Changes

[gramina]

For minutia_r's prompt, "Olivia Kouldelka's affair with Lady Donna, and picking things up where she left off with Lord (and then Count) Dono"

Changes

A secret glance, a drifting touch, a hand
Too long on mine, a subtle clue I missed
Until she spoke out plain; until we kissed
I had no thought of any but a man.
That joy brought grief – I knew she still must take
A man to give her standing. She must wed
And build a life apart. We’d share a bed,
But not a life. There was no choice to make.

I never dreamed there’d be another path,
Another life, another choice, a fate
Known and unknown, changing, and still the same –
The mouth that quirks just so, the growing flame
In eyes that catch mine as the hour grows late:
To take this choice, I’ll dare the whole world’s wrath.

Comments

[fairestcat]

Oh, this is most wonderful!

[philomytha]

This is lovely!

Lovely, though not quite cannon

[capplor.livejournal.com]

Is there a story-format about an affair? I rather think Olivia is a bit young to have had a "past". (Not that she couldn't have had an affair, but I"m pretty sure that for 10 years or more before changing, Donna didn't need "a man to give her standing".

[(Anonymous)]

Oh, yes. This is what I wanted. Thank you!

--Minutia_R

[gramina]

Thank you!

[gramina]

Thank you!

Re: Lovely, though not quite cannon

[gramina]

Not that I know of -- and no, definitely not cannon. On the standing issue, though -- I think that once the old count died, if Donna had not become Dono, and had stayed single, her life would have been pretty damned difficult. I think that marriage was the only way that as a woman she could leave the legal control of her male relatives. Given her specific relative, it might or might not have been possible to escape his control by anything short of abandoning everything and leaving the planet, and that has its own down sides.

[gramina]

You're entirely welcome! I'm glad it worked for you. I'm actually kind of pleased with how the non-standard sonnet structure worked, too.

Re: Lovely, though not quite cannon

[windtear]

I don't think you're entirely correct, there. There's no textev in canon that females are legally under their male relatives' control - socially it's quite clear they are, but the fact that law is considered a female profession on Barrayar indicates that there must be some legal freedom. Although you are completely correct that when we're talking Richars, 'freedom' is an entirely abstract concept for anybody anywhere within his power..

Re: Lovely, though not quite canon

[trope]

I'm actually working on a story based on this prompt (and yo, it is difficult; I think there are advantages to poetry, there!).

There's evidence in Komarr that children are always under the control of some male relative in the absence of a specific legal document stating otherwise--it's even observed on Komarr, which is why Nikki's treatment proved difficult.

So the question would really be whether an unmarried female would be classed the same way, as a child. (Ick, I know. But not that uncommon in some parts.) Or whether Pierre would have put some kind of legal protection in place for Donna; unlikely, since he was so sloppy about failing to name an heir.

Re: Lovely, though not quite canon

[(Anonymous)]

Unmarried Donna would only have whatever money her brother specifically willed to her and Richars could probably contest even that if he wanted to make things difficult.

Donna has never had a salaried job. Getting a well paid one now would be very difficult unless it was by the patronage of a rich man and you can imagine how that would look.

I can see Olivia fascinated by this older woman. Nice little story.

Filceolaire

Re: Lovely, though not quite canon

[ollipop]

I'm sure that a fourth marriage could have been arranged by Donna, though I'm not clear whether Richars would have had any responsibility to keep her.