Subplot Kudzu

Still, given their meager finances the Abbott’s must economize. This runs very much against the nature of Mrs. Abbott and Mr. Leland Abbott, Eleanor’s brother, who has many debts and is doubtless racking up more during his gallivanting with the Aeronavy alongside their rakish Uncle Zachary. Even with Lady Pettibone’s support Eleanor will still have a lean coming out, but better that than none at all.

Hanging over all of her Troynavuant plans is the slender thread of her Aunt’s life. Mrs. Lydia Abbott, wife to her uncle Charles Abbott, has been ill for some time and is now insensate more often than not. Rumors abound that Mr. Charles Abbott plans to marry Lydia’s nurse upon Lydia’s death, the two having formed an attachment while tending to the fading flames of Lydia’s health. If this were to occur, and the young nurse were to bear Charles a son, that would entail away Abbott Lodge from Eleanor’s father to the new son, leaving Eleanor and her family utterly without support. The wider this is known the less attractive any Abbott girl is as a match. Eleanor perhaps has just this one season to attend to her future.

Even with this concern she has set her cap high – the most recent addition to the Hazelton landscape is Captain Thorpe, the queen’s own pirate hunter (and his brother in law Captain Deere). Captain Thorpe is due to be feted in Troynavaunt this season, likely with a promotion to Admiral. Eleanor’s other uncle, Joshua Abbott, oversees the parish at Autumnfield, the estate recently let by the Captains, and Uncle Joshua has seen that his eldest niece has spent many a pleasant hour in the Captain’s company. This, combined with Eleanor’s impressive behavior at Captain Thorpe’s Autumnfield ball, make her feel that she has caught his eye. Captain Thorpe clearly admires both her figure and mind, and he shows a great interest in mech learning about mech strategy and tactics so that he might round out his martial expertise. If Eleanor can impress him with her skills there, well such a trifecta could translate into the most advantageous of matches. But hoping for this, an arranging it before the hammer of scandal and penury falls, is taking an awful risk.

A risk that not all of her family is ready to take, especially when there is another suitor on the table: the Oxford botanist, Professor Serrano, for weeks a guest at the Isles house of Paloflores, took the occasion of the ball to offer a proposal of marriage to Eleanor. The Professor appears overawed by her beauty and is at least marginally interested in her schooling, has a stable position, access to a solid mech through the university and an income of a thousand pound a year. He is a good man and a solid match, but one possessed of two problems: first, he excites her interest not one bit, and second Eleanor’s closest friend Pearl has formed a deep attachment to him. While Eleanor has delayed a response under the excuse of her approaching season, both Leland and Mrs. Abbott will be pushing on Eleanor to accept this proposal at once if not sooner.

Evelyn is in turn pushing her family to give Eleanor some space and see if she can reach her heart’s desire with Captain Thorpe. We shall see if the ever reliable Pearl will be pushing Eleanor to accept as well, knowing that her friends need of a solid match are greater than her own….

Running alongside all of this central drama is the issue of Marie Higgins. Marie, the poor relation of local girl Susan Beebe, has become a project of Eleanor’s. She has arranged for Susan to receive some additional tutoring in mech piloting from her own teacher, Miss Shaw of Briarwraith Academy. She also helped Susan present herself well at the Autumfield ball, where she turned a fair number of heads and wrote a note to Eleanor immediately thereafter informing her that she had found the man of her dreams in whom she will be investing all of her hopes, a man of sense and bearing with a solid position in her majesty’s service. Given that the ball was veritably flooded with naval and aeronaval officers this could be any of a number of eligible lieutenants.

Finally, a minor mystery: Miss Shaw has a picture in her offices that she has been seen to admire but of which Eleanor has never received a clear look. There are rumors from Susan Beebe that Miss Shaw has been spotted, at a distance, with someone who looks very much like Uncle Joshua. Could there be an attachment?

Evelyn Abbott

For Evelyn Abbott things are somewhat easier but not without concerns. She has had a long friendship with Lady Arianna Pettibone, and the noblewoman has asked that Eleanor be her special companion in Town this season, setting of a series of events that has Evelyn and Eleanor coming out this season - a turn much delayed for her older sister. This is a remarkable chance for Evelyn, and she has taken the opportunity to stress to her older brother Leland that this is not something to be wasted, apparently to some effect as he has curtailed his spending and behavior of late, which will smooth the girl’s introduction to society.

Where she and Leland are on opposite sides is in the matter of Eleanor and Professor Serrano. Leland has made vague warnings about dark events that would ruin Eleanor’s chances in the immediate future so she must act now, while Evelyn insists that Eleanor be able to follow her heart and take the risk of courting Thorpe. It is one of the few areas of contention between the two.

She has not, to my knowledge, shared this revelation with anyone. Aside from Timothy she made a decent presentation of herself at the ball, likely a taste of how she will fare in Troynavuant, especially as she has Lady Pettibone’s aegis to protect her from her scandal.

Evelyn is also close friends with Miss Audrey Holmes of the Strand House in Sparrowton. The two often exchange gossip and Evelyn has learned that Miss Holmes is putting herself in the path of the dashing Captains (ad any other naval officers). More relevant gossip has been her brother’s actions. Patrick Holmes has a recently adopted but relentless pursuit of Evelyn’s young and fanciful friend Ruby Isles. Evelyn, ever pragmatic, has taken Patrick aside and recommended he tone down his obvious ardor lest scandal erupt, even as she affirmed Ruby’s shared admiration. Patrick swore to take this to heart, and appears to have done so.

Pearl Isles

For the Isles sisters the elder, and ever responsible, Pearl, has indeed formed a deep attachment to the visiting Professor Serrano that she has cultivated both in her heart and seeded in his. Alas, what bloomed in him is the flower of friendship – he so strongly respects her good sense that he asked Pearl her opinion on his proposal of marriage to Eleanor Abbott gust moments before he made it, but is so blinded by his feelings for the Abbott girl that he did not notice how this question, once answered, sent Pearl fleeing the room to cry herself dry so that she might return to the ball and survive the rest of the evening.

(Interestingly the only man who noticed her flight was Patrick Holmes, who took it upon himself to provide her with a handkerchief and guard her chosen place of sorrow from any other eyes so that she might spare her dignity. Pearl has been cold to Mr. Holmes since the latter’s aggressive courting of young Ruby, and we shall see if his behavior here changes her opinion.)

Pearl’s evening was already off-kilter. The dance prior had been with Leland Abbott (with whom she has spent her life carrying on verbal fencing of mutual wit and shared disdain – on her part due to his dissolute manner and its impact on his sisters – and to whom recently she had written a most impassioned letter informing him of the rumors with his uncle Charles and imploring him to temper his behavior for at least a little while so that his sisters might have some chance at secure matches) who once they were alone on the dance floor adopted the tone and demeanor of an entirely changed man. He began by apologizing for the steps he had so obviously taken to steer Professor Serrano towards his sister and Pearl, despite the crying of her heart, could not help but see the logic of his actions – Eleanor needed a match more desperately than she, and Serrano was a good one.

It was what he said next that more set her on edge for the tumble that was to follow: he spoke of his need for her good sense in a matter of utmost importance: when in the breach should a man more honor family or country? When further informed that choosing family would mean people’s deaths Pearl swallowed her fears and told him Country. Leland nodded, said they would never speak of this again, but begged her to remember this conversation in the weeks to come. He then broke from her and was his jovial, shallow self to all others for the evening. Who was this concerned, noble man, who wore her oldest enemy’s face? Is this who Leland has always been? Has she been so wrong? And what has Leland uncovered? What has his Uncle Zachary done?

These questions, as well as those of her own fate, her love for Serrano and her love for Eleanor all swirled through her mind while Mr. Holmes guarded her tears.

Ruby Isles

Once recovered Pearl thanked Mr. Holmes and made to return to the ball only to see Ruby slipping away from the dance floor and up the stairs. Doubtless fearing that her fanciful younger sister was heading to some scandalous assignation she confronted her – though she had to follow her up the stairs to do so.

Ruby spilled a story of such gothic improbability that it defied credibility: Ruby had overheard father and Uncle Fredrick speaking of industrial espionage at their business – the Isles family fortune was in its lensing and targeting systems – before she was spotted. Father lifted mother’s edict against walking the Moors alone (laid down after that day weeks past when Patrick Holmes had rescued her from an animal attack while engaging in that solidary pastime) and Ruby took advantage, only to be attacked by a more dangerous creature – a Madman!

Said wild-eyed, wild-haired Madman dragged her to his concealed peat hut where he introduced himself as the lost master of Autumnfield – former lord of the very house in which the girls now stood. He raved that Ruby was in danger from Patrick Holmes, that Mr. Holmes interest in Ruby extended no further than his desire to seize control of her father’s company, and that the Holmes family’s machinations were at the heart of the ruination of his family. He demanded that she bring Marie Higgins (of all people) to him so that she could understand her past and her destiny. He thundered at her, quite shaking her till now unflinching devotion to Patrick with this new barrage of unexpected questions.

He then promised her proof, which could be found in a secret room accessed via a secret passage through a secret door behind the second candelabra in the second bedroom to the right on the second floor. So she was heading to said secret room to settle the affair once and for all – was Patrick true and honest and good, or was he what this madman claimed?

Pearl, already wrung out from the events of the day, offered an unladylike statement to the universe and circumstance before agreeing to follow her, if only to put this matter to rest. To her shock the candelabra did open a door, and the sisters descended into the bowls of the house (careful to use the ever reliable Pearl’s scarf to keep their dresses presentable against the assault of dust and cobwebs).

The passage terminated with a room containing the detritus and remnants of the last owners, including a painting of the family, the lord of which would resemble the madman of the moors if you were to force him down, give him a bath, a trim and a month of decent meals, and the young daughter could well be the Marie Higgins of today. There was also a pair of elaborate dueling pistols and several journals. Pearl read the last page of the last journal, which wailed “All is now lost, alas! All is lost!”

The journal is pocketed in Pearl’s handbag for later reading and the sisters retreat back to the ball, where they struggle through the rest of the evening; Pearl due to her emotional distress and Ruby due to burning need to learn more about the mystery of Autumnfield. As such the girls barely notice the state of agitation of their Father, Mr. Beebe and several other older men, who were gathered together discussing politics or things which could have no consequence on the lives of young women such as themselves.

Once home Ruby delves into to the journal, in which an increasingly scraggly hand details the collapse of the Asquith Family, masters of Autumnfield. The author self identifies as Dominic Asquith, the family patriarch. Fifteen years ago the Asquiths and their political faction – identified as the Amaranths – got enmeshed in a political conflict with one of the other major political factions – the Hellebore – the ins and outs of which are very much over the poor girls head, not the least because everyone has nicknames or abbreviations.

The broad swath details are clear: the Amaranth faction is on the advancing side of the debate regarding investing in technological innovation vs. consolidation of existing advances by powerful families. The conflict is deep and bitter, and while it appears the Amaranths are winning in parliament they have some potentially underhanded actions exposed by the Holmes family – at least Ruby thinks it’s the Holmes, and Asquith is adamant that the actions are not illegal and not entirely theirs. The shock of all this proves too much for Mrs. Asquith who passes away in her sleep of a broken heart (though there is insinuation of poison at the urging of her once friend Gwendolyn Holmes in her husband’s narrative). Overcome Dominic enters the flashpoint of his collapse: an outlawed pistols-at-dawn duel with Sebastian Holmes. Sebastian enters it willingly, shoots wide and takes a bullet in the chest, dying instantly.

When this is made known at court the the Asquith reputation is shattered and the Amaranths have to publicly repudiate them to salvage what they can of their cause.  The toddler Marie is swept away to be raised under her mother’s maiden name by an ally in the Amaranths. Dominic plans his own exile, albeit one close enough to keep watch on his child, but his grasp on sanity shatters when he learns that Sebastian Holmes was already dying of a terminal illness – Dominic had been so manipulated that at a stroke he had spared his greatest enemy a painful death by giving him a noble burial, lost his fortune, set his cause back a generation and cemented the Holmes family fortune. All is lost.

AT THE SAME TIME! That's how Jason has described what I'm subjecting him to today: his first game session in over two years and I'm making him play 2 PCs in close proximity to each other with only one other player to act as a buffer. It might be an error, but it was the best emergency Star trek plot I could come up with for a telepathic ambassador, a gawky ensign and a redshirt. 

We'll see how it goes.