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Post by Lord Rhodri Arryn on Jul 28, 2007 1:55:38 GMT -5
"He is great in many ways and a fool in many others. In that he is like a great many men. Tell me, Lady Elane, I have never heard mention of a husband to you. You are clearly of marriageable age, and so lovely, and from such an august House."
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Post by Deleted on Jul 28, 2007 2:07:24 GMT -5
"It was my father, Ser Edwyn, who was supposed to arrange a match for me, but he went travelling." Ran off, fathered bastards on a hundred women, and disappeared into the east. May he never return. "It fell to my uncle, Ser Robert, and my poor cousin Lord Breyn, to do my father's job. I never liked any who were proposed for me, though. Old Lord Hunter was three times my age." And his daughter Lady Alyssa was my sister's mother. "Lord Corbray was a man of bad character." A drunken sot who whored so often that he got greyscale. "Lord Waynwood's heir, Kevan, was younger than me and quite nice, until he broke the agreement and married young Lady Helen Hersy. The last betrothal arranged was with Lord Belmore, who was a widower with two girls and a son who are my age."
Elane smiled and shrugged. "You must think that, as a Royce, a great proposal should have been easy to find. If I had not been the daughter of the third son, better matches would have been arranged, I'm sure. But that's life, I'm afraid. Now I am 21 and still a maiden, but independently wealthy, which is some small blessing. No more proposals have come, but I am content to wait."
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Post by Lord Rhodri Arryn on Jul 28, 2007 2:11:24 GMT -5
"And do you desire one? I went down a path much like yours, offers from a procession of curs, beardless second sons or graybearded old men, or sometimes a sweaty merchant aching to call himself Lord. Unlike you, a marriage to me would offer almost no wealth. Our lands are small, and contain no keep, unless you count the stone watch tower upon the hill. But I have no siblings, no cousins, no kin at all since my father passed."
"Any man who marries me does so to claim my line. And so I will not marry."
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Post by Deleted on Jul 28, 2007 2:36:49 GMT -5
Elane was quiet for a while. "I have no such worries about succession. I'm lucky I was offered heirs in some cases, for I myself am heiress to nothing but my own incomes. I have no land of my own."
"I've always wondered what it would be like to have a husband. When I was young I gained favor with Lord Alyn for my abilities to negotiate and peacekeep with feuding Vale lords, but I always thought how nice it would be to retire to my own castle with my own lord, and not be "one of the Royces" of Runestone. I'd still like that, now that I think on it. Marriage to a good man is a rare and priceless gift."
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Post by Lord Rhodri Arryn on Jul 28, 2007 2:55:26 GMT -5
Lady Cortesse looks doubtful. "Marriage is a stone collar. To be a wife is to be a servant."
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Post by Deleted on Jul 28, 2007 3:00:05 GMT -5
My mother would agree with you. "Sometimes," Elane shrugged again. "Sometimes it's nice. Lord Alyn's wife loved him, and they say Lord Baldwin loved Lady Serena. It certainly looked like they did when I was there." She hesitated, wondering how to continue. "You are too cynical, Lady Cortesse." My, my, look who's talking. "Some men make bad husbands - I confess, my own father was quite terrible. But there are as many good ones as there are bad." She gave Lady Cortesse a knowing smile. "I think you should give your knight a chance."
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Post by Lord Rhodri Arryn on Jul 28, 2007 3:01:54 GMT -5
Lady Cortesse chuckles. "I'll grant you that you are perceptive. But my knight is already wed."
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Post by Deleted on Jul 28, 2007 3:13:28 GMT -5
"Oh dear," Elane said. "That complicates matters. Who is this sweet lady?"
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Post by Lord Rhodri Arryn on Jul 28, 2007 3:16:37 GMT -5
"Sweet?" the Gray Lady's eyes flash with steel. "I've seen little of her sweetness. She was a match made for a political game, and took great pains to remind Doyle he was not her chosen husband. A Connington made Swann. She and Doyle do not speak, not anymore."
"She cuckolded him on their wedding night. He feels little guilt for his love for me, not now, not anymore."
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Post by Deleted on Jul 28, 2007 3:23:13 GMT -5
"Conningtons are too proud," Elane sniffed. "Their sigil is lovely, I'll admit, but Griffin's Roost is in disrepair, and their incomes have dwindled. These days, a griffin should be grateful for any match.
"I am sorry the man you love is shackled so. It is a cruel, bitter thing for lovers to face."
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Post by Lord Rhodri Arryn on Jul 28, 2007 3:26:49 GMT -5
"Another reason marriage is a farce."
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Post by Deleted on Jul 28, 2007 3:30:49 GMT -5
"In many cases, it is." Elane agreed. She was secretly glad that she had never truly made the mistake of falling in love. Although Kevan Waynwood...she shook it off. That had been childish. "May I ask how old you are, my lady?"
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Post by Lord Rhodri Arryn on Jul 28, 2007 3:34:16 GMT -5
"I am 27 now, no young maiden anymore."
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Post by Deleted on Jul 28, 2007 3:35:42 GMT -5
"At 21, I'm not considered a 'young' maiden myself, though maiden I remain," Elane said. "And your home is in the Stormlands?"
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Post by Lord Rhodri Arryn on Jul 28, 2007 3:38:16 GMT -5
"It is. A patch of land near Cape Wrath, though I spend much time traveling afar, seeing if I can forget my troubles."
"As for your maidenhood, if you are not going to gain a husband tomorrow, I recommend you shed that soon. You have little need for it now, and only gain from its dismissal. Any husband you take at your age will be under no illusions regardless." Lady Cortesse finally betrays an impish smile.
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Hope you all are well and happy.