Welcome to Charming, where swirling petticoats, the language of flowers, and old-fashioned duels are only the beginning of what is lying underneath…
After a magical attempt on her life in 1877, Queen Victoria launched a crusade against magic that, while tidied up by the Ministry of Magic, saw the Wizarding community exiled to Hogsmeade, previously little more than a crossroad near the Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry. In the years that have passed since, Hogsmeade has suffered plagues, fires, and Victorian hypocrisy but is still standing firm.
Thethe year is now 1895. It’s time to join us and immerse yourself in scandal and drama interlaced with magic both light and dark.
Complete a thread started and set every month for twelve consecutive months. Each thread must have at least ten posts, and at least three must be your own.
Did You Know?
Did you know? Jewelry of jet was the haute jewelry of the Victorian era. — Fallin
This was not a conversation that could be had in the Macnair house, and so three o'clock saw her in her brother's study in Kent quite direly in need of his counsel.
"Valerian has asked me to be his wife," Tatiana Lestrange said without preamble, her voice dispassionate so that she might know her brother's mind without influence.
Indeed, she was decidedly not dispassionate about the matter, and the past week had seen her no closer to having an answer for her cousin than she had been in the moment he had proposed. Saying yes to Valerian meant saying no to Charles Macmillan—but saying no to Valerian meant saying maybe to spinsterdom. Why could Mr. Macmillan not have proposed in a more timely fashion?!
Tiberius would always be pleased to see his sister, but it was not a common occurrence for her to visit his home alone. He expected that she had come with a particular issue at hand, and she lost no time whatsoever in bringing it forth. Her announcement was... surprising, to say the least. An announcement of any proposal would have been surprising, since he had granted his own permission for the match so recently and Macmillan hardly seemed like the sort of man to be rushed about these things, but this wasn't even from the expected quarter.
"Hm," Tiberius replied, a noise that conveyed surprise but no particular feeling one way or another. "His choice of timing is rather interesting, isn't it?" he asked. He glanced about for a tea tray and saw two cups poured with a wave of his wand; this conversation seemed like the sort that would require some accompanying beverage. "And no definitive word yet from Mr. Macmillan?"
"Mr. Macmillan has hinted heavily at his intentions," Tatiana noted, electing not to participate in any speculation on her cousin's timing, "but has yet to formalize them."
Tiberius watched his sister with interest as she delivered this. He had always assumed she and Valerian would make a good match, honestly, and he might have preferred him as a brother-in-law over Macmillan if one discounted career ambitions. Valerian's place in his family was more prestigious than Macmillan's, and he had no prior marriage and no previous children. He was, however, a healer, and Tatiana was not exactly the archetype of a healer's wife. She would be far more suited to a life of political ambition — but the question remained on whether Macmillan could deliver on his ambitions in that area.
Of course, her own feelings were material to the matter as well.
Tiberius watched the steam on his tea for a moment before responding. "I believe you should feel confident of an offer from both quarters," he said, not intending to give the game away but hoping to assure her all the same that the path diverging before her was not Valerian or nothing. "Macmillan would have to be quite foolish to come so far and lose sight of his prize. Which means the choice is yours."
It would have been easier if Tiberius had said she couldn't depend on an offer from Mr. Macmillan. At least then the choice would be removed, she could accept Valerian, and get about plotting revenge on Macmillan for wasting months of her life.
"Choice," she laughed, though there was no real humour to it. Choice was something so often denied women—and in some cases, even men. Five years ago, she would have relished this opportunity: two bachelors of merit each (probably) willing to make her Mrs. Fill-in-the-Blank—and the decision entirely within her own hands. For her entire life, Tatiana had wanted control, wanted power and yet, now that she had it, she wished most ardently to abdicate it.
"Charles Macmillan would marry the idea of me," Tatiana thought aloud. She was not dismayed by this prospect, for she was entirely interested in the idea of him in turn. "Valerian..."
Valerian had said something to the effect of her being his template for a future wife. Was that really so different, even with their shared upbringing.
"Charles has ambitions. Valerian, if he does, keeps them quiet."
Tiberius watched his sister carefully. He didn't want to influence her opinion, at least not yet; it would be much more interesting to see how her own feelings on the matter stood before sharing his thoughts.
"A silent ambition may be much more successful than a noisy one," he pointed out with a shrug. He thought she was probably correct in her assessment of Valerian's ambition, particularly as she'd had opportunity to observe him particularly closely throughout the years, but he thought it bore mentioning all the same. A healers wife was not so prestigious as a Minister's, but a good deal more so than the wife of a failed Ministerial candidate — and Valerian might still surprise both of them. "But I think that if you want a vision for what your life might be as Mrs. Macnair, you need look no further than aunt Mariana," he pointed out. Tiberius had the utmost respect for his aunt, but whether Tatiana wanted to follow in her footsteps depended very much on what kind of life she anticipated for herself. Mariana was not going to have a hand in politics anytime soon, if that was what Tatiana wanted, and she was not the grand dame of high society. Neither were things that interested him, but Tatiana had always been her own creature.
Tiberius was not wrong, of course; in truth, Tatiana very much doubted he could be. A quiet ambition could go very far indeed. But that was the rub: was Valerian's ambition simply quiet, or was it absent altogether? Where her opinion differed, though, was on the suggestion that she would live the same life as Mariana. Though her aunt was the only mother Tatiana had ever known and one of the people she loved most dearly, the debutante knew she was not content to rule over a household.
"I have considered these things, you know," she answered rather pointedly. She wanted advice, not a mirror.
Tiberius raised an eyebrow at Tatiana. He was not surprised by her words (of course she had considered it; it would have been irresponsible not to, being a woman in her position) but rather by her tone. She was impatient with him, it seemed, but he didn't know what he had done to earn such a reaction. It wasn't his choice to make. Well, it was, in a way, but where with an average debutante Tiberius might have felt it necessary to take a firmer hand in guiding the choice to ensure she was well-provided for, Tatiana had always held his esteem and respect. She was perfectly capable of making this decision for herself.
"Then you ought to have already determined what you're looking for," Tiberius replied. "Are you unsure of the men themselves? Of which strengths lie with which suitor?"
Tiberius could try to be helpful, but he imagined Tatiana would know both gentleman better than he did, having been raised with one and having spent half a year courting the other.
Tiberius considered. "My opinion on them as men?" he asked. "Or as brothers-in-law, or as potential husbands for you?" They were three very different considerations, though of course they could not be entirely separated.
"The third." She did not much care what he thought of either party as a potential brother-in-law; in truth, Tatiana had scarcely considered that her brother would be related to whomever she married. His views on them as men, however, would no doubt inform his position on who would make a fitting husband for her.
Tiberius took a moment to consider his words, bridging his fingers over his lap.
"You deserve better than either," he pointed out, though mostly to buy himself a minute to think. For all that it was true, it was not exactly material to the dilemma before her at present; these two men were the options that had presented themselves. Neither were so deficient that it would be prudent to push them off in favor of waiting for something better to come along, particularly given that she had already enjoyed several seasons out and must, he expected, be growing tired of it by now.
After another moment of pause, he eventually answered, "You would have a more advantageous position as the widowed Mrs. Macmillan than you would as the widowed Mrs. Macnair. Macmillan's daughter is malleable enough to be immaterial and would be less of a burden than Valerian's younger brothers, and Macmillan's position in his family ensures you would never be responsible for either of his. He may not have a fortune to inherit, but the marriage would earn you connections through both family and political ties that a marriage to Valerian would not." He leveled his gaze at this sister, then raised an eyebrow inquisitively. "Does that answer your question?"
"It does," Tatiana answered, neither words nor expression hinting at the calculations going on inside her mind. Her brother's words, though, were certainly a mark in Mr. Macmillan's favour. "I appreciate your honesty, Tiberius. You know how dearly I value your judgement."
Tiberius had not expected his sister to be shocked by him speaking so frankly about her potential future life was as a widow, but he had expected some reaction to his words. She was careful not to show too much, though. That was a skill that would no doubt continue to serve her well in life, for all it was unnecessary within the confines of his home, but if she preferred to keep her thoughts to herself that was her prerogative.
"And you know how much faith I have in your judgement," Tiberius said with a half-smile. "I trust you will make the right decision."
What the right decision was still depended on what she wanted, of course, but in Tiberius' mind her life as a wife to either man would be more or less the same, and he'd already counseled her as to what might be waiting for her on the other side.
