#ctmd blurb

[ellaimagines]

I have a terrible headache that I'm sure is stress induced but! Imagine the duchess having one of those, like you're reading the documents for some dispute in your lands you have to oversee and decide over and you've read the same sentence three times now and you're still not sure of what it says... You rub at your temples and close your eyes, trying to just pull through because that's what you've always done.

I think the reactions would be different.

Simon, for example, would understand perfectly. He'd raise a brow, ask if you're doing fine. Suggest a break, for tea or just fresh air. When you refuse, he gently takes the paper from you even while you frown at him and try to take it back. He then ushers you with him to take a walk if it's still bright outside or just to your room if it's nighttime. He wants to be firm with you, but he's not a bully. He just cares a lot.

Anthony, however, is absolutely a bully... And a mother hen. The second he sees you wincing or just having any sign of pain, he's calling it. He will do the paperwork for you, you don't have to worry, it's not even that urgent, he's sure. He won't let up and probably make your headache worse as a consequence. If you're at your house, the fool would think your servants would listen to him over you and try to get your butler to help him to take you out of your office. Your regular butler would sooner shoot him point blank than go against you and risk losing his job- Balor tho, would be delighted in forcing you out of your office and convincing Anthony he has to keep you from going back in.

Benedict I think is a softer kind of bully. His intentions are good and he's not as forceful as Anthony is. At first, he tries to draw your attention to something else. Ask about your world, bring a trinket he can't quite decipher to you or ask you to play a song you like- he tries to distract you, to bribe you. It usually works. When it doesn't, he does become a bully. He takes your papers, he holds them above your head until you agree to take a break with him. If you try to climb him and take the papers from him, he will be happy to carry you out of your office as his new prisoner.

Colin is the most patient. However, this doesn't mean he is soft or will just let you suffer. He will bring you tea and water, silently coaxing you to drink it. Some snacks that he asks to share with you. If none of that works, he will gently ask you to let him read the paper for you or give you his opinion, which you usually accept simply because he asks it so sweetly and gently. When you don't even understand what he's saying and it just makes your head throb harder, you admit defeat and let him guide you away from your office.

Finally, I think Daphne would be the most impatient of them all. She tries to be understanding, polite and nice like any lady is trained to be... But she doesn't like the grimace of pain you make nor the way you hadn't even looked up to greet her when she came around. She tries asking what you're doing and you answer shortly. So she tries to suggest going out with her, letting her play a song on the piano for you and it's rare that you deny her that... But when you do, she understands she needs to be more serious. For her, that means trying to massage your shoulders and neck, worriedly telling you how tense you are and how you absolutely need a break. If you try to deny her once more, you'll have to look up at her... And she makes the best pouty face ever. That never fails to make you sigh and leave whatever you were doing in favor of going with her to the drawing room to indulge in whatever activity she wanted to do with you.

[ellaimagines]

I should be asleep (it's 2 am yay) but the idea of the duchess and Simon being friends just keeps me up.

Think of Simon Basset who genuinely thought women could not be friends with men, who has some very deep issues with how he sees and values women. Lady Danbury is his only good relationship with a woman- with no sisters or play dates with girls his age when he grew up, his view of young women is quite skewed. For him, debutantes are only after his title (that he despises bc he hates his dad, which I can relate to) and prostitutes are only after his money. Love is a fairy tale for this man, something unreal and laughable.

Think of that Simon Basset being a complete cynic and when he hears about the duchess, he can't help but wonder in what category she will fall: after him because of his title or because of his money? It never occurred to him that she wouldn't be after him at all. He's impressed by her coyness, acting indifferent towards him to keep his interest going... And it's working! She's truly a mastermind...

Until she sneers at him in disgust and tells him with no lack of clarity and words how lowly she thinks of him because of his clear disinterest in politics and his disdain for the debutantes. The barely contained rage when she tells him how he's being pathetic by taking advantage of his father's privilege, planning to simply manage the lands somewhat and make no ripples is, frankly, just as good as being a copy of his father- if he really wanted to piss on his memory, he should use all the power and fortune he collected to things he would've never approved of, change what his name is associated with and fuck up all his visions for the future of his title. Lady Danbury had proposed a similar thing, letting him know she was the perfect example for such a plan- using all of her deceased husband's wealth into the charities he hated. Yet, when the duchess says it, not as a sales pitch or motherly advice, but with rage he hadn't allowed himself to feel since he was a boy... Things just change for him.

She's so passionate about everything she does, has absolutely no qualms about being direct nor any pressing need to be likeable and mold herself to societiy's expectations. She's not rude (most of the time) but she's not afraid to call someone out for being a hypocrite- something the ton is full of. He tells himself that attending balls is more for his own entertainment, to watch her make her rounds and manage to always somehow land on top of any tricky social situation; he reasons that now that he will use his power to truly change things, she's the best bet for radical changes and he should try and get on her good side.

He doesn't expect that the start of the friendship he wanted would be marked by a third party needing his help... And the duchess pointing out the benefits of a fake courtship for both of them.

Simon doesn't expect to find an easy rhythm with both Daphne and the duchess, nor to find it so fun to compete (and often lose) with Daphne for the duchess's attention.

He tries asking the duchess for a real courtship, maybe even a private one... And she's quick to deny it. It's his own fault, because he was so nervous about being rejected when showing vulnerability, that he told her they could just marry for convenience. None of them want children and this way they can just live their lives more peacefully. She says that she does want a love marriage and will not settle for anything less. Love isn't something he can promise but the idea of her whispering those words to anyone else makes his chest feel tight.