OPEN STARTER | OPEN TO ALL LOCATION | GENTLEMAN JACK'S

he had been searching for nothing more than a good strong drink. if a good time were to come from it, well... george was not one to say no. finding his cousin, drowning his sorrows in a borderline impressive quantity of alcohol had not exactly been on the cards ; but it would be a bold-faced lie to say he wasn't at least a bit pleased to see tobias. and still conscious? he must remember to congratulate his cousin, even if it was worry and note amusement starting to gnaw at him as he neared the scene.

who: edith & george ( @georgcs ) where: edith room at the whitlock manor

george wasn't quite sure how it was he felt about the matchmaking. he'd have been more surprised if he wasn't involved, given the.. recent developments. if anything, he felt quite sorry for the poor woman he'd been matched with -- surely, and rightly so, she would want nothing to do with him? but the question posed by lady whistledown had, admittedly, been interesting. however begrudgingly he would bestow the writer that praise. the best thing about it, was his familiarity with the household. or a particular member of it anyway. she was naturally his first port of call. even though it probably should have been the lady he'd been matched with.

"if you think that's the cruellest, then you have not been around me long enough." edith joked. she was not someone who purposely went out of her way to be mean. but she also did not suffer fools and she had a quick tongue. luckily, george had never really had to see that side of her. really, she felt more free when she was around him than she did with basically anyone else. he had broken down the walls that she kept around herself with a smile and a joke and she had no idea how he did it. "you do make a good point ... sometimes." edith laughed, "i am certainly glad that you're not, george. i would simply die of boredom if you were."

"remind me never to get on your bad side, then. i am a sensitive soul and anything crueller said to me will surely send me spiralling." there was an element of truth in that statement that george would not like to admit to. he cared little for most other's opinions -- cruel or otherwise, but he would be at the very least a little shaken if edith's ever came to that. "yes! two compliments in one hour, my, my. i am doing remarkably well today -- i should have taken a bet out." it was a mutually beneficial reality, without her he'd likely have wandered off by himself with bran. as much as he loved the dog, his company couldn't hold a candle to edith's.

esther's brows were furrowed in worry- how could they not be? she had never been one to hide her emotions. that is, she couldn't hide her emotions, her face betrayed her every time. she moved towards the window seat and sat besides him. she was quiet for a moment, mulling over her words, what to say and what not to say. "i do not care what a gossip column has to say about you, george." a pause. "from what i know of you, you are a kind, sensitive, smart, and funny young man. you are good to your family and your staff and, well, that is good enough for me."

there was an unsettled feeling in his stomach ( and not just from the intake of far too much alcohol in too little time ) at the expression on esther's face. she was the picture of worry and he wanted almost to shake her out of it. of course she did not care. perhaps she ought to, he thought. "i know that. you are far too sweet for all of this and i am sorry to have dragged you into it." it was the most earnest thing he'd said all day -- how fitting that it was esther to bring it out of him. "goodness, my head will not fit back through that door if you keep talking like that," george turned to face her, dark brows drawn into a frown. "... does miss emily know?" he held such affection for the little girl but it had only just occurred to him she may have heard something -- anything. the very thought had his insides squirming.

“Much better than on ancient roads,” he quips back even though he did actually like their family motto and had used it as justification for his original expedition. Secrets played such a part in everyone’s life and now someone was determined to out them all for the purpose of entertainment. Not that he could blame them. It was a grand idea even if he wasn’t liking it on this occasion. “One thing about him is that he appears that he doesn’t care enough but image is everything and the secrets we keep can destroy that. You included. You have the last name, you’re of his blood. Its how it is.” Defeated sounding but he wondered if his cousin had the same figure, or a similar one, following him around to make sure they behaved. “The wall? You’re never going to win that fight, no matter how strong your fist or true your aim.”

he snorts. "i never really understood that," not that he'd given it much thought. it was just one of those things that came along with belonging to such an old name -- one of many things that george couldn't have cared less about if he tried. he had thought the revealing of his secret would be among that list, but it turned out he was wrong. or half wrong. he is quite unable to make his mind up on the matter, frowning as he tries to discern his own muddled feelings in the silence that falls between cousins momentarily. "how very unfortunate for us all," a smile then, he quirks both brows at tobias. "is it too late to take my mother's name and run away to ireland, do you think?" god knows he's thought about it enough times. tobias is far more astute than he and absolutely right, of course. he laughs. "you would think i'd have learnt that the first time. but there is still something quite... satisfying in it."

"you, my dear, are about as complex as breathing." edith teased, throwing the pet name right back at him. she was lying, of course. she thought that there was a lot more to george then met the eye. though he did a good job of keeping it all hidden. she wondered if the way he was with her, was how he was with most. she found herself hoping that he wasn't. she liked the idea that she got to keep a little more of him for herself. edith wasn't someone who was a very open book. she kept herself guarded - she had lost too much to let people come and go. but there was something about george where she could let her walls down a little bit more. she didn't feel like she had to protect herself as much. "okay. that we can absolutely agree on." edith laughed, nodding her head. "though i think i definitely prefer it that way. it's much more fun."

he stopped abruptly, turning to face her with a frown. "that is the cruelest thing i have ever heard you say." it was a tease, of course -- and he remained thoroughly entertained by it, shaking his head in utter disbelief and laughing. he was perhaps his most authentic self with edith, engaging with his perennially silly side freely and without fear of judgement. but not only in that way. he did not feel the need to think about what he said, how he said it or what he did. it was a decidedly solid foundation they'd built and he would do his best to maintain it, or perhaps even build upon it. "oh, of course. we would not be here right now doing this if i were an honourable gentleman and you the perfect lady. i'd be miserable on the hunt, and you would be miserable standing around with all the other ladies talking about curtains or such like."

Hearing the laughter almost startles Tobias but he accepts it and chuckles along with his cousin but does wonder if he could have made the shot in the dark. The idea to ask falls away thinking its probably not the time for it. “Well, at least they can’t say we are a boring house.” He leans back to try and get comfy, back against slightly turned so he could still catch a glimpse out of the window if he wants it. “Oh, I know your uncle knows my secrets and he would have spent a small fortune getting them, maybe your father would have done the same.” That wouldn’t be a surprise. “Hmm, they know some of your secrets but is that all you have hidden?” There’s something cryptic in his voice, hinting that there could be more for the two had hidden. He knew it was true for himself. “And because of that, Lord Thorpe keeps a watchful eye on you?” He looks over George and see the red on his hand that he missed before. “I won’t ask if you won the duel but did you win whatever fight caused that?”

"most certainly not. perhaps we should petition to have the family motto changed to 'decidedly not boring.'" he hums, the sound dripping with amusement and momentarily interrupted by another bout of soft, muted laughter. george is silent then, turning tobias' words over in a hazy mind. it is, of course, a very real possibility -- one of several he perhaps naively hadn't considered. or perhaps he just didn't care who knew ; he'd lasted seven years with no consequences and there seemed no reason to imagine that would ever change. his chest rises and falls in a deep sigh. "i suppose. but i was not under the impression he cared enough to do that -- not for me, obviously," he bit back another laugh at the very idea, "but for his reputation, even. for anything." dark gaze flickers to meet his cousin's, brow drawn into a frown. "oh... yes. at least that i can think of right now. it is just about the worst thing i have ever done," and he didn't even do it successfully. he shrugs, hand outstretched to examine nonchalantly. "i am afraid to say i think the wall won that round."