mousquetaire

I do not wish Dorian Gray anywhere near me.

[ Oh, good. He needed another reason to dislike that little twerp. ]

Dorian Gray has a poor instinct towards survival, if he has approached you again, my Lady.

What happened?

[She hedges a little, quiet for a moment-]

I went to see him.

I needed to speak to him. About a mutual acquaintance.

[ God damn it, Lucy. ]

You went to him alone. Without either of us.

[ His tone is careful, and polite, but he can’t excise all of the frustration from it. What if Gray had tried to lay hands on her again? D’Artagnan had already chased him off once before. What good are they as protection if she does not use them as such? ]

What happened? Tell me. Please. If he’s hurt you, I swear I’ll kill him.

Yes, I thought you would not like it.

[If this is anything, it's proof that she sees them as family and not simply as guardsmen or friends. Lucy truly cares about their opinions.]

I have made a terrible mess of everything-

Toby [the man who just showed up at Athos' window one night] had been so courteous,and kind, and flirtatious, I thought that surely he was-

[She stops speaking. She feels stupid and embarrassed enough.]

He is Dorian Gray's lover. And I went to try and find out if they were making a mockery of me, and he was rude and distasteful and presumptuous, and I-

He did not touch me.

[ This conversation has spiralled, and d'Artagnan feels it is running away with him. Now there is another man involved, and he is Gray's lover, and -

But if that was the case, why had either one of them been soliciting Lucy? Much less both of them. Is she right? Are they making fun of her?

Or is this something else entirely? He runs his hand over his mouth. He needs to talk to Athos. ]

All right.

Explain this to me, then, what is it that they want? Are they both attempting to court your favour, or has this all been a misunderstanding?

What is it that you want from them, my Lady?

I don't presume to imagine they wish for anything from me. That has been made very clear.

I simply-

I do not want either of them near me.

[She sighs.]

Perhaps I will forgive Tobias, but I will not forgive Dorian, as he does not ask me for it, and I do not think he cares.

[ D'Artagnan sighs, too. That has been made very clear. Gray must have told her to leave him alone, and now she's upset.

He runs his hand over his hair, and then he nods. ]

If they trouble you again, my Lady, I will ask them to leave.

I recommend that you avoid them, as well, or it will be more difficult to insist.

[That is not what happened but, well.

Misunderstandings!!!]

It was a foolish thing to do. I am very sorry for it. And grateful you did not witness it.

I will not seek their company out again.

[ He's still so polite, careful.

While also entering firmly into elder brother mode. ]

I care for your wellbeing, my Lady. After what happened at the swear-in, I did not think Monsieur Gray's company is something you would seek again.

I did not seek it, truly. I sought answers.

I do not like-

[She pauses, a moment.]

I do not like to measure a man by a single meeting. I thought, perhaps, he might be kinder if I tried again.

[ D'Artagnan sighs. He's not surprised. Gray had made a poor impression on him, and he has a tendency to hold such grudges. ]

Not all men are as kind as they should be.

You are certain he did not lay hands on you?I would not let him away with it, I hope you know that.

I would have said if he had laid hands on me. I would have told you first thing, I swear it.

[She means it.]

Athos is coming to escort me home, so you should have no worries.

Very well, my Lady.

[ In that case he goes outside, meaning to busy himself at the stables. ]

Where are you now?

Maurtia Falls.

I know I should have asked you along.

[ His frustration is chipping away at itself. He sounds unhappy, but not angry. ]

Why didn't you?

Because I was ashamed.

[She has this going for her, she doesn't lie.]

Because I felt foolish and ashamed, and I did not want you or Athos to witness that.

[ Gently. ]

Ashamed of what?

The fault lay with them, and not with you. Such men are not worth your time, my Lady.

[She is quiet for a moment.]

I felt tricked and embarrassed and ashamed, and none of those things are emotions I am keen on sharing. Perhaps they are not worth my time, but I thought Tobias to be my friend at least.

I am not accustomed to my friends misleading me.

That is because a true friend would not.

[ Judgmental, perhaps. But that’s d’Artagnan. He would never treat any friend like that, and he has absolute distaste for people who do. What had those men been thinking of? Lucy is only seventeen. Why would they toy with her feelings like that? ]

Know that you need never be ashamed of how you feel, where I am concerned. Its not you I judge, it’s those who hurt you, and behave without honour. I’m truly sorry for what they’ve done.

Yes?

[She sounds just a little brighter, for a moment.]

You are the best thing I could have found. The best people I could possibly imagine to be here with me.

I’m not.

[ He sounds wry, and he sighs. He leans his head sideways against the wall of his room, the phone still held to his ear. ]

If I were, I’d have been there to stop all of this, from both of them. You deserve much better than that.

Don’t let your heart be broken by men who don’t deserve to touch it. There are many better than they, who are best left to each other if this is how they treat their friends.

Forgive yourself, you cannot guard me from every hurt I insist on doing to myself. I am the only one to blame here.

I will find another who will cradle my heart carefully, and guard it well. Until then, I think you and Athos shall build more than an adequate fortress around my personage.

To blame for what? For thinking them better than they are?

[ That's not Lucy's fault. That just means she expects everyone else to be as good as she is. It's no surprise that most of them will fall short. ]

We should do something tonight. The three of us. I don't know what, but something. Athos and I will take your mind off it.

For going to begin this when I suspected they were not better than they are.

A ride? An excursion! Into the woods?

A hunt?

[She hunts. She likes it. That's why she has a bow!]

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