[Hermione Longstaffe (Rose)]

New character!

Hermione needs some acquaintances!

First of all, I was wondering if anybody would like their rich, aristocratic family to be the Longstaffes' neighbours. Basically, as I understand it, this is the set up:

There is a country town. The Longstaffes are the principal family but there's also a grand estate nearby which probably owns the whole town. The people there don't really mix much with the townspeople but they do occasionally come into contact. If there were young sons and daughters they would probably know Hermione and Pamela but not very well. It would just be nice for them to have some contact when in London which could help the sisters get on in society or hinder them depending on the nature of the family in question. Can't apply to anyone with estates in Yorkshire or Kent however as they're already full up!

Hermione also needs a sister, if anyone fancies playing a really silly, naive, spoiled, vain nineteen year old with only a pretty face and a very small fortune to recommend her and a determination to get married. I'll be making her a wanted character.

Apart from that, Hermione really isn't going to know anybody. Her brother's in the navy so somebody might have met him through that. Other than that, it's all a blank slate!

[Helena Wriothesley (Aida)]

I can offer the Delamere (Cheshire), Essex (Essex) and Avening (Essex) estates! Let me know if any of them seems suitable and we'll plan something!

[Rebecca Garrison (Emily)]

The only estate I've got is Glasscourt, if they want to be from Norfolk. XD

I can see Hermione and Rebecca getting along famously; and Stephen might know her brother from the Navy, and always admires a sensible woman.

[Hermione Longstaffe (Rose)]

I'm quite tempted to go with the Delamere Estate. A Helena/Pamela/Hermione grouping could go wrong in some many ways and if Helena's parents aren't the society types then they probably wouldn't have had much contact with the Longstaffes but still Helen would probably know Hermione a little bit. We can plan over IM sometime, right?

I agree Hermione and Rebecca could know each other. And Stephen could definitely have met her brother. Perhaps Fred could have served on one of Stephen's ships at some point - he's quite a bit younger than him.

Anyone want Hermione on Tuesday? I might just plonk her down somewhere public and see who replies!

[Basil Brett (Aida)]

Sounds great!

[Susannah Hutchinson (Amy)]

Welcome to the Middling Country Girls club!

The Hutchinsons might be potential acquaintances for the Misses Longstaffe. Sukey would be more likely to attempt to befriend Pamela, as they are of an age, but end up a bit perplexed and embarrassed by her silliness and thus shift to Hermione. Ben, on the other hand, always gravitates towards the sensible from the start and could be a loyal friend.

As seems to be often the case, I'm eager to see Phillip interact with Hermione. Maybe it's just because I love looking at icons of Trevor Eve every time I post with Phillip. However, he is actively searching for a wife, and Miss Longstaffe's advanced age (27, good gracious!) would make her more suitable for him than most of the single ladies in London. Despite her slowness to understand wit, he might consider her solely on those grounds. Whether she'd be remotely interested in an aging widower, I have no idea.

[Hermione Longstaffe (Rose)]

Thank you for the welcome, Amy!

I can definitely see Ben and Hermione as friends. (I almost wrote Ron and Hermione there. Oh dear.) And Sukey's relationship with Pamela and Hermione would be interesting to play out. They should all meet!

I don't know how she'd react to Philip. On the one hand, she's of a romantic nature so is probably more likely to fall in love with someone younger and smoother, but she's also susceptible to flattery and a desire to be liked and to get married so she would be a fool not to encourage him. I can see an interesting situation potentially developing there especially if she fancied someone else. Again, they should definitely meet!

[Nicholas Gosling (Alexandra)]

Meant to offer you the Goslings/Hopetoun ages ago but totally forgot!

They don't socialise much with anyone but, Nick/Will are close to Hermione in age. Anyway, they're there if the Longstaffs want a tenous connection with a scary duke's family.

[Hermione Longstaffe (Rose)]

I think I'm going to go with the Delamere estate, Alex, but it would be great if they could have some connection with the Goslings as well because I can see Will making a lot of trouble... And I've hardly had any interaction with Nick! I wonder if they could be second cousins or something? Or do you see some way of managing it? Or would it not work?

[Imogen Rathbone (Vikki)]

I wonder if being second cousins of a Duke might not put the Longstaffes at a rather higher level of society than you were planning, Rose? If you want some connection, perhaps a more distant relationship by marriage might fit the background better.