The Adventure of the Noble Bachelor: Cost

[methylviolet10b]

Author: methylviolet10b
Rating: PG
Character(s): Lord Robert Walsingham de Vere St. Simon
Summary: Lord St. Simon reflects.
Warnings: Spoilers for NOBL.
Word Count: 60.
Author's Notes: 60 words of my own inspired by one of the canon stories - plus 100 more, in extended play!
Disclaimer: I don't own them.
A HUGE thanks to hardboiledbaby, who helped me right an accidental wrong. I originally forgot and only posted the extended version. Thank you for the keen eye and timely nudge!

NOBL -- The Adventure of the Noble Bachelor

Flora, well… A man of my status was expected to keep a mistress.

Hatty was another matter. I had to marry a rich wife to maintain my lifestyle. But in Hatty’s tomboyish ways, I found more. I found interest, affection, even the faint stirrings of hope.

And then I found humiliation, pain, and ridicule.

I will not attempt marriage again.

Extended play version: 100 words
Flora Millar was a necessary expense, nothing more. A man of my status was expected to keep a mistress, along with horses, carriages, and a house in town.

Hatty was another price I was expected to pay. My father could leave me little; I had to marry a rich wife to maintain my accustomed lifestyle. But in Hatty’s tomboyish, free-spirited ways, I found more than just a convenient income. For the first time in my life, I found interest, affection, even the faint stirrings of hope.

And then I found humiliation, pain, and ridicule.

I will not attempt marriage again.

Comments

[thesmallhobbit.livejournal.com]

You almost make me feel sorry for Lord St Simon, which is more than ACD did.

[morganstuart.livejournal.com]

Yes! THIS!

[methylviolet10b]

Aw, thanks!

[methylviolet10b]

Thank you! Lord St. Simon isn't portrayed very sympathetically in NOBL, true. But I couldn't help but think how horrible it would have been: the situation he found himself in, the scandal and the hissing, not to mention his own feelings.

[hardboiledbaby]

You are most welcome, m'dear. :) Both are very effective, but I am especially impressed with your 60. To me, it has as much impact as the drabble. Awesome :)

[methylviolet10b]

Eeee - thank you so much! *happydances*

[spacemutineer.livejournal.com]

Interesting, sympathetic look at Lord St. Simon, who generally does not get such kindness. I especially like that he genuinely was attracted to Hatty because of her free spirit and her tomboyishness. Very unusual for a gentleman, but I love that.

[methylviolet10b]

No, Lord St. Simon doesn't get much sympathy from anyone in the story, or from ACD. But something about the fact that he was forty-one and engaged for the first time struck a chord with me when reading it this time around, and it made me start to wonder: what if, along with all the undoubted mercenary reasons, this was the first time Lord St. Simon really had feelings for a woman? And it all built from that. :-D Thank you!

[snycock.livejournal.com]

Very interesting take on the story - we certainly don't seem to be expected to have a lot of sympathy for St. Simon, do we?

[methylviolet10b]

No, we aren't expected to feel sympathetic towards Lord St. Simon - and yet I couldn't help but feel sorry for the man. Thank you!