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At Court
The news that Margaery Tyrell was about to make her debut on the stage caught on like wildfire. Everyone was talking about her rather daring move and once more speculation was rampant about her. At the gambling tables, the ladies were avidly discussing the issue over a hand of Vingt-et-un. Cersei, Barbara presided over the table whilst Lysa Arryn, Anna-Maria Brudenell, and Mary Villiers Stuart rounded out the party.
"Would you credit it, but Maggie Tyrell's going on the stage?" Barbara pealed in wicked delight perusing one of the court woodcuts with a smirk. "How sweet is it to see the high and mighty fall-"
Cersei's lip curled as she heard the news from her erstwhile friend and foe.
Renly's little wife had always been a frightful attention seeker since the day they'd met her. Flaunting her beauty and swift wit to any who paid her the slightest notice.
Even more infuriatingly Rochester and his little coterie absolutely adored her and sung her praises, dedicating their plays and verses to the girl, sketching and painting her in all her glorious youthful bloom and hanging on her every sparkling bon mot.
Most maddening of all she always seemed to escape the worst of the satirical brickbats; indeed Sir Carr Scrope was unfortunate enough to pen a couple of mildly unflattering verses about her in his disappointment at being rejected and was hammered by the rest of the wits for his temerity. They all leapt to defend her like her own personal troop of knights valiant.
"I hear Mace threatened to cut her off if she didn't commit to marrying your Joffrey. Now he's stopped her allowance and cut off her credit in town until he can bring her to heel." Mary Villiers cut in, proving just how well-informed she was about the news of the day. She seemed remarkably interested in the Tyrell girl.
"Well, what else can she do since Lord Renly has been exiled and shamed? The girl has got to make a living somehow, hasn't she?" Barbara smirked.
"I hear Mace was so infuriated that she divorced Renly and deserted a duke that he threatened to disinherit her unless she accepted Joffrey."
"No wonder she has to work!"
The two grand ladies swopped vicious smiles sharp enough to wound, both of a malicious turn of mind.
"He ought to be ashamed of himself. Carrying on in that sinful fashion. And she must have no dignity either, though what choice does she have but to work?" Cersei wasted no time in digging the knife in about Renly and his disgrace.
"I did hear Renly Baratheon was a great frequenter of molly-houses... wasn't there some sort of raid?" Barbara let the implication hang in the atmosphere like a pall of smoke.
"Aye?" Anna-Maria was like a rat after a piece of cheese at that tidbit of gossip.
Cersei sneered inwardly at that one. You're only saying that because you never even had a chance of having him, as much as you tried it. Even Renly much as I despised him had that much sense at least!
"Well, he was always unnatural. Even Robert used to say it to me." She contented herself with saying for the moment.
"I thought you didn't like Robert?" Barbara said mock sweetly. Her exotic eyes narrowed in a most malicious fashion. Cersei tried to hide her dislike of the other woman and her disapproval of her rival's positive delight in the misfortunes of others. What a bitch she is!
"I was married to him, for my sins, but he's gone now."
"What was the tale?" Anna-Maria urged, dying for more malicious gossip to spread.
"He was caught dallying with some gorgeous boy. High-born as well. His Majesty really couldn't ignore it then."
"Really?" Mall frowned. "However did you find all this out?"
"I have my sources..." Barbara replied with a smug smile.
"Such a shame! He was such a handsome man - so tall and gorgeous- you could drown in those blue eyes, couldn't you? So sweet and kind, he would have given you the shirt off his back. My husband Jon was very fond of the lad for Robert's sake-" Lysa mentioned, not wanting to believe so much wrong of Renly.
"All the ladies-in-waiting adore him. Lady Betty still makes an absolute fool of herself over him." Mary said with an amused ripple of her cards.
"And to think he spends his time letting some sweet lad suck his cock. Degenerate isn't the word, really!" Barbara's lip curled as she drawled, looking to shock her friends.
"Barbara, is that really necessary? You talk so scandalous sometimes!" Lysa breathed, shocked by the coarseness of Lady Castlemaine's remark.
Barbara smirked. What fun it was to scandalise Lysa Arryn! For all her bravado, and her faintly desperate attempts to keep pace with the racier element at court she was still very much pedestrian, for all her poorly concealed affair with Petyr Baelish and lavish spending. Gods, Lysa was such a goose!
"Renly was hardly discreet and he was arrogant to think that he wouldn't get caught. I don't have the slightest shred of pity for him." Cersei said with a dismissive wrinkle of her nose.
Of course it helped that she had speeded matters along by passing on some pertinent information in all likelihood Renly's fortune and holding were extensive and once he had been denounced it was her good fortune that it had passed down to her and by extension Joffrey. She'd wanted Joffrey to be invested with the title of Duke of the Stormlands officially, but so far Charles had been fobbing them off.
She had to wonder if he ever intended giving her son the title at all. She would not feel secure and safe until he did, and Renly's disgrace was complete.
I won't be discouraged no matter how hard it may be. Margaery knew that she was the subject for a great deal of malicious gossip from ladies jealous of her good fortune marrying Renly and rejoicing in the young couple's disgrace. The vultures were only too ready to descend once Renly had been sent from Court and she was caught in the slipstream, never mind that they were going to separate. She was damned if she did and damned if she didn't.
I won't let those catty jealous bitches get to me, no matter what.
She was glad that Leonette and Garlan were still at court to support her. She had her cousins Megga, Elinor and Alla Tyrell, poor sweet Lady Evelyn Ravensbourne and of course the Stark girls were touchingly loyal despite what they must have heard. Sansa wouldn't hear a word against her. But for every loyal friend she had, there were ten that whispered behind their hands; that excluded her from their gatherings; that blamed her for the breakdown of the marriage without ever hearing her side.
She held her chin up and refused to let them see just how their words hurt her. No one understands what truly happened in my brief marriage to Renly, not that it's any of their business frankly!
The Tyrell Town House
Her father was waiting for her as she got in. She knew the look on his face. She wasn't going to able to put him off for much longer. By now he must had heard about the debacle at the musicale and Joffrey's crass behaviour, not to mention that blasted Meissen vase.
Even he was the one who'd caused that scandal, she was getting blamed for his behaviour and she wasn't even married to him yet!
Mace scowled at from under his brows. She felt like a schoolgirl being reproved by her septa once more. "I suppose you'd like to tell me the meaning of this latest farrago, would ye Margaery?"
"Joffrey was very much intoxicated when he turned up. I didn't invite him, not after last time and yet he and his cronies saw fit to make an appearance. I can hardly see how any of this is my fault!" she argued, immediately on the defensive.
He expected so much of her. He always had done and she had tried so hard to fall in with his plans to advance their House. When she had married Renly, her father had been utterly delighted that she had managed to ensnare one of the most eligible and youthful dukes on the scene.
Since then she had been nothing but disappointment to him. Not only was he exceedingly critical of her divorce from Renly but he was scandalised by her regular salon (which admittedly could get rather risqué, but what else could be expected if the likes of Lord Rochester and Lord Buckhurst regularly attended?)
Margaery found that she quite liked them, charming rogues that they were and John Wilmot for all his boisterousness and casual rudeness was showing signs of immense literary talent which she was keen to encourage.
Now he had got this scheme in his head that she would retain the ducal title by marrying Joffrey Baratheon, as the word at court was that he would get the title, once Charles stripped it from Renly.
"Absolutely not." he said flatly.
"But father!" she protested. How could this be fair?
"Joffrey Baratheon is one of the most eligible heirs in the country. I need not remind you of what a great match it would be." Mace said, pompously drawing himself up. "Frankly, you are lucky you are getting another chance to regain your position."
"I really don't see why you balk at the match. You can't be holding a torch for Lord Renly still?"
"No!" Margaery said. "Renly is a dear friend."
Mace sniffed in a thoroughly disapproving manner. "I don't see why you couldn't have remained married to him then!"
"My lord, I did not do this on a whim. Renly and I could not have stayed married, no matter how fond I was of him." she said firmly, wishing to put a line underneath the subject for now.
Mace subsided, knowing that his daughter could be remarkably stubborn about the subject when she wished to be. Very well, he would have to take special measures to ensure her compliance.
The Royal Exchange
It was most embarassing. Margaery knew her family were wealthy there was no way that her credit should be so depleted. Thank god, she had the sense to have dropped in to check the account before going on a spree, it would have been most humiliating to find out her lack of funds in the shop itself.
"Surely there must be some mistake. Please double check!" she said, her voice rising.
The clerk gave her a look, veering between embarrassed and haughty. Margaery stared him out, unintimidated by his airs. This was damned important!
"There's a written note from Lord Tyrell himself."
"What does it say?"
The clerk cleared his throat. After all, Lady Tyrell's family were esteemed customers of long standing and she had always been a loyal customer who rarely run up debts and paid her bills regularly. it was not his business to interfere in family disputes but Lord Tyrell's actions were a bit underhand to be honest. "I think we'd better do this privately, Lady Tyrell."
"I didn't think he would actually do it. Cut me off without even warning me!" Margaery said as they left the goldsmith's without success. No matter how persuasive she had been in trying to get her credit restored they wouldn't co-operate unless Mace himself rescinded the order.
Mace had cut off her access to her allowance, how long for she was not sure. If he was going to play dirty she was going to have to think of another solution. He couldn't force her to marry Joffrey, not after the way that he behaved. How could he want Joffrey as a son-in-law?
"I know it's there, but I can't access it." she seethed. "Gods, it's so frustrating! Ugh!"
"Can he do that?" Sansa asked. "Just cut you off on a whim?"
"He is my father and ostensibly in charge of me, he can do as he likes." Margaery's pretty face had a most sour look to it.
"There must be some other way of earning money without relying on him. I can't believe he would do that!" Sansa said with a sympathetic squeeze of her friend's hand.
"Neither can I. Stopping your allowance without even telling you is a bit extreme, just because you refuse to be rushed into marrying Joffrey." Eve said worriedly. "You know I can probably advance you some funds if you're desperate, Maggie. Nick is so rich he probably wouldn't notice a bit of extra expenditure."
"Thanks Evie, but no thanks for the moment. I'm going to have to deal with this myself."
Sansa and Eve both gave her a concerned look.
"Don't worry! I will come up with something, I always do. Even if Father doesn't like it!"
"What are you planning, Maggie?"
Margaery glanced at Eve, assessing her options. "Your Aunt Pippa's coming over in a matter of days, is she not?"
Eve looked wary. Her relationship with Pippa Foley, the beautiful dazzling diva of the French Stage was rather acrimonious. The older woman had struggled to forgive her niece for marrying her former lover Nicolas d'Argenteuil, and there was a rift between the two which was only just starting to heal.
"Aye, she is. She might be in the country as we speak."
"I think I'll take some advice from her."
Margaery was having some trouble persuading her father of the necessity of her new employment. She would have thought that he would have been pleased she was earning her own way now that he had stopped her allowance.
"I have to make a living somehow and since I am notorious anyway, why not cash in on it? Why should I not benefit from the wagging of other people's tongues?"
Her father was not convinced. Mace Tyrell was rather self-important and he cared a lot about what other people might say. This was hardly what he had envisaged for his daughter. From young duchess to common player! The whole point of her betrothal to Joffrey Baratheon was to stop such prurient speculation in it's tracks, not fan more scandal about Margaery!
"I think I have been a very indulgent father. Being on stage, it's little better than being a, well-" he spluttered to a halt.
"A whore, father?" there was a tartness in Margaery's sweet tone.
There was a mean small part of her that liked to see her father splutter with indignation. How dare he judge her? When he was the one who had driven her to such desperate straits?
"Now Margaery, there's no need to be like that. You know that it not what I said, dear-"
No, but it's what you thought, do not even try to deny it, Father.
Even though he would never say it to her face, she knew that he inwardly blamed her for not being able to hold a young handsome eligible duke like Renly Baratheon. Never mind that he and her brother were deep in love and had been for years. How could she get between soulmates?
And as for making her marry Joffrey Baratheon instead, just so they wouldn't lose the claim to the dukedom, gaining access to their lands and allying with the powerful Lannisters. Would she ever forgive him for that?
"I am a woman on my own, left to my own resources. How can anyone judge me for using the talents I have been given to my own best advantage?"
Margaery knew 'twas best to humour her father especially when he was in a querulous mood like this. Grand-mere will talk to him later and talk him round. Impress on him the importance and benefits of her latest move.
"I know you and your grandmother will end up talking me round. You always do. God knows what-"
"It won't be for long, Father I promise. Just until things are straightened out with Renly."
I don't know why he had to disappear so suddenly with Loras in tow." her father grumbled. "Very well, do what you must, you'll just do it anyway!
Margaery sighed in relief for a triumph, however small.
Mace never thought his favourite son could do any wrong. He would have been shocked and amazed at ever hearing the truth of the matter. There was no point in trying to hint or broach the subject with him.