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Post by LADY CATHERINE DE BOURGH on Jan 15, 2011 15:47:28 GMT -5
Lady Catherine de Bourgh was one of those people who liked to keep up appearances, in every sense of the word. She always had to be immaculate, impeccably attired and live up to the title she was so fond of bragging about.
It would therefore come as a surprise to many that, behind the closed doors of her vast estate of Rosings Park, Her Ladyship was one of those people who enjoyed reading fashion and gossip magazines. This might not be so surprsing if one knew Lady Catherine often wrote for the New York Times as its official Agony Aunt...but still. Agony Aunts and gossip columns are two completely seperate things.
One of Her Ladyship's particular favourite magazines as late was Plush Magazine, if only so she could scoff at the ridiculous fashions young people were wearing these days and criticize those who wrote the articles. Yes, that wasn't really the point of reading a magazine, but with Lady Catherine it was her way or no way.
She had recentley been informed through reading the aforementioned periodical about an upcoming promotional event at the magazine's headquarters. Her Ladyship hadn't originally intended to attend the event...but then, she read the magazine. Might as well show up if only out of politeness. Sometimes keeping up her late husband's charity work affected her like that...that and she would have an oppurtunity to wear the latest of her Chanel suits.
And so it transpired that Lady Catherine de Bourgh was at the event; it had been eloquently described as 'smart-casual' and so, in her esteemed opinion, Chanel fitted right in. She'd recieved a few impressed looks and compliments thus far in the proceedings, owing more to her title than her outfit, but still.
Having talked to some of the more influential figures at the gathering and consumed a glass or so of champagne, Her Ladyship ducked out of the proceedings for a moment to visit the ladies room, with the intention of reapplying her lipstick and possibly doing some restyling with regards to her hair.
That was her intention, at least.
ooc: Can't wait for this to kick off; thanks for you ideas Rocky! :3
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Post by rocky on Jan 15, 2011 16:58:03 GMT -5
Adrienne hated these things. She hadn't meant to even go to this one, but her direct superior -- above Frank -- had insisted on it. The trouble with Adrienne was that despite her patented awkwardness, her column was popular. People thought they wanted to meet her, and they were disappointed if she wasn't in attendance.
It didn't make it any less excruciating for her, though. The pleasantries and polite interest had worn off about half an hour ago. She was squeezed into her traditional little black dress -- it was too young for her, really, and maybe a half-size too small, at that.
She had bundled her bright orange hair up on top of her head, and stuck two chopsticks through it, and she was teetering around on six-inch heels; teetering because she'd been at the wine already.
If she was truthful, she was hiding in the loos. She had gotten tired of sitting alone at the bar, and convinced herself that everybody was watching her. There were at least two people she had slept with wandering around outside and it was an all-consuming concern that they were going to meet one another and compare notes, and by the time the bartender had started making eyes at her she was ready to crawl out of her skin.
When the door opened she was leaning over the sink and picking her teeth in the mirror, and she had at least enough shame to straight up and run her tongue self-consciously over her teeth.
Lady Catherine de Bourgh. Adrienne knew who she was. She knew rather a lot about her, in fact. She'd had a short-lived, torrid affair with one of the editors of the Times. He'd been an absolute gossip fiend, and he'd let slip that he knew who wrote the agony aunt column.
Later he'd turned out to be homosexual and in complete denial, which explained a number of his preferences in bed, but Adrienne supposed that had very little to do with the rest of it.
She offered the older woman a vague smile, in the mirror. Was she supposed to curtsy? She couldn't do that in a skirt this tight, something would split.
The silence was immediately awkward.
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Post by LADY CATHERINE DE BOURGH on Jan 16, 2011 5:24:05 GMT -5
As Lady Catherine entered the room she was quick to notice there was someone already there; a much younger woman with alarmingly orange hair in a dress that, in Her Ladyship's opinion, was far too short. Though, of course, she wasn't about to just blurt that out.
Noticing the somewhat vague smile the young lady had given her through the medium of the mirror, Lady Catherine returned it. The silence was awkward, even to her, and Lady Catherine wasn't one for awkward situations.
"Good evening," she said, approaching the sink next to the other woman and setting down her bag, opening it to find her lipstick (one of the more expensive ones, naturally). "I trust you are enjoying the party?"
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Post by rocky on Jan 16, 2011 5:41:04 GMT -5
"Um, hello," Adrienne returned, and then began to rake in her purse for make-up to reapply. She hadn't been going to do it, but now she was in the position where to walk out would be incredibly rude, and to stay and chat with her without a reason to stay in the bathroom would be just as strange.
"Actually it's sort of agonising," she admitted, trying to find some rapport with the older woman in how miserable these things tended to be, "my boss made me come."
She turned to look at her properly, pausing with her eyeliner hovering. She had to ask her, woman to woman, and writer to writer, about her work. And she had to know why she kept it a secret.
"I'm sorry, I have to ask," she said, with a smile. "Are you -- you're Lady Augusta, aren't you?"
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Post by LADY CATHERINE DE BOURGH on Jan 16, 2011 8:47:21 GMT -5
"Actually it's sort of agonising...my boss made me come."
"Oh dear," Her Ladyship replied with a theatrical sort of sigh, pausing to apply a small coat of lipstick before continuing the conversation. "That is rather a shame."
She would have asked who the woman's boss was, but before she could do so the other woman spoke again, having turned to observe her more fully.
"I'm sorry, I have to ask. Are you -- you're Lady Augusta, aren't you?"
Usually, as was expected of her owing to her status, Her Ladyship was a very dignified and composed individual (unless, of course, you disagreed with something she said and set her off on a rant). However, the young woman's words came as a a great surprise...so much so that she dropped her tube of lipstick so that it fell into the sink. Hastily she snatched it up again and reapplied the lid but the damage to her composure was done.
"No," she replied, somewhat testily, replacing her lipstick in her bag and rummaging for a moment to procure a comb, as if to prolong when she'd have to look at this strange woman who seemed to know so much about her. Only she and the editors of the New York Times knew she was the Agony Aunt; the fact this woman had used her nom de pen was quite alarming and caught Lady Catherine off guard.
She turned at last to face the younger woman, drawing herself up to her full height in indignation. "I am Lady Catherine de Bourgh...as to my knowledge there is no such woman as Lady Augusta."
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Post by rocky on Jan 16, 2011 9:15:31 GMT -5
"It's all right, I won't tell anybody," Adrienne said, and laughed nervously. "I'm Adrienne Heart. I write for the magazine. I just wanted to ask why you keep it a secret, that's all. Jesus. Never mind."
She shrank a little, under the woman's indignant gaze, and went back to putting on her eyeliner, facing the mirror to avoid conflict. She had a similar situation, only it wasn't her name that was false. The magazine had stripped the blue out of her hair and dyed it a natural red colour, then they had taken a number of glamour shots of her. She hadn't looked anything like herself, most people were expecting her to be this brassy-haired goddess, with immaculate make-up and a perfect pout. She was inevitably a disappointment.
Nobody wanted quirky. Lady Catherine was the sort to make her feel like shrivelling into the ground, with her perfect posture and her upturned nose. Ade was hoping she would just forgive her foul mouth and leave her, but she had the sense that this wasn't going to be the case.
Her teeth found a little raised part on her lip and worried at it.
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Post by LADY CATHERINE DE BOURGH on Jan 16, 2011 10:48:50 GMT -5
"It's all right, I won't tell anybody,"
You'd better not, Her Ladyship thought. Being an Agony Aunt was sort of like a hobby; she loved to give other people advice and inform them of her opinions hence the column. However, writing it under her own name...she felt that would be just one degree too personal. It could not be denied that Her Ladyship loved attention, but there was always the possibility of negative attention due to what she wrote and she didn't want that. Only compliments and well wishes would do for her.
"I'm Adrienne Heart. I write for the magazine. I just wanted to ask why you keep it a secret, that's all. Jesus. Never mind."
Her Ladyship tutted.
"There's no need for that sort of-" she began, before breaking off, taking into account what the young woman had said.
Adrienne Heart, that's what she'd said. This was the one and only Adrienne Heart? Goodness gracious.
As Adrienne returned her attention to the mirror in front of her, Lady Catherine did not. She continued to look at the younger woman, in a somewhat scrutinizing fashion. She looked so, well, different from the photographs in the magazine. And Her Ladyship doubted this was a case of mere airbrushing.
"You're Adrienne Heart?" she asked, one perfectly plucked eyebrow raised. Her tone wasn't mocking but could probably be interpreted as such, considering her usual haughty demanour.
Then,
"How is it that you know I write for the Times?"
Trust Lady Catherine de Bourgh to revert the topic to herself.
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Post by rocky on Jan 16, 2011 12:21:58 GMT -5
"Yes," Adrienne said testily. Why shouldn't she be Adrienne Heart? She switched her eye-liner for lipstick, and arched her eyebrow in return. She didn't like the tone Lady Catherine was taking in the least -- she felt that she owned up to her words, and she'd been forced to eat them and post retractions before.
It was the only courageous way to be a journalist, she thought defensively. And she could be just as much the glamourpuss in those photographs as she was a scruffy little tomboy, or squeezed into the world's tightest mini-dress. She tried to comfort herself with the notion that she couldn't be limited.
That was it. It wasn't at all that she didn't live up to expectations; the expectations were too narrow.
"How is it that you know I write for the Times?"
"So Lady Augusta does exist, after all," Adrienne said, a little cattily, but went on to explain, is a minimal a manner as possible: "I knew Richard. He can't keep his mouth shut."
Dick.
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Post by LADY CATHERINE DE BOURGH on Jan 16, 2011 13:16:42 GMT -5
"Yes,"
Adrienne's similarly testy tone and her raised eyebrow did not impress Her Ladyship one jot. As someone far too used to being treated with deference and flattery, it made sense that Lady Catherine should be a bit put out.
"I see," Her Ladyship replied, somewhat coldly, returning her attention to the mirror in front of her and attempting to comb a few stray wisps of hair back into place.
"So Lady Augusta does exist, after all,"
Her Ladyship gave a somewhat hollow laugh.
"If we're going to be technical it's Aunt Augusta, but I must say I prefer the title you've coined," she said, with a somewhat self satisfied smile.
"I knew Richard. He can't keep his mouth shut."
Lady Catherine rolled her eyes theatrically at this news.
"Men," she said, in a tone midway between irritation and exaspiration.
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Post by rocky on Jan 16, 2011 14:38:20 GMT -5
"That we can agree on," Adrienne said flatly, and ran her tongue across her teeth, then pursed her freshly painted lips in the mirror. The tension between them was practically palpable. It seemed odd that Lady Catherine was Aunt Augusta, though. What did she know about problems? She lived about a hundred miles above the rest of reality, did she not?
However much it pained her at times, at least Adrienne knew she was living what she wrote about.
"No offence but, I didn't think you were the type," she said boldly, feeling rather more driven to be offensive once it was apparently Lady Catherine was judging her openly.
"And it's not as though you need the money. So, if you don't mind my asking... why do you do it at all, if it's so secret?"
Oh, she was being impossibly rude, and she knew it. Catherine had set her teeth on edge, though. She had struck a nerve just when she was feeling at her most vulnerable, and Adrienne's defences were in full flow.
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Post by LADY CATHERINE DE BOURGH on Jan 16, 2011 15:39:46 GMT -5
"That we can agree on,"
Lady Catherine frowned at Adrienne's words; the very idea that she and this woman could agree on anything or have anything in common was, to her, quite absurd.
"No offence but, I didn't think you were the type. And it's not as though you need the money. So, if you don't mind my asking... why do you do it at all, if it's so secret?"
Her Ladyship looked even more put out than she already did at this. It would seem that this woman, this young woman who wrote a romance column, was judging her. Her, Lady Catherine de Bourgh! This would not do, this would not do at all. Never mind that Her Ladyship had been openly judging Adrienne; she didn't see it that way at all.
"I'm afraid I do mind you asking," Lady Catherine replied coldly, replacing her comb in her bag and extracting a nail file. "It's none of your business."
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Post by rocky on Jan 16, 2011 15:57:35 GMT -5
Adrienne creased her brow. She didn't think it had been that difficult a question. Surely there had to be a reason, people didn't just do things for nothing at all -- not unless they were mad, and then... being mad was a reason in itself.
"What is it?" Adrienne couldn't seem to help herself. She leaned one palm on the corner of the sink, lipstick dangling in the other hand, "is it something awful?"
She was pushing it, now, quite deliberately. She didn't know why, but this woman reminded her of her own mother, with her disapproving stare and her disappointment, and Adrienne had never been able to do anything but rebel under such a gaze; it was inbuilt.
"Your husband doesn't like it," she guessed, tapping her fingernail on the marble. "Is that it? That's it, isn't it. God, tell me: what century are we in these days?"
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Post by LADY CATHERINE DE BOURGH on Jan 16, 2011 16:12:03 GMT -5
"What is it? Is it something awful?"
Goodness gracious, this Adrienne character was getting on Her Ladyship's nerves. Come to think of it, Her Ladyship had never much liked how she worded her column. And now she was meeting the writer in person this dislike was merely increasing.
What could be so awful about writing for a newspaper and using a false name?
"Your husband doesn't like it. Is that it? That's it, isn't it. God, tell me: what century are we in these days?"
Before Adrienne's finger tapping on the marble could begin to irritate Lady Catherine, her guessing and query abruptly changed Her Ladyship's mood from irritated to furious. How could she be so utterly rude? If she truly knew anything about her she would know that what she'd just said was very unwise, but as things stood...
Having gasped at the callousness of Adrienne's words, Lady Catherine whipped round to face her, clearly fuming.
"How dare you!" she exclaimed. "I'll have you know, Miss Heart, that my husband died some time ago. Does that answer your question?"
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Post by rocky on Jan 16, 2011 16:47:11 GMT -5
"Oh."
Shit.
"Sorry," Adrienne said curtly, and licked her lips before she pursed them together. She looked more annoyed than sorry, however, and it didn't change the way she felt about the entire situation -- she had the sense that she was being berated like a teenager, and whether she deserved it or not, she didn't like it one bit.
"I didn't know," she added defensively, as if it helped her case (it didn't), and she had the decency then to look at the floor, drawing her toe along the line of the tiles.
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Post by LADY CATHERINE DE BOURGH on Jan 16, 2011 17:00:17 GMT -5
"Sorry,"
You should be, Lady Catherine thought. The fact that Adrienne herself was still more angry than apologetic wasn't helping her case in the slightest.
"I didn't know,"
Lady Catherine let out a cold laugh. Despite the fact that Adrienne now had the decency to look at the floor, Her Ladyship was still in a foul mood, and probabaly would continue to be so for the duration of this 'conversation'.
"If you knew more about me than mindless gossip..." Lady Catherine muttered, but otherwise made no further, furious comments. The dissapointed tone she used was almost as bad, if not worse.
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