spare time, she ought to be sprawled chaise lounge and lamenting her lack of grandchildren and contemplating her navel but she'd sooner be committed to an asylum.

In terms of firsthand experience with Mr. Macmillan Mariana had very little of it and in the brief periods she had spent in his company she hadn't been able to deduce much about him aside from the very obvious - like Valerian had so eloquently suggested, he seemed to have a snargaluff tentacle up his backside. Either he was a humorless, drab sort of man or he had something to hide. Valerian seemed to think it was the former which was probably the better of the two options. More important than all of that, however, was what Valerian had said about Tatiana, it was almost poetic.

"I daresay you're right," she said, referring to his crude remark. Mariana grabbed the pod from him quickly and snatched at a wayward tentacle that was making a lurch for Valerian. "Ah-ah-ahhh!" she chided the plant affectionately. "Do you think Tatiana's found something about him she likes, aside from the more obvious?"

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Valerian let out a silent sigh of relief as his mother managed to tame the planet before his arm suffered for it. He was able to successfully pry away the pod and place it out of the vine's reach, looking to his mother to move before he unceremoniously let go of the plant.

"I think he exudes an air of confidence that she might like." However unwarranted, he was tempted to add. Being the Minister's whipping boy wasn't anything to write home about, or at least anything Valerian would be proud to write home about. Politics were silly, anyways—simply Macmillan's name was enough to give him a leg-up on the competition, and that was without him have to prove competence. In Valerian's eyes, he was a fool for giving up his job in the department to be bossed around by the progressive minister.

"But, in time, I think she will grow tired of him. I certainly did, and it was only a few hours," he admitted, trying to hold back his smile.

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Mariana thought he was underestimating his cousin if he thought Tatiana was so easily blindsided by mere confidence, but to be fair to him she didn't think her niece would look twice at a man who wasn't self-assured and in possession of a firm backbone. Macmillan at least had that much going for him or at the very least the outward appearance of it. Confidence in a man was often an easily shattered façade.

She probably wasn't going to hear much in the way of useful new information about Tatty's beau but it wouldn't matter anyway if Valerian kicked him to the curb. "You think Charles Macmillan is a mistake then, that there's someone better suited to her...?"

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"Mistake is a harsh word." She did not think he would prove a terrible husband to Tatiana; he seemed unlikely to drive the family into ruin nor did he seem terribly cruel. Not that he would have any reason to anyway: Tatiana provided a desirable connection where Macmillan's political pursuits lied, and by mistreating Tatiana and earning the scorn of her relatives he might ruin any chance of a prosperous future.

But that wasn't the concern, was it? "I cannot say that I have names for alternatives, but even on paper he isn't ideal. I know it is uncouth to discuss, but mother—a second-born with a daughter old enough to harbor resentment... You cannot blame the child, of course, but I cannot see Tatiana mothering another's child. Can you?" Tatiana carried herself with grace and perfect femininity, but in living with her for so many years he was aware of her faults. She was the type of woman who enjoyed control where she could get it, and a woman should have absolute domain over her household.

"But, of course," he said, cocking a brow, "if you think he is best for her, I will say no more."

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Mariana admittedly couldn't speak to Tatiana's maternal instincts but she did know that her niece had never shown herself to be the broody type. Mariana had been much the same at Tatty's age though, she hadn't even wanted a husband! She loved her sons albeit to varying degrees and had taken in her orphaned niece and raised her as her own daughter, but it was hardly the same thing. She had chosen Tatty, all she'd wanted was a little girl of her own, a fresh copy of herself to release into the world but better prepared to carve out the life she wanted. Tatiana couldn't understand that yet, she was too young and inexperienced to have regrets. Inheriting another woman's child and before she'd had her own was not ideal at all. All that said, men rarely cherished their daughters and it was likely that Macmillan was no different. He hadn't introduced his daughter to Tatty which suggested that he likely didn't care what his daughter thought of her. If the daughter was a problem it probably wasn't out of the realm of possibility to get her out of the way one way or another. So the daughter wasn't the worst obstacle, being a second son, however, was another matter. That one wasn't quite as easy a fix but the same solution could be used for both if necessary. It was a lot of complication though, a lot of mess to make things ideal.

Neither of these things seemed to be deterrents for Tatiana though, she'd have known both details before even considering him. Was it possible that she was leading Macmillan on to spur Valerian into action? Her son was a fool if he wanted Tatiana and had done nothing all this time about it, she'd have betrothed them herself if she hadn't thought it would be ill-received. It was one thing to develop feelings for the cousin you were raised with and eventually marry them - wasn't that the plot of Mansfield Park? Not that she'd ever read it. It was another thing entirely to raise two cousins together with the expectation that they would be man and wife, she may as well have encouraged them to fornicate the moment they figured out how! Ultimately she thought Valerian would simply step up to the plate, that it would come naturally, especially if she dropped little hints along the way but somehow her very intelligent son was a simpleton in this regard. Obviously that was Eustace's contribution. Well, the time for subtle hints was long gone, he evidently needed a stronger push in the right direction.

"I think what's best for Tatiana is a handsome, firstborn son from a wealthy and respectable pureblood family. Unfortunately gentlemen like that are hard to come by at the moment..." Mariana shot him a coy, sideways glance and waited to see if the pieces fell into place or if he needed her to spell it out.

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So Mother did not see Macmillan has the ideal situation for Tatiana. Then who....?

If Valerian had not looked over at that exact moment, it might have gone right over his head. However, there was no mistaking the message she was intending to convey with her expression, and then it hit him.

"You are implying that I ought to marry Tatiana." It was a statement, not a question.

In truth, Valerian was not vehemently opposed to the prospect, if only because it would allow him to escape the pressure to marry that he would undoubtedly face in the next few years. But then again, Valerian had never considered women period, not unless he was evaluating them as colleagues or confidants. His own lack of attraction towards the female sex was not lost on him—but neither was the importance of marrying and having children. The two were not mutually exclusive.

But Tatiana had chosen Macmillan—or he had chosen her, and she had not argued. Surely if she had desired him as a husband she would have made a gender-appropriate advance.

"And do you think that is... wise?" His brows conveyed what his tone did not: uncertainty, surprise, slight amusement.

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