[Phase 2.5] A fine lady deserves a noble man [Lynesse]

"Well enough to enjoy some of the pleasures of The Hand's Tourney and Feast, Lord Marq. Well enough to live and breathe, which is enough to give thanks to the gods for, I feel," she replies lightly, hesitant to blare that same old horn of doom and gloom that seemed to hang from her belt of late.

"And you my Lord? I was most impressed by your victories at Whitewalls," tough in truth, he had performed less than his reputation implied he ought.

"Ser Manfryd is your man, is he not? And it is not as though you follow him in some perfumed litter, untested by the the rancor of fierce combat," Lynesse swept aside such humility.

"I will admit to some curiosity at why you have not wed, my Lord, but do not think mere business could give account for it." She nodded thoughtfully, "I currently favour two theories on the subject. Either you are too endeared to your own air of mystery to give away such affairs of the heart by actualising them, or you have already made a choice, but are restrained by time or circumstance from making your feelings known. I hope you do not mind such idle theorising, for you must know that half the realm's ladies are driven to madness or drink by it." Her tone is playful when engaging with Lord Marq's reputation, equal parts honest and driven to put on a charming facade before this renowned champion and icon of the Reach's gallantry. At the content of his warning, her tone becomes more serious.

"My Uncle knows his own mind and pursues the match without my counsel or consent. As for myself, well, I cannot imagine my Uncle pursuing a match that was not designed, in chief, to torment me, and so I do my best not to give offence to the various Lords her introduces me to, and who might have my kin butchered on a whim, should I give offence." Her words are blunt, as she has begun to grow tired of those who warn her against Eldon, while offering naught to aid her against the catalyst of a potential match with him.

Regarding Eustace's disposition toward her, Lynesse was sceptical "My view of my uncle may be somewhat one-eyed - it is hard for me to see him as so many others do. Perhaps it is as you suggest, and he is merely indifferent to my happiness."

"For a match to be palateable enough for my Uncle - a man who is in the best of circumstances indifferent to my hopes - would be one from which he could still aggrandise himself. This would therefore be a Lord, heir, or perhaps the regent of a suitable house, for surely only such a candidate could rival the benefits Ser Eustace hopes to reap from a match with Lord Eldon." Lynesse sought to follow Marq's reasoning, knowing she was more likely to make progress with the man by accepting his premises than challenging them.

"Lord Durwell, you are certainly among those my Uncle would consider his peers - as I have said, he does like to aggrandise himself. Could I trust that if I could secure such a public display, you would be among those to look askance, and perhaps encourage my Uncle away from the grave course towards which he steers myself, and my House?" She asked both in sincerity and out of a deeper curiosity. Lord Marq had approached her twice now about the Merryweather match. Despite his gallant reputation, he seemed too competent and self-assured to be pursuing an idle fancy. Nor had he galloped in atop a charger to rescue her from her current trials, as he might were he personally interested in her hand. He was at once too interest, and too aloof, and this piqued her curiosity.

---

“You are the very soul of gallantry Ser, to take the cause of not merely one lady in peril by Lord Eldon, but all of them,” Lynesse replied, with hint of dryness to her wit, and perhaps jealousy?



She seemed to mull over possibilities for a long moment before arriving at a possible choice. “Ser Abelar Hightower seems a chivalrous knight, and bears a name Ser Eustace cannot ignore. He has spoken well to me and seems to lack the rancor and vices of those lords my uncle prefers. But as a second son, he lacks the influence and power my uncle lusts to cultivate. Perhaps if he were to gain the regency, my uncle would be forced to reconsider. It is hard for me to estimate the likelihood of such an outcome.” Lynesse was clearly fretful, thinking of options that would be palatable to both her Uncle and herself, framing the regency more as a matter to satisfy her Uncle than as a goal she herself desired.

Regarding the encouragement to assist Lady Ellyn, she is more confused than opposed to the idea, thinking it would work at cross purposes with everything she was trying to achieve in distancing herself from Lord Eldon amicably.

“To throw myself between the Levalles and the Merryweather’s would serve far more ill than good, perhaps earning the ire of both. Worse, it would confirm in the eyes of many the misconception that it is I who pursue this match, and not my Uncle. I would seem the jealous rival, seeking to ruin the match for my own benefit, and indeed were I successful, it would make my Uncle’s hope of matching me to Eldon more likely to bear fruit. I hope you do not think poorly of me that I view such an outcome as undesirable, even for the benefit it would bring Lady Ellyn. Perhaps if such ill-founded rumours did not already exist I would dare to do more.” She pauses, considering the Levalle woman’s plight, not so different than her own. She is not without compassion, and Lord Marq has moved her to consider Lady Ellyn. “Perhaps I could assist without being seen to sabotage the match with Lord Eldon, and instead promote Lady Ellyn’s chosen match in the eyes of her brother or father?”

---

Offers

Lynesse will “bring people together” with the knight or Lord who is Lady Ellyn’s most successful non-Eldon pairing [excluding Ser Abelar or Lord Roxton], and either Thaddeus of Alliser Levalle, or directly appeal to Thaddeus to consider such an alternative pairing for Ellyn.

Lynesse will take no action at either the Hunt or Goldengrove to bring herself closer to a match with Eldon, bar sabotaging other undesireable matches her Uncle tries to make.



Desires:

What help might Lord Marq be able to offer Lynesse in the pursuit of a match Ser Abelar? It sounds like he has no actions for the Hunt or Goldengrove, but he is well-regarded in such circles as the Hightowers move in. She is fishing for an offer here, but would accept the "peer pressure" Lord Marq can bring against Ser Eustace at the prospect of a match with Ser Abelar.

"And yet one can only assume Lord Eldon is here at their invitation," Lynesse mused, at something of a loss.

"Excitement is all well and good, but I do not yearn to make enemies of the Levalles or to encourage my peers to make the logical presumption that I favour a match with Lord Eldon by actively working against the alternatives. It would sully my chances of pursuing an alternative match, which I agree is my best chance of escaping the situation," she felt comfortable with this conclusion, for much of Lord Marq's own expressed reasoning supported it.

"Indeed, I would not have such rumours muttered behind my back at all. I find it sickening that any should think I pursue such a match, and so I will take a more direct hand in setting matters to rights. I would beg of you my lord, that you would gainsay any man who spread such vicious mistruths about me."

---

Might need to go simpler then.

Lynesse will directly confront Eldon [preferably in a scene rather than an action, as there may be some nuance here] in an effort to torpedo Ser Eustace's efforts. This would be a chaperoned but not ab public confrontation that might demand some kind of duel to restore honour.

In return, Lord Marq will essentially gainsay rumours that may reflect poorly on her, relating to the match with Eldon, or otherwise, and bolster her reputation so that she can pursue an alternative match. 

"Perhaps when my cousin Delia publically repudiated Lord Eldon, she set the expected pattern for a Lady who did not see him as their ideal match, and if that is so, then I can understand why I am deemed to have fallen short."

"If there is some truth in such rumour, it is that my own health and happiness are not my foremost concern," Lynesse relented, "we have spoken of what you consider to be my overdeveloped sense of familial duty, but it remains my guiding star. If I were to spurn Lord Eldon publically, I make a target of myself and my brother, at a time when Mustard Hall is more peril than sanctuary for us. If I had spoken against him at Whitewalls, then perhaps I would have been assumed to have encouraged Ser Daeron into his folly at the lists.

"And so instead of screaming into the wind of an oncoming storm, I have sought a liferaft of sorts, again at your suggestion. A house whose name and power might protect both my brother and I from even Lord Eldon's wrath at my refusal to pursue a match with him."

"As for any rumour that I have done more to win Lord Eldon's favour than what was necessary to avoid his ire, these I name lies. I presume some at least have come from my Uncle Ser Eustace, as he seeks to make a match between Lord Eldon and I more palateable to his peers."

Lynesse frames her words diplomatically and cautiously. In truth, any personal emnity she has with Lord Eldon is muted by the broader tapestry of her Uncle's designs.

"I have not heard much of Lady Alicent's rejection of Lord Eldon, being absent from Highgarden. I know of Delia's, as it is proudly gossiped about thoughout Gyldenhaal by all and sundry." Lynesse admitted honestly, though she knew Alicent had been engaged to Lord Eldon.

"I hope you will not think less of me if I admit that the personal is more important to me than the political, Lord Marq. Folk might make assumptions of me when I speak of the threat Dorne poses to the Reach, but that is my lived experience, in Mustard Hall. I would not see the hatred and acrimony visited on other houses that has been the legacy of my grandfathr's marriage to House Blackmont. Should I become a Lady of House Hightower my first duty would be to that House, and to my family, not some abstract question of succession regarding men I am likely never to speak with in person."

"Do you think an outcome likely?" She said, her curiosity piqued. "You are well spoken of in Oldtown."