AU Yellow Poppy thoughts
4 April 2024 12:44 am![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
igenlodeAn unexpected thought (as a result of discussing the likely future for the characters of "The Remorse of Others" with Danik, who wanted to know how I was getting on with the story): what would have happened to de Brencourt in a "Yellow Poppy" AU where he *succeeded* in rescuing Valentine's husband? He certainly wouldn't have ended up as any sort of 'uncle' to Roland -- and I imagine he would have seen very little of a Valentine gratefully reunited with her Gaston and escaped with him to England. (Which implies, horrible thought as that is, that for all his conscious renunciation he actually does benefit from Gaston's death...)
Valentine's expectation is that she and her husband will grow old together "over the sea, in tranquillity" once the surrender is over -- presumably as emigrés in permanent exile, like the father of Laurent de Courtomer, dead before the beginning of "The Wounded Name", or the old Comte de Sainte-Suzanne, seen as a relic of the past in "Mr. Rowl". And certainly if the Duc de Trélan had escaped successfully he would not have been able to return to France with an unfulfilled death sentence hanging over him. De Brencourt would certainly not have travelled to the coast in their company, which apart from anything else would have increased the risk of Gaston's being caught; he might have returned separately to England, being himself, as we are told, an emigré, or he might perhaps have remained in Paris and involved himself with Hyde de Neuville and his plotters (although the immediate consequence of the execution is that they all expect to have to go into hiding).
I imagine that under those circumstances he would probably have tried to adhere to his earlier vow that he would never attempt to see either Gaston or Valentine again :-( And I think that one or other of them would probably have felt obligated enough to try to seek him out at least once, or to approach him if they did encounter one another by chance at some social function in England...
Roland would presumably *not* have followed the Duc and Duchesse into exile, because he has Marthe and his grandfather to think of; and it was more or less the express wish of both Gaston and Valentine that he should marry Marthe and bestow the ancestral ruby necklace upon her. But I can't see him being separated from Gaston for good, and I should imagine that Roland and his young wife would be making the journey to England whenever they could manage it :-) They would presumably be residing either with Marthe's mother and Artamène (if he survives his injuries) at La Vergne, or with Roland's grandfather at Kerlidec, since Roland has no estate of his own.
Since in this version of history de Brencourt would be responsible for having saved his father's life, Roland might well decide to seek him out in London in order to try to thank him. In which case, as Danik somewhat confusedly suggested ("It makes me wonder whether Roland will play a role in bringing them all back together"), Roland could indeed end up being the one to bring the three of them face to face again, whether intentionally or quite inadvertently. Quite how that rather stiff conversation would go I can't imagine; I'm afraid I can't imagine any sort of easy intercourse establishing itself between the happy couple and their tertium quid, whatever the obligation between them, and despite the fact that on the face of it Valentine has the same motivation --or more-- to award her erstwhile ally in a desperate situation the guerdon of 'friend'.
Valentine's expectation is that she and her husband will grow old together "over the sea, in tranquillity" once the surrender is over -- presumably as emigrés in permanent exile, like the father of Laurent de Courtomer, dead before the beginning of "The Wounded Name", or the old Comte de Sainte-Suzanne, seen as a relic of the past in "Mr. Rowl". And certainly if the Duc de Trélan had escaped successfully he would not have been able to return to France with an unfulfilled death sentence hanging over him. De Brencourt would certainly not have travelled to the coast in their company, which apart from anything else would have increased the risk of Gaston's being caught; he might have returned separately to England, being himself, as we are told, an emigré, or he might perhaps have remained in Paris and involved himself with Hyde de Neuville and his plotters (although the immediate consequence of the execution is that they all expect to have to go into hiding).
I imagine that under those circumstances he would probably have tried to adhere to his earlier vow that he would never attempt to see either Gaston or Valentine again :-( And I think that one or other of them would probably have felt obligated enough to try to seek him out at least once, or to approach him if they did encounter one another by chance at some social function in England...
Roland would presumably *not* have followed the Duc and Duchesse into exile, because he has Marthe and his grandfather to think of; and it was more or less the express wish of both Gaston and Valentine that he should marry Marthe and bestow the ancestral ruby necklace upon her. But I can't see him being separated from Gaston for good, and I should imagine that Roland and his young wife would be making the journey to England whenever they could manage it :-) They would presumably be residing either with Marthe's mother and Artamène (if he survives his injuries) at La Vergne, or with Roland's grandfather at Kerlidec, since Roland has no estate of his own.
Since in this version of history de Brencourt would be responsible for having saved his father's life, Roland might well decide to seek him out in London in order to try to thank him. In which case, as Danik somewhat confusedly suggested ("It makes me wonder whether Roland will play a role in bringing them all back together"), Roland could indeed end up being the one to bring the three of them face to face again, whether intentionally or quite inadvertently. Quite how that rather stiff conversation would go I can't imagine; I'm afraid I can't imagine any sort of easy intercourse establishing itself between the happy couple and their tertium quid, whatever the obligation between them, and despite the fact that on the face of it Valentine has the same motivation --or more-- to award her erstwhile ally in a desperate situation the guerdon of 'friend'.