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nike_ravus
Title: On the Experiences of an Exceptional Gentlewoman or ... (something else, that I will discover eventually)
Pairing: None, as of yet
Fandom: Take a wild guess.
Rating: PG as of now
Apologies: I don't even know what this is, or where it might be going, if anywhere, but it made me laugh, so I will share it.
A Teaser of my 18th century fic. Sadly it seems to have crept up, and it might be more of a ninteenth century fic, but I don't think i have enough of it worked out to know for certain.
Heavily influenced by everything I've been reading (and writing), and may in fact be a bit of a response to A Great and Terrible Beauty, which I despised as an incredibly poor, incredibly American version of faux Victoriana. Not that I'm claiming mine to be better.
Miss Emily Prentiss had once been a young lady, or as much of a young lady as you could be when you were born in India. Her father had been a colonial official, the governor of Rajasthan. But he died unexpectedly when Emily was only eleven, and she and her mother had been put on a ship of the line by the lieutenant governor and sent back to England.
Emily’s mother was also of a wealthy and socially well-situated family, and they had written many welcoming letters, saying how they would be pleased to have Emily and her mother stay with them. And, when they arrived, they were as good as their word, although perhaps only the letter of it, rather than the spirit. Elizabeth had caught a fever on the ship. Her relatives were appalled, and nursed her solicitously, bringing in the best doctors, but Emily sat quietly in the corner, knowing none of the bleeding or vile-tasting opiate medicines would be of any use.
And, dreadfully, she was right. Her mother died a few days later and Miss Emily Prentiss was left an orphan, at the mercy of her relatives.
“She’s not a very personable child,” said one, while Emily was reading behind the curtain in the window seat.
“No, and except for languages, her education has been rather poor.”
“Except for languages? She doesn’t even speak French! Knowing heathen tongues is of no benefit in society… nor in employment.”
Used to derision, Emily did not listen until employment was mentioned. Did they intend to expel her from the house?
“Employment? Doesn’t she have an… inheritance?”
“Tied up until she’s married, or thirty, and only a few hundred pounds a year. The estate was entailed. I really don’t know what her father was thinking. As if a girl who looks like that is about to get married. He’s made her a burden on her relatives.”
Emily was quite aware that this was a hint that she should make an effort to not be such a burden on her relatives. But she wasn’t even twelve yet, and had no real idea how to go about it. What she wanted was to go to school, or go back to India (and preferably back in time to when she wasn’t an orphan and a worthless burden with a clear lack of prospects), but as a Ward in Chancery her actions were severely curtailed.
She spent the next few years as a ghost in her family’s house. She spent much time below stairs, getting in the way of the servants. They all knew her position and weren’t afraid to give her a cuff or a shout. But they often spoke to her, rather than above her head, which was preferable. Otherwise she hid in the library.
Her cousins despised her for her odd manner and lack of prospects, and at lessons they teased her for her poor French and even worse embroidery. “You don’t even have the ability to be a governess! No one would hire you to teach their children Rajput!” And they would roll over laughing.
She didn’t respond to it, but they only mocked her more.
She was a lanky, hollow-cheeked thirteen when her aunt came to find her in the library.
“I have come to tell you that I have procured employment for you.”
Emily’s eyes widened at this. She was certain she was to be hired out as a scullery maid.
“There is a lady, who is blind, and she requires assistance in her daily life. She is a Marquess, and it would be perfectly respectable for you to become her companion.”
A companion to a real lady was indeed respectable, although she didn’t believe that many of them were blind. She assumed the lady must be confined to her bed. It was a sort of nursing, she supposed. It would probably be awful. She hated sick rooms. But she nodded.
“When do I go?”
Her aunt laughed. “Don’t be so eager! The lady will come tomorrow, to… inspect you, I suppose. Do try to be presentable, although I guess it doesn’t matter so much about your clothes.” She laughed, as if it were funny.
Even if it didn’t matter very much, Emily was rather frightened by the idea of being inspected, and did her best to be as neat and as well put together as she could be, although she mostly only owned dresses she had brought back with her from India, which had become far too short as she had grown taller.
She had expected the woman to be carried in state into the parlor, wrapped in rugs of lace, but instead the woman walked in under her own power. She held the arm of the butler, and a long wooden cane, but stood pin straight, and she wasn’t old at all. Her hair had just begun to grey at the edges. She also wore an odd pair of smoked glasses that Emily supposed kept those conversing with her from being frightened by her lack of eye contact.
“May I present Lady Adler,” intoned the butler.
“How do you do,” Emily stammered. And to her horror Lady Adler turned right towards her and took two spidery steps until she was close enough to touch her.
“You must be the orphan.”
“Emily,” Emily said.
“Indeed.” And suddenly Lady Adler’s fingers were on her, feeling the contours of her face, and examining her collar and her hair. “You made your own toilette?”
“I- I don’t have a maid.”
“Good. I’m afraid I can’t have any mollycoddled brats in my employ. When one is blind one must rely on the opinions of others for the appearance of things, but it is still important to maintain quality. At the very least I can tell a silk from a calico, and a straight seam from a crooked one. But for everything else I must depend upon outside opinions. Do you have any pretensions of taste, Miss Emily?”
“No, madam.”
“Good. I generally stick to grays myself. It… makes the right impression. But I will have you appropriately schooled in such things. I’m afraid the position is basically that of a valet. Do you read?”
“Yes, madam.”
“I mean, of course, are you skillful at reading aloud? I am in the middle of quite a few interesting novels, and I would be distressed at too much stumbling.”
“I think I would manage. I…” Emily winced at the thought, but in the end it would be more rude to trail off. “I like to do accents.”
“Really?” Lady’s Adler’s thin face contorted into a smile. “Do one now.”
“What… what should I say?”
“Oh, anything, recite a poem.”
Entirely embarrassed, Emily began the first few lines of Dryden’s Aeneid in a heavy Irish brogue. “Och, Arms, an’ ayn man I sing, who, fursd by fate, An’ hawty Juno's unrelenting hayit…”
Lady Adler burst out laughing and Emily stopped, humiliated. “I love it! I truly do. Honestly, even if you could not so much as curl a hair or sew a seam I would take you, just for that.”
Emily knew she was flushing red, and was grateful that it was not observed.
“Well, it’s settled then. Pack your things and have them delivered to my house and present yourself not after ten o’clock tomorrow morning. We have much to do, for on Friday we leave for Paris.”
“Paris?” Emily exclaimed, half horrified and half thrilled by the prospect.
“Of course. I’ve heard you’re quite a hand at languages. It will give you an opportunity to improve your French, as I am certain it languished when challenged by the distractions of Urdu and Bengali, or whatever you may have studied.”
“But I’m a Ward in Chancery.”
“Happily,” Lady Adler smiled tightly, “I have procured a special dispensation. You will be under my protection, which…” she paused, “can be more… emphatic than you might think.”
* * *
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no subject
Date: 2010-01-25 07:15 pm (UTC)Sorry, had to get that out of the way (Jodhpur, to be exact). I usually try to avoid commenting on your fics just because I'll get distracted and then end up writing reams and reams to convey every single impression your writing leaves me with, and then we'll both lose time in the process - you by reading and then replying to the jumbled mess, me by writing the damn thing instead of doing homework. But I saw 'Rajasthan' and just had to comment. Well, that and you have 'gentlewoman' in the title. This just won me over so very much - gentle er, folkness in general charms me.
I'm going to be the one who makes you roll your eyes by pointing out the obvious Dickens-ness of it all. Have to say that you seem to have laid on Emily's mistreatment a bit thick there, all in one go - the governess line seems to be a bit overkill, especially with the line about her abysmal french which is mentioned by Lady Adler anyway. I don't think it wouldn't be true of her life or anything, I'm just saying that giving us all those comments at once seems a bit, I don't know, clunky? I'm all for a picture of how Emily grows up in this household, but maybe a little more spread through chapters? Or just not all with mocking dialogue. I'm not sure exactly what I'm saying here, just that I think you could do with a few less lines on how awful everyone is to Emily, or perhaps rephrase them?
Moving onto: accent love! Oh, I can imagine even canon Emily being able to do quite a few accents, especially given her globetrotting youth and Paget's ability to do them. And an irish accent of all things - it's as though you write this for me or something. I really like Lady Adler so far, although I see she's not bitchy enough to be an older Emma, so it should be interesting to see how her relationship with Emily plays out.
Really is a good start, even though I've spent half of this post bitching about a few lines. Hope for more, and damn you for making me abandon my french essay.
Please update soon.
Date: 2010-01-25 07:32 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2010-01-25 07:42 pm (UTC)Yeah, I've got nothing else, but totally amused nonetheless.
You do know that the only reason I write this sh*t is for the comments, well, and the lulz, because really, what else would I do for fun?
And it's totally a rip off of Dickens! I was humming through things in my head, and initially I was going for an Austen feel, because that's what the pic made me think of, but I considered how on earth these characters would fit into an Austenian world and it made me crack up, so I went for Dickens.
And a heavy dose of Sorcery & Cecilia which I mainlined while i was sick.
And you are totally correct about the growing up bits. I have zero characters, I have tons of snark with zero source, I have no idea who is important to introduce, since i have no idea where the plot is going, (if there is a plot, which there may not be at all.) I wanted some dialogue, since i had neither characters or scenes, but if (when) I figure out where this is going, i will take your advice.
I'm glad you liked the accents! I was like 'this will either be funny, or incredibly idiotic, and I have no idea which.' But it is totally plausible!
I think Lady Adler is going to be awesome, I just have no idea what she is going to be awesome at. But her incarnation in the X-Men was rather spectacular, as was her Sherlockian namesake. But moral ambiguity is always very important.
Sooo, any element you'd like to see?
I'm thinking inheritance ruses, forced marriages, dancing, revolution, and, um, secret societies.
But no crossdressing. I need a break from that for a bit.
And yet, still no plot has sprung to mind, Suggestions?
Ack, you go back to french, and I need to run to work!
no subject
Date: 2010-01-25 07:58 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2010-01-25 09:23 pm (UTC)As for plot, well. I don't even know how Emily meets Emma - I imagine she's probably connected to Lady Adler in some way, but not close enough to be the one taking care of her, or with some reason for Lady Adler to need a companion. As for plot, well, just Emily's journey as she grows up can be enough if you write it well enough (which you will). I think a main thread could be her education, and Lady Adler grooming her into an .
Which does not exclude inheritance ruses or forced marriages, but maybe you shouldn't give it too heavy a Dickens feel, just because you have shit happen to Emily in most of your stories and it might be interesting for some variety. After all, the situation's bad enough what with being orphaned and feeling isolated - no need for gratuitous angst. I think the inheritance ruse would fit in - especially in the Prentiss circle - but I just think that you could make this fantastically intriguing without raining misery down on the poor girl.
Saying that, there’s always the challenge of a good ol’ Jack the Ripper backdrop. What’s your timeline for this story again?
Also: which town in Rajasthan did they live in? I'm guessing Jaipur, based on Mr. Prentiss' occupation. Anyway, moving onto Maths homework instead.
no subject
Date: 2010-01-25 10:34 pm (UTC)Also, I think you abuse Emily so well, and even in canon, Emily is a fairly self-tortured person who doesn't make things easy for herself. I think fastforwarding through her stay with her relatives is the right thing to do, since we really know nothing about canon Emily's family anyways, and bringing original characters into it seems superfluous when you have so many CM and X-Men characters to chose from that you already write very well in all the au's you have going. (Which, I have to say, is an astounding number now. I want your brain and ability to not mess them up. Not in a zombie nom nom nom brrrraaainnn way.)
I feel like I want to know more about the trip to Paris. But. I also can't wait to read more of City on the River, Bicker, Fake Empire and It's Hard To Be A Man. Way to pull me in wildly different directions.
Though whatever you write, I shall read it, I shall cherish it, and I shall make an effort to comment more often than I have been lately.
no subject
Date: 2010-01-25 10:38 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2010-01-25 10:39 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2010-01-25 10:43 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2010-01-25 11:39 pm (UTC)I will try not to delve into woobie territory. I do want something exciting happen, but I believe Emily needs to be the hero of her own story At Least Once. I will poke it a bit and see how it goes.
I'd need prostitutes if I were going to do Jack the Ripper, perhaps the Terror?
Jaipur does seem the most likely.
no subject
Date: 2010-01-26 02:17 am (UTC)Must admit I cheered when Irene Adler made her appearance.
I can see this spinning off in many intriguing directions. I like all of the above suggestions and would not be opposed to nefarious courtly plots, derring-do, gothic castles, fantasical buried treasure or even smoky opium dens.
no subject
Date: 2010-01-26 02:51 am (UTC)I'm charmed
Date: 2010-01-26 02:52 am (UTC)Lately I'm checking your updates before anything else when I log in.
Outstanding work!
no subject
Date: 2010-01-26 03:36 am (UTC)I usually only read and re-read your stories ,which if I am totally honest I only started reading because I was bored out of my mind and needed a break from my studies, and they are so good that I lost track of time...How was I to know that your strange pairing combined with your talent could create such enthralling stories?
Anyway, I would recomend the movie/novel "Fingersmith" as a research source if you are interested and because I am sure you will enjoy it!
CMfanz
Date: 2010-01-26 05:09 pm (UTC)I'm rather new to CM fanfics world and started reading yours, which are amazing BTW.
I like your new storyline and hope that Emily would fare very well in it. With Adler's help she might turn in a well adjusted, liberal woman, an avengeress helping the daughter of the Duke de Nevers to recapture her inheritance and her own Prentiss one at the same time (reference to "Le Bossu (the Hunchback)" by Paul Féval story not the Hunchback of Notre-Dame by Victor Hugo.
If you're situating your fic in the nineteenth century she may be a profiler geek like Lady Ada Lovelace was to maths, kind of Agatha Christie, a feminine version of Sherlock Holmes, encounter Marie Curie in Paris...
I'm looking for your updates.
no subject
Date: 2010-01-26 07:17 pm (UTC)(I totally have a Lady Adler = one of Lady Schofield's associates in my head right now)
no subject
Date: 2010-01-26 07:19 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2010-01-26 07:23 pm (UTC)It is a rather horrifying number of AUs. I'm like, doh, here I go again, on this one. I am planning on finishing most of them, at some point. *sighs*
Do keep commenting! It makes my day a happier place.
Re: I'm charmed
Date: 2010-01-26 07:24 pm (UTC)I will try to keep posting often. I know how depressing it is to check, and hope, and be disappointed.
no subject
Date: 2010-01-26 07:27 pm (UTC)I'm glad you decided to give it a shot! Everyone needs a break from their studies at some point. Thank you!
Re: CMfanz
Date: 2010-01-26 07:30 pm (UTC)I do like your references, you may indeed be thinking around some of the same lines that i am! Awesome, Thank you!
Re: Please update soon.
Date: 2010-01-26 07:31 pm (UTC)I am very glad you were intrigued enough to comment. I do hope it will live up to expecations.
Thank you. :)
Re: Please update soon.
Date: 2010-01-26 07:34 pm (UTC)Timeline
Date: 2010-01-26 07:52 pm (UTC)Re: Timeline
Date: 2010-01-26 09:25 pm (UTC)I think Adams still has it 'Black by Gaslight' online at her site though as seen here. I haven't read her published novel of Gaslight, but I'm assuming that there's more scenes within it, no?
It would be an interesting take to have our favorite ladies here follow a similar path of solving mysteries.
no subject
Date: 2010-01-26 09:51 pm (UTC)I squee'd when I saw that you included Irene Adler in this! <3 Incidentally, did you know she was recently resurrected in the comics thanks to a virus, courtesy of Selene? <.< I thought you might want to know that little tidbit of information if you ever went anywhere with it once you returned to the current timeline.
God, I envy how you can write on such a regular basis. I wrote a fic once, and it's already been a month since I last updated on it! @.@ You, on the other hand, are just an endless well of creativity, aren't you? Don't deny it! All those AU's you've written speak for themselves!
Nevertheless, I love this newest addition you have to add to the collection. I'm looking forward to seeing where you'll go with this!
Re: Please update soon.
Date: 2010-01-26 10:18 pm (UTC)There was a podcasted reading of it a year ago or so and I just had it on all the time while i was cooking or drawing. I don't know how many times I've read it. Now i feel the need to find it, although I have Great Expectations on my iPod now.
Re: Timeline
Date: 2010-01-26 10:22 pm (UTC)I may have to have a mystery though, or at least an intrigue.
One of my friends wrote a Jack the Ripper tale for her senior thesis, but I never really thought he was very interesting. Prostitutes always get murdered, just ask Neal Baer. O.o
no subject
Date: 2010-01-26 10:27 pm (UTC)I am at once thrilled and terrified. I hope they treat her well.
I don't know about endless well of creativity, more like 'occassionally flooding river of creativity.' Sometimes it's just woosh, and at others it is a bare trickle.
But I had a first day of incredibly boring Syntax class today, and I have a sketch of an outline now! And a cartoon of a gothic mansion. :)
Re: Black by Gaslight
Date: 2010-01-27 12:15 am (UTC)no subject
Date: 2010-01-27 01:11 am (UTC)Uh, anyways, I'm not sure if you're the type to buy comics or wait until they're released in TPB's like I do, but she was reintroduced in Necrosha X (X Necrosha?), which was a one-shot to introduce Selene's latest plan to become a god. The issue itself connects three different X-men series: X-Men Legacy, X-Force, and New Mutants.
They didn't reveal Irene'e face in the issue though. They showed her wearing the mask she had as Destiny. As far as I know, Mystique doesn't know she's back either. I'm really eager to see how that's going to play out!
Ooo~ Gothic mansion, eh? X3 God, I love architecture! It's my major, so I do enjoy drawing buildings and whatnot. You'll let us see it soon, yes?
no subject
Date: 2010-01-27 02:45 am (UTC)(I do find it distressing when dilletante fanfiction authors know more than the people getting paid.)
It is a bad doodle! You know what, I think that you need to draw this gothic mansion for me. I am certain you could do it much better than I. Pweese?
no subject
Date: 2010-01-27 04:29 am (UTC)(I know, right? I should be paid to check this stuff for them! XP)
Aw, it can't be all that bad! XP I saw the link pics you had for your stories, and I think your skills have seen definite improvement from '9 Crimes' to 'On the Experiences of an Exceptional Gentlewoman'. I loved how you drew Emily in that! Still, that does sounds fun though! Does that mean I get something in return? Huh? Huh? Do I? X3 Lol! Just kidding. I'd be happy to draw something for you. Send me some specs and some pics, and I'll see what I can cook up!
no subject
Date: 2010-01-27 04:45 am (UTC)