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sweetmuffynsblog · 2 years

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Touché

Pairing: Simon Basset x OC

Warning: English is not my first language

Summary:

Everyone knows who the Duke of Hasting is, a famous rake in his own rights, notoriously known as the heartbreaker. But when everyone knows the gossips of the young Duke of Hasting, then they can not help but know who the Duchess of Iverness is!

Cassandra Alicia Brennus is a Duchess, in her own rights. It's bound to happen when you are the eldest of the daughters of the noble in Scotland, thus the title can be inherited via female rather than must to search for another male member in the family tree, that's why she is a Duchess after her father's passing.

Cia as her known as, is famously known for her outings. She never cares for any rumours about her, she is the Duchess and has every rights to sit in the damned house of Lords like those bruttish of men called themselves noble Lords. And it doesn't help when her most closest and oldest friend is a notorious rake like the famous, Simon Basset, The Duke of Hastings.

Now, Simon Basset by no means an horrible man, he is in fact, a very good man, Lady Danbury says so. Both of them had known each other since they were a child, barely eleven when Lady Danbury had bought him into her estate, it was Cia that helped him overcome his suttering by talked to him everyday, then both of them are so close that they enrolled Eton together then to Oxford and met other friend such as Viscount Anthony Bridgerton. Albeit being a woman, Cia's father, the Late Duke Of Iverness demanded that she would be enrolled in Eton, the King gave his consent at that, even if it's against the society and custom.

Dressed in a dark purple riding coats with gold embroidment a black cravats, a black trousser and a boot, she puts her weapon in the safety belt, Cia gets out from her room and to her Ladies in Waiting - they are daughters of the minor noble in Iverness that come to accompany her in order to see London - that stand outside and look at her choice of dress in horror,

"Your Grace, what kind of clothes you are wearing?!" she gasps at her making Cia smirks,

"rest assured, Emma, i will go and come back later." She goes outside and smile at a pageboy that brings her horse, "already eat?" the Pageboy nods, she nods to him, "call Joseph and Victor, we're leaving."

She waits for her two personal guards to coming, when she hears the voice of someone she loathes the most, her Governess, Mrs. Hermann,

"what in the world you are wearing, Your Grace?!" the old lady shrieks making Cia's smirks widen, she rotates her body and winks at her,

"well, I'm going to meet my friends from Eton. It's a gentlemen party." she briefly explains making the Governess shaking in anger,

"you can not go outside with that clothes, Your Grace! It's against the society!"

Cia rolls her eyes, "society be damned, i will do whatever i want." she will not doubt that her Lady Mother and Lady Grandmother will know about her behaviour today by the end of this day, and she will bound to listens to their scolding when she comes back to Iverness, but their scolding can be wait, she will not back to Iverness in the time comes, not when Queen Charlotte demands her presence as one of the Ladies in Waiting in her court, her positions as a part of the House of Lords already giving her the power she needs, and when Queen Charlotte wants her to be the Lady in Waiting for her and was a playmate to the late Princess Amelia, she is easily by far the most powerful noble woman in the whole Great Britain.

She controls her reins easily, and they arrive in the most famous gentleman club in London. She gets up from her horse and lets the stabble boy tends to it, she enters and welcomed by a lot of noise, usually the noises of noblemen who gamble or throwinh punches in the middle, and they say it's a fun thing, Cia begs to differ, when does this savage thing being a fun again?!

She spots the exact same people she went to Eton with, then comes closer to them, they drink and chatter and laugh, she wrinkles her nose in distate,

"and here i thought after Eton, all of you can doing something great." she says and their noise dies down, she smirks to herself at that, when they see her, they get up from their seat and bow,

"Duchess of Iverness!"

She laughs, "no need to formalities, all of us are friends." she says, she sits in the middle of her dearest friends, Anthony Bridgerton and Simon Basset. "Bridgerton, nice to see you again, how are you?" she politely asks, it's a custom to never refer to a noble with their given name unless you're so close and in private, thus they will call each others with their titles, or when they are already close, they will refer each other with their states - for those who have it - and surname.

"splendid, Your Grace, you by far the most beautiful now."

She laughs, "aye, sweet as ever, Bridgerton."

"only for you, Your Grace, only for you."

Cia will be damned if she ever falls for those words so easily, she knows them, she studies with them, she practically lives with them for years in Eton, and after known them so long, only fools fall for their sweet words. She looks at Simon who watches her like a hawk,

"aye, Hastings, decided to come back to England, are we?" she asks, taking sip of the water in her bottle of water,

"His Grace has been asking for you the whole time, Your Grace," the man, who Cia knows as the heir Grosvenor pipes in, and raises his cup to her, Cia winks at him,

"really?" she then gets closer to Simon, for better looking, of course, "tell me, Hastings, i hear that you missed me a lot?"

She can see his face hardens, but she doesn't understand, why. She knows Hastings was a weird man, he always has this hardened face everytime they are in a public outtings with their other friends from Eton, Cia thoughts that it will be dismissed after he went to travel the world and come back again, but apparently not.

"let's go outside." she whispers, she then looks at the other gentlemen, "it's nice to meet all of you, gentlemen, but me and the Duke of Hastings must go now, thank you for your time." she bids them farewell, then looks at Viscount Bridgerton, "see you around, Bridgerton."

She practically drags Simon outside, when they can conversed privately, then she looks at him,

"what's wrong with you?" she asks him, rather annoyed by his antics,

"what's wrong with me?" he retorts making her wants to smack him in the head,

"don't play fool around me, Hastings."

Hastings's eyes darkened, he looks at her, then huffs, "i can not do this. We cannot have this conversation."

"what?!"

"i tell you, Iverness, we will not have this conversation. Not here and not now."

"Hastings, you act so strangely... What happened?"

"nothing happened, Iverness. If you cannot see things clearly then don't."

And then he stormed, gets into his horse and go with a fuming anger without looking back, making the Duchess frustrated at his anger,

"what's wrong with him?!" she asks herself, then shakes her head, before she and her guards go back to their house in the Mayfair.

***

It's a debut season in London, apart from her duties as the member of the House of Lords, she also has a duty in the palace as a part of the Queen's Ladies in Waiting. Her jobs by far the most easily, she doesn't need to do anything than offers a companionship to Her Majesty, Her Majesty saw her growing up and taking her under her gracious wing, she is her favorite.

"is everything ready?" The Queen asks, and she nods, The Queen pats the place, and she sits there, she huffs at the feathers in her hair and how unconfortable she is in the gowns even when her gown is easily the second most stunning gowns in the whole room, only the Queen can upstate her.

"i'm bored." she tells the Queen honestly, The Queen looks at her with amused looks,

"you will not if you decided to participate in this, Cassandra." she says making Cia winced, Cia hates being called Cassandra, it's very long name, she opted to be called as Cia or Her Grace or Iverness, not Cassandra, especially that's practically her mother's name.

"no, i'm good Your Majesty. I'm young and beautiful and powerful. I deserve only the great things." she answers making the Queen smiles, it's really a rare thing to make Her Majesty smiles these days and Cia can do it without need to work hard.

Then, one by one, Young Ladies are presented to the Queen and her court, Cia sits there and looking bored, and occasionally winced when a young lady fainted, or at how horrible Featherington's curtsy are, and then her attention got to the Bridgerton girl, in a glance she knows that she is Anthony's sister, then she gives an elegant curtsy to them, everyone is waiting and gasping when the Queen stands up, she also stands up and comes to the Queen's side, both of them looking at the Bridgerton girl,

"pretty little thing, isn't it, Cassandra?"

Cia nods, "yes, she is, Your Majesty."

After that, to everyone's surprises minus Cia who already bored, The Queen declared Daphne Bridgerton as "The Diamond of the first Water."

***

Cia never likes to attend any parties in the society, she is rather sleep than go to those. But it's different when your Godmother is the one one who hosts it and The Queen practically dragging you to attends, that's why she is here, waiting for the man to announce their titles,

"Her Majesty The Queen! The Prince Friendrich of Prussia! And The Duchess Of Iverness!"

The door opens, everyone curtsy and bow, she walks in the Queen's left side while Prince Friedrich one of her dearest friend and the Queen's nephew from Prussia in his rights, they are following by the Queen's court Ladies.

Lady Danburry comes and gives the Queen curtsy, she smiles and both engaged in a conversation,

"i will go and fetch the drinks." Friedrich announces, bows to them,

"wait, i'm going!" she says and gives the Queen curtsy and a nod to Lady Danburry, then she walks with Prince Friendrich, "what?" she asks Friedrich who stiffles his laugh,

"no, nothing."

Both of them arrive in a small stall of lemonades and small cakes, "i'm hungry." she tells him, he fetches both of them lemonades and then Cia begins to take the small cakes and puts them in her mouth, eat it with gusto, "ugh, Lady Danburry's cakes always the best."

After Friedrich lets her eat until her heart content, they hear the music start, Friedrich asks for her hand in dancing, they go to the center and begin their waltz.

"not going to be creep but someone has been watching us like a hawk since you and me go to the refresment."

She wrinkles her eyebrows but her steps don't falter, "decribe him, will you?"

"tall, mysterious, dark, handsome, typicall the young lady's criteria."

"Simon Basset, you mean?"

"maybe him."

Their dance comes to end and Friedrich bows while she curtsies to him. After that both of them come to their place near the Queen.

"you two look dashing, dears." the Queen says, Cia smiles in thanks, her attention caught to the only male that stand in Lady Danburry's side,

"Hastings."

"Iverness." he greets back, the tension between them is tick, you can cut it with a knife, Cia wants him to talk first and maybe apologise, his behavior causing her pain, Simon always doing this, and Cia is the one who should mends their relationship again, she is always be the one who forgets and forgive him, it all be so easily. She finds it exhausting, not because of their friendship, no, she treasured it a lot, but because of his immature behavior, one supposed to become very mature when they inherited their parent's title, especially if their father is a Duke, Cia understands his feelings about inherits the title, she is one too!

She ignores him, doesn't want to uttered a single word to him other than the greeting, Lady Danburry glancing at two of them with worry, they're usually two peas in a pod, always having excitement conversation when they meet or be at each other's presence. Lady Danburry only notices that although they don't talk, Simon always look at Cia and her companion that dance with a glare.

"if you love her, you should act quickly." says Lady Danburry with a knowing look, Simon wants to protest but she held out her hand, "woman like her, Simon, especially powerful always going to catch anyone's attention. If you don't act quickly, she will be gone."

Realisation hits Simon like a bitch, he knows how much the society's eyes look at Cassandra Brennus, The Duchess of Iverness. She comes from a long line powerful family, even if she doesn't have the title of 'Duchess (regnant) of Iverness' many Dukes, Marquess, Earls, Viscounts and Lords want her to become their wife, she is as smart as she is beautiful, she is talented, she is exquisite. He has been in love for a very long time, maybe when she played polo in Eton or maybe when she debated gentlemen in poet and won? He loves her in a light that only he can understand, he loves her for her, for Cia, for her long time best friend, he doesn't love her for Cassandra Brennus, Duchess of Iverness, he loves her for Cia, only Cia. He got the determination, with that strong determination, he enters the dancing room for the first time in forever, he can hear the murmur sounds, and he is in time for the dance to stop.

Cia's dance comes to finish, she gives Anthony Bridgerton a quick curtsy, while he bows to her, she is shocked when she sees Simon stands there in all his glory,

"Simon?" she asks him, he breathes when he hears her call his name,

"dance with me, Your Grace." he bows to her while she gives him a curtsy, this time longer than what she gave Viscount Bridgerton, their foot in sync, it's like when they were still a pair of children whose being yelled at by Governess for their bad behavior, he is her original dance partner as she is his, she can remembers the dance even when she closes her eyes, and so do him.

After it feels so quickly, the dance is stop. Simon offers her his hand and she puts her hand in the crooks of it, they walk outside to get a fresh air. Silence surrounds them, it is a comfortable one,

"i want to say that i'm sorry for my rude behavior, Cia." he blurts, making her smile, they're in a private gardens, which provides them with a privacy they need,

"apologies accepted." she says "just please talking to me again. I feel so lonely without you. I miss you so much, Simon."

Simon hugs her, she sighs and let her boy relax to him, "i miss you too."

After that, they talk to each other, Simon tells her the story of his travelling, while she tells him hers, how it's not bad being a Duchess and attended her duties in Iverness.

"Marry me." he blurts out, making her halts,

"what?"

"marry me, Cia."

"why?"

"i feel like everything is so much brighter when i'm with you. When you are not there, it's like someone turned out the lights. I desired to be with you. I miss you. I feel lonely when i can't see you. I am obsessed with you, fascinated by you, infatuated with you. I hunger for your taste, your smell, the feel of your body touching mine. I want you beyond all reason. It's like you're in my blood, in the air i breathe. I can't get you out of my head, and i don't think i'll ever get tired of seeing you right here next to me."

Simon can see Cia's tears, her red cheeks and her shaking body,

"i have love you since we were children. Long before all of this. If i am lucky, i want you to be my wife."

Cia smiles at him, she wipes her tears,

" i am dreaming, am i?"

"no, you don't." he whispers and hold her cheeks,

"then i have a few conditions," she says, looking at him with a determined eyes,

"i will make sure to follow them." he promises, she smiles again,

"first, i want us to have more than one child. I know how you feel about family and children and all, but i want to have children, one to inherit your title as the Duke of Hastings the other will inherits my title." Simon nods, at this point, even if she wants him to bring the star, he will, "then i want you to be known as the Duke of Hastings and Iverness, and me as The Duchess of Iverness and Hastings."

Simon breaks into smile, "of course. It can be arranged."

"i want you to love me, hug me, kiss me, every single day in our marriage. I want you to whisper sweet nothings to me everyday, and to not get tired of me, i want you to be honest with me, can you do it?"

"of course."

" i want you to make a call in the palace. Ask my hand infront of the Queen and The Prince Regent."

"i will do that."

"and last but not least, please kiss me, now."

And he does, he kisses her fiercely, and the news about their scandal is in Lady Whistledown's newspaper the very next morning.

The end❤

#Simon Basset x reader #simon basset #bridgerton #anthony bridgerton #benedict bridgerton #colin bridgerton #peerage #nobleman

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blackswaneuroparedux · 1 year

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Anonymous asked: I have always wondered why Winston Churchill never received a proper noble title by the time he died. Ex-Prime Ministers such as Harold Macmillan was made an earl and Margaret Thatcher was made a baroness so why wasn’t Churchill recognised for his heroic leadership and political service during the Second World War?

As you might imagine the answer isn’t as straight forward as you might suppose. In truth Sir Winston Churchill was recognised for shepherding the country and the British Empire through the darkest hours of war. His place in history is assured and for someone who always had an eye on the arc of history Churchill, I imagine, died happily enough knowing his achievements were enshrined in the nation’s long history.

Churchill was offered the title of the Duke of Dover as well as Knight of the Garter by George VI, a monarch who at the outset preferred Chamberlain to Churchill but in time came to deeply appreciate Churchill’s qualities as a war leader. Churchill, much to the King’s surprise, declined the offer of a dukedom and also membership of the Order of the Garter, saying that it would be inappropriate given that the electorate had just given him the Order of the Boot - he had just lost the 1945 General Election to Labour’s Clement Attlee.

Later in 1955, after retiring as prime minister, Churchill was again offered elevation to the peerage in the rank of duke by Queen Elizabeth II as the Duke of London (apparently). He again declined. But Churchill did accept in 1953 from Queen Elizabeth II the Order of the Garter. The Queen appointed him the 912th Knight of the Garter on April 24, 1953. He had already been made a Companion of Honour and a member of the Order of Merit. The Order of the Garter is the most senior and the oldest British Order of Chivalry and was founded by Edward III in 1348. The Order, consisting of the King and twenty-five knights, honours those who have held public office, who have contributed in a particular way to national life or who have served the Sovereign personally.

So why did he turn down being a duke because after all past prime ministers retiring from the House of Commons were offered earldoms and other titled baubles?

A few reasons have been put forward by historians and his biographers. It isn’t because Churchill didn’t think it was a special honour, because he recognised its importance. His reasons seemed more practical.

For one thing being offered a dukedom meant also the expectation that you lived the lifestyle of a duke. It goes without saying the lifestyle of a duke, back then, was an expensive undertaking. In the 1940s and 1950s a duke was expected to be rich, to have at least two stately homes plus a large house in London, and to live on his estates and play a part in local affairs. Being a JP, raising funds for local charities, showing up for school openings and the like. It’s all very Downton Abbey-esque. Certainly the social expectations pre-1945 of the British aristocracy well established.

My grandfather was told by his grandfather of how his childhood friend from school, Lord Lansdowne, a great-grandson of Prime Minister Lord Shelburne and a marquess with two stately homes, was offered a dukedom after being viceroy of India; but Henry Petty-Fitzmaurice, the 5th Marquess of Landsdowne, refused because his income was not large enough. In fact being a duke was no fun at all, despite what people then and especially now think.

At the outset of the 1870s, the British aristocracy could rightly consider themselves the most fortunate people on earth: they held the lion's share of land, wealth, and power in the world's greatest empire. By the end of the 1930s they had lost not only a generation of sons in the First World War, but also much of their prosperity, prestige, and political significance. This loss was accentuated in slow motion speed into the 1950s and beyond. Other countries such as Russia, Germany or Austria can pinpoint a single event to the demise of their landed nobility (revolution or war), but in Britain it has been quintessentially different. Britain was unique in that the displacement of the British aristocracy occurred without revolutionary overthrow. It was in fact a bloodless revolution.

The assembled Dukes in 2010: (from left to right) 1. James Graham, 8th Duke of Montrose; 2. David Manners, 11th Duke of Rutland; 3. John Seymour, 19th Duke of Somerset; 4. Ralph Percy, 12th Duke of Northumberland; 5. Andrew Russell, 15th Duke of Bedford; 6. Edward Fizalan-Howard, 18th Duke of Norfolk; 7. Torquhil Campbell, 18th Duke of Argyll; 8. Maurice FitzGerald, 9th Duke of Leinster; 9. Murray Beauclerk, 14th Duke of St Albans; 10. Arthur Wellesey, 8th Duke of Wellington.

The sobering scholarship of the Cambridge historian, Sir David Cannadine has pointed to mainly three principal reasons for the decline of the aristocracy in British public life. Firstly, land reform (especially in Ireland). The unearned income of the landlord became increasingly the target, especially in Ireland, of new political movements. and the huge sales of land in the 1920s to meet taxes and death duties. - crippled the aristocracy in Britain. This was combined with a lengthy agricultural depression that began at roughly the same time. Indeed it began when the price of wheat dropped during the 1880s. The gradual increase of tonnage being shipped because of steam, allowed large quantiles of arable produce to enter Europe from the US and elsewhere, reducing prices. The British refused to slam tariffs on imports, because the new electorate enfranchised in 1885 were townies and liked the lower food prices in the shops.

Secondly, the mass killings in France and Belgium in World War One that claimed a generation of British lives of young men. The aristocracy volunteered for the British armed forces in droves because they were dispirited by their losing social and economic struggle at home, and preferred to fight a battle they thought they could win. In actuality, the aristocratic ethos carried with it many obligations, one of which was that an aristocrat not shirk from fighting his country's battles. The deeply ingrained sense of honour nurtured by the British upper class was one of its most admirable characteristics, and the sons (and sometimes fathers) of the upper class who headed for the front lines simply were acting in accordance with their sense of honour. The result was a casualty rate far in excess of any other social group in the country.

Thirdly, hand in hand with all this was the whirlwinds of social change taking place such as the rise of the middle class into the professions seen as the traditional strongholds of the aristocracy. The professionalisation of traditional occupations such as the civil service, church, military, politics, or law meant the educated middle classes could compete, and frequently excel, an aristocracy now resting on past laurels. The aristocracy couldn’t complain as they just grew fat and lazy whilst the more risk taking and ambitious middle classes had a greater hunger to succeed. More damning was the fact that the aristocracy lost touch with their societal roots of duty and obligation and were rightly found to not represent the populace with the extension of the electoral franchise.

These days dukes have adapted to the winds of change. Some have followed Dukes of Bedford in 1945 and later the infamous Marquess of Bath to open their stately homes, Woburn Abbey and Longleat respectively, as theme parks cum tourist attractions. They were much criticised at the time. Alexander Montagu, 10th Duke of Manchester, sold off his two stately homes in the early 1950s and lost much of his status doing so - in the 1600s, his heir might have been prevented from assuming his title and seat in the Lords because of insufficient wealth. This happened to Roger Stafford, heir of that medieval Stafford family, over whom Henry Montagu, the 1st Duke of Manchester, presided a royal commission to see if poverty disqualified his claim to the barony of Stafford.

As interesting as this discussion is, I find myself straying from the question at hand.

Back to Churchill. I am of the view that the main reason why Churchill turned down a dukedom was that he knew that accepting a peerage might have cut short a renewed career in the Commons for his son Randolph and in due course might also prevent one for his grandson Winston. At the time there was no procedure for disclaiming a title. Indeed the procedure was first established only later by the Peerage Act 1963. As things stood then in Churchill’s time, upon inheriting a peerage, either Randolph or Winston would immediately be unseated from the House of Commons.

In the event, Randolph never sat in Parliament after losing his only seat there in 1945 and indeed was to die only three years after his father, so the dukedom would have had no effect on his career. Randolph's oldest son Winston did serve in the Commons from 1970 until 1997, but by that time provision existed for disclaiming a hereditary peerage, as long-serving far left Labour MP Tony Benn - born Anthony Wedgwood Benn, son of Labour Party peer, Viscount Stansgate - had done in 1963 upon the passing of the Peerage Act.

It also can be argued that Churchill had no need of a dukedom when he was already an aristocrat - or at least born into one. His father was Lord Randolph Churchill and direct descendant, of the famed 1st Duke of Marlborough. Winston was born in 1874 at his family’s ancestral home of Blenheim Palace in Oxfordshire. Whilst Churchill was an aristocrat, he didn’t really have much time for them, nor was he particularly enamoured by that class. Why that was the case, I would be happy to address in a future post. But for it’s enough to say that Sir Winston S. Churchill remained a commoner until he died.

Although it was considered usual for prime ministers to be offered earldoms, recent prime ministers have declined to accept peerages - the last to do so was Margaret Thatcher, who was made a baroness. Interestingly enough, Harold Macmillan was offered an Earldom immediately when he retired but rejected it, in retirement he later made many political interventions and criticised his successors, when Thatcher became Prime Minister he requested a peerage and was given the title Earl of Stockton, he used his new seat in the Lords to criticise Thatcher's handling of the coal miners' strike, so he pretty much used his new peerage as a way to have a platform from which to oppose Thatcher.

But with fewer peerages being created the political climate has changed where it’s rare that an outgoing prime minister is even offered any kind of title, let alone a peerage. These days a lot of that is down the the public image of the outgoing prime minister and it seems a lot of water has to pass under the bridge before someone can be considered for any kind of honour. John Major, Tony Blair, Gordon Brown, David Cameron, Theresa May, and even Boris Johnson (let’s not even talk about Liz Truss) have to wait for the political climate to change any kind of recognition.

John Major turned down a peerage (or so it was reported) but accepted a knighthood in 2005 from the Queen when he was made Knight Companion of the Most Noble Order of the Garter, the oldest and most senior British order of chivalry. Tony Blair, who left Downing Street more than 15 years ago, recently followed in the footsteps of Major in 2021 when he too was knighted and made a Knight Companion of the Most Noble Order of the Garter.

Appointments to the Garter are in the Queen’s gift and made without prime ministerial advice. They are for life unless a knight or lady companion offends against certain “points of reproach”.

Founded in 1348 by Edward III, the garter is awarded by the sovereign for outstanding public service and achievement. It is said to have been inspired by events at a ball in northern France, attended by the king and Joan, Countess of Salisbury. The countess is believed to have dropped her garter, causing laughter and some embarrassment. The king, however, picked it up and wore it on his own leg, uttering the phrase “Honi soit qui mal y pense” – “Shame on him who thinks this evil” - now the order’s motto. The order’s emblem is a blue ribbon or garter worn by men below the left knee and by women on the left arm. There are now 21 non-royal companions in the order out of a maximum of 24.

Gordon Brown and David Cameron will have to wait their turn. Heaven knows what will happen when Liz Truss’ time comes. Perhaps we can have some piecemeal reform whereby by all means bestow a title on said politician but the public decides on the place name.

I look forward to hearing more from Lord Cameron of Pratt Bottom, Lord Brown of Great Snoring, Lady May of Crapstone, Lord Johnson of Bonks Hill, and Lady Truss of Twatt on great issues of the day in our public discourse.

Thanks for your question.

#question #ask #peerage #winston churchill #aristocracy #house of commons #knighthood #house of lords #politics #queen #monarchy #order of the garter #nobility #prime minister

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