Lydia Martin

[baneofpaley]

Open post

FEEL FREE TO DROP A STARTER OR SUGGEST A LINE WITH LYDIA HERE. PROSE, ACTION AND TEXT ARE ALL WELCOME, M/F ONLY FOR SHIPPING PLEASE. BELOW ARE SOME AU'S/THEMES I LIKE TO PLAY WITH HER:

Arranged Marriage Share the Bed Soulmates code by tessisamess

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[parvos]

Maybe he should feel worse about taking this route, but he doesn't. In a world where bachelors can't be and aren't trusted to continue being leaders or business owners, Ray doesn't really have much of a choice in whether or not he needs to proceed, but maybe he should've chosen someone older. People won't judge him poorly, he knows that; younger women and older men are something of a trend in his position in the world. Older men with a lot of money take young wives who can bear them children to become heirs, who look more attractive on their arm at events or fundraisers. It's the young woman in question Ray's actually worried about because he's never ventured down this particular road. It's not like he's hurting for reasons women might be interested in dating him, but Ray's kind of on a time crunch now that Anna's died and he bought out Queen Consolidated as a means to motivate himself again when all had felt lost.

Her parents are agreeable. Probably because they know that he's more than financially stable and he'll be able to take care of her. Today, he's meeting — really meeting — the girl for whom he's already paid a dowry, bought a ring, and announced his engagement to for all the world to let him off the hook. He doesn't have to lose his company if he's not married so long as he's in the process of getting there. Lydia is young, yeah. But she's incredibly smart and Ray could have his pick, really; any parents would be happy to hand off their daughter to an attractive, wealthy, and successful man looking for a partner, but Ray doesn't want any girl.

He wants one that can still keep up with him; one who won't feel like he's married a child. He wants one that has similar interests and ambitions. He wants this one. She can help him, he thinks, not only be allowed to keep his company, but to make it better. Ray's been doing this for a long time. She'll have a fresh perspective and maybe new ideas to offer. It doesn't hurt, of course, that she's beautiful. A part of him feels kind of awkward being attracted to someone nearly half his age, but there's something about her that strikes him, too, as older. Maybe she's got an old soul. Maybe she's had to grow up faster than most her age for some reason or another. Maybe she's just got a fire he can't explain but can kind of sense in her. He likes her more than he should from what little he knows of her. He's looking forward to seeing how well they might possibly get on in person when they spend more than a few minutes in one another's company.

So he shows up at her parents' home and he treats it like the first date it actually is. Maybe he goes a little overboard. The limo waiting behind him with champagne already chilling — no one has to know he's letting a minor drink if she wants to, so long as she keeps it between the two of them, right? It's just champagne, anyway — is maybe a bit much. Probably the flowers are. He's old fashioned and he wants to make a good impression; he can't help it. Ray is practically bouncing on his heels with nervous anticipation — he genuinely does want this to go well and if she hates him, he's not above letting her parents keep the dowry and moving on to try to find another potential wife, but he'd spent weeks looking before finding her and he would really like to avoid having to start over if he can manage it — as he rings the doorbell.