Away From Home (Closed)

[Lady Corrine Marsten]

[ooc: This interaction occurs while Corrine is a guest at Mountain's Reach.]

While Dunstan rode out to Ironport with Aofie, Corrine requests that Ser Theomore join her on a ride too, to take in the scenery.

[Theomore Tullison]

Not one to shirk on his responsibilities as a host, Theomore waits for Corinne in the courtyard, passing the time discussing the training of the cavalry his nephew had requested with Alyster, the man picked to command them. Ladies and heads of houses, he found, was fond of making others wait for them, and Theomore was not one to sit idle when he could avoid it.

His riding leathers were of quite fine make, good looking people were more likable for some reason Theomore had yet to discern, all the more reason to be good looking, no?

[Lady Corrine Marsten]

[ooc: Corrine would not have kept Theomore waiting. I'd have preferred if you'd consulted me on such a detail.]

Corrine hears the sound of Theomore's voice from the rear stable, where she is overseeing Jory's saddling, and strides out to meet him;


"
Ser Theomore! Good day to you. Are you well?"

[Theomore Tullison]

[Well, he would have expected that he might have to...and taken pains to not make her wait on him. Might be Alyster was dragged out for nothing though, might be he accompanied him on the way to the courtyard..]

"
And to you, my lady."
Theomore bows. "
I would say that I am, and my lady?"

[Lady Corrine Marsten]

"
Very well, thank you. My horse is just about ready to go. I must rely on your superior geographical knowledge, but I've a mind to take in the natural beauty of the region, if that is agreeable to yourself?"

[Theomore Tullison]

"
I believe I can do that my lady, and avoid getting ourselves lost in the process."
Theomore smiles. "
May I suggest heading for Casserdre's Mirror? So named for my great grandmother, it had a different name once, of course, but few now remember that one, it's a small lake secluded by peaks on all sides"

[Lady Corrine Marsten]

"
That sounds lovely,"
Corrine smiles, and mounts her horse, tidying her skirts, once seated.

"
I would be interested to know how she inspired the name of the place to be changed. An affinity for the lake, or some grand deed?"

[Theomore Tullison]

"
It was my great grandfather that named it so in her honor, when she took a liking to the sight of it, and considering that the smallfolk would all be dead had it not been for him, they did not seem to mind."
Theomore recalls from the old maester's teachings, the one from before Haelis arrived, with his bald head and thick mustache. "
It is most magnificent at the onset of winter, when it just has frozen and the snows have yet to cover it. That is where the other part of the name comes from. I myself have only had the chance twice."

[Lady Corrine Marsten]

"
How romantic, for him to name it for her,"
Corrine muses, wistfully, as they trotted along. "
I do love a good romance. I look forward to seeing it, albeit in a less frozen state. How far is it from here? Just out if curiosity."

[Theomore Tullison]

"
Well, it is not unknown for young lads to bring their sweetheart there, it does have a certain atmosphere, even more so at sunset, but not a trail I would ride after dark."
Well the young ones, and Theomore for that matter, usually stayed the night. "
Though we need not worry, I reckon we can get there and back twice over and still be here in good time for dinner."

[Lady Corrine Marsten]

"
Good to know. It would be most improper to be kidnapped before dinner,"
Corrine chuckles. "
Hopefully we shall not interrupt any sweethearts at their wooing. Does it hold such fond memories for you, Ser Theomore?"
she asks, with a wry smile.

I doubt 'sweethearts' is the right term, when it comes to you.

[Theomore Tullison]

"
Mostly about bringing Dunstan and Yve here when they were young and that of my father taking us to see the mirror along with most everyone at Mountain's Reach, I left to be a page at Runestone as a child, returning home a knight ten years later, and my parents and elder brother both died in the meantime, I may not have any children to call me father, but I have been acting as one for two, whenever my duties did not keep me from Mountain's Reach."


"
I had my brief moment of fumbling innocent romance at Runestone right before I left with the prince, my sister claims we were rather cute...and that was it."

[Lady Corrine Marsten]

"
I see that not all get the luxury of carefree youth,"
Corrine replies, more seriously. "
That is a shame. I know little of what your life is like, but I do know what it is like to lose a parent."


A cheerier thought occurs to her, and she smiles a little again, glancing over at Theo;


"
Though, on a lighter note, I would never think to describe you as fumbling or innocent,"
she confesses, amusedly. "
You seem so confident and self-assured that it is hard to imagine you being a callow youth. And, given your reputation, it is also surprising and strange to think of you having a sweetheart. Is that something you ever intend to repeat?"

[Theomore Tullison]

"
All the confidence in the world does not help a boy prepare for when his guts grow light as a feather and floats to his head"
Theomore grins. "
Though it is so long ago that I do think my lady had yet to learn to walk"


"
We determined early that it was best for me not to marry as long as both Dunstan and Yve were in good health, but that did not stop lords from introducing their daughters to the man knighted by the prince, whom many of them viewed as the acting lord of Mountain's Reach, and I had to wear a mask, eventually my face grew to fit it. I figured that I might as well start to enjoy the game."


"
I expect that once Dunstan is married with a son of his own, the time will come for me to stop playing pretends at courtship, but a sweetheart? That bird has flown."
Stating it as matter-of-factly as that is not quite like himself, oh he had always expected that he would marry for politics, and likely could not hope for more than a wife he could grow fond of and learn to love in the way that most arranged marriages turns out, but the hope that he might be among the lucky few had mostly left him at Riverrun.

[Lady Corrine Marsten]

"
You sound like you've given some thought to your circumstances since last we met,"
Corrine observes. "
Have you considered my suggestion?"

[Theomore Tullison]

"
Well, I did visit the twins, my lady."
Theomore nods "
Though I cannot say my circumstances has changed much, Dunstan remains unmarried, and then so must I."

[Lady Corrine Marsten]

"
I don't think that is as much of an impediment as you say it is,"
Corrine replies, skeptically. "
Besides, I don't see Dunstan remaining unwed for long. Promiscuity is as unseemly in a man as it is in a woman, in the eyes of the Gods."

[Theomore Tullison]

"
Actually, my lady, a match needs be secured for my nephew before we can know what would be a fitting one for myself."
Theomore seems unfazed with what she implies. "
House Tullison has three members with which we can forge alliances, Dunstan is the most important of these, I am the least. Great care must be taken to ensure that these will not pull us in different directions."


"
I do not get the impression that my reputation is as foul as my lady portrays it, there are septons that claims that simply laying your eyes at what lies below the neck of a woman flowered that is not your wife, no matter how proper her attire, earns you eternal damnation, and then there are those that have tasted more forbidden fruits than Ser Baelon. What is a man to believe when those who lead the faithful seem to have quite the disagreement on the matter? Perhaps he sees for himself, and notes the shame and difficulty a highborn lady suffers at the hands of those around her should she give birth to a bastard, and the reproach levied against the father. Perhaps he concludes that the consequences of the act are good enough reason not to commit it?"

[Lady Corrine Marsten]

"
We cannot judge ourselves who is truly virtuous, and who is not. But we can guard against our own corruption. You have expressed this concern for the virtue of highborn ladies before, yet the tales persist of how you actually treat them. Divesting them of virtue for your own appetites is sinful, and wasteful. Why merely pluck a flower for a moment, when one may instead cultivate a plant that will make the garden of one's life more colourful? If you will forgive my directness, you are not getting any younger. Tarry too long, and you will end up a lonely old man, like Jon Cobb."

[Theomore Tullison]

"
I think you have the wrong idea of me, my lady, a charmer I might be, and I do admit that I quite enjoy myself at it, but I know where the line goes. And as I told you before, I may bend it as far as it can be stretched, but I do not cross it."
Theomore doesn't seem offended, nor defensive about it either. "
Though I was under the impression that it was the memories of the dead that haunted ser Jon, not the women in his life. Either way, I am not avoiding marriage as much as I accept the fact that I am a Tullison, and will marry when and who my house needs me to."


"
I have a feeling that the time will come sooner rather than later, we had, after all, hoped to return from Riverrun with a match for Dunstan agreed upon. And while I prioritized finding suitable young maids for my nephew, I did keep an eye out for any that might be a good match for me, I did not put on that little show in Floreta's honor at the pageantry just for fun."

[Lady Corrine Marsten]

"
There was more to Ser Jon than you knew then, but it is not important. The crux of what I am saying is that, you caught some likely unwelcome attention at Riverrun, and as someone who cares about the moral character of the members of her allied Houses, I felt it important to impress upon you that more attention like that may be problematic. I consider myself an ethical individual. I do not wish to associate favourably with those who are unethical, if I can help it. The talk about you concerned me, as things you do will reflect upon Dunstan."


She lowers her head a moment, thoughtfully.

"
I suppose, I must confess, I also have a strong notion of what a knight ought to be. You are in a position to set an example for many others. I would hope that example would be one of honour and decency."

[Theomore Tullison]

"
I would not be too worried, my lady."
Theomore shakes his head. "
I simply have a talent for making young ladies feel at ease in my company that most men lack, the younger ones are prone to jump to speculation, one such as I must surely have the fruit readily available, and from the world view of a youth, a man would have to be a paragon of virtue not to give in to the temptation it offers."
Well, Theomore was no paragon of virtue, but he rarely gave in to that particular temptation. "
But my lady should remember that every young maid of noble blood usually have a father, watching over her, never truly trusting that her upbringing will be enough to shield her from the predators he knows to exist. Much like myself when Ser Baelon was a guest here at Mountain's Reach, a man reputed to have made the eight before reaching the age where most highborns are made knights is not one you allow to be with your daughter, or niece in this case, without anyone you trust watching them."


"
Reputation is one thing, displaying the ability to stir your daughter's feelings ought to be quite enough reason, no? Ser Baelon has that ability, so I, or eyes that I trusted, watched him. Likewise, fathers watch me, and I have no such reputation. I am merely someone that makes them cautious, and even though I dare say that they need not worry on my account, caution in these matters is both prudent and wise. The fall of ser Benjen shows that even those with the charisma of a bag of oats can be dangerous enough."


"
Had I done such deeds as those gossips alleges, then fathers would have taken notice, and that would indeed lead to a undesirable reputation, idle rumors that will have been forgotten as soon as there is something more exciting to talk about does not."

[Lady Corrine Marsten]

"
You could just be good at not getting caught,"
Corrine responds, with a wry smile.

[Theomore Tullison]

"
I could be."
Theomore agrees with a smile clearly indicating that he likes the idea. "
But I have been a knight for fifteen years now, not one of them having passed by without myself attending tourneys and being introduced to some young lady or the other. None of them giving birth to a red headed bastard nine months later. Broken hearts? Possibly. Maidenheads? No."

[Lady Corrine Marsten]

"
I'm not so naïve as to not know that tansy exists, so a lack of highborn ladies having bastards is not proof of innocence. However, since we are unlikely to reach understanding, I shall drop the issue. Unless you try it on with my future daughters, of course,"
she adds, with a laugh that lacks mirth.

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