#sir hugh bodrugan

[upstartpoodle]

Poldark 1x06.

[swatch-dogs-and-diet-cokeheads]

Elizabeth (Poldark) Warleggan, née Chynoweth Appreciation Week.

Day I: Favorite Scene(s).

[rosiep66]

Ross Poldark and Noblesse Oblige

"ROSS POLDARK AND NOBLESSE OBLIGE" "You are mistaken if you think greed and exploitation are the marks of a gentleman." - Ross Poldark to George Warleggan, "P0LDARK" (2015) When I first heard Ross Poldark speak those words to his nemesis, George Warleggan in Episode Eight of the current "POLDARK" series, I found myself wondering if Ross might be full of shit. Or perhaps he was either illusional . . . or a class bigot. Regardless, I could not help but roll my eyes at his remark. I realize that some might wonder how I could accuse Ross Poldark . . . Ross Poldark of class bigotry. This man has been a champion of the working-class in his little part of Cornwall. He has managed to befriend his workers. He has spoken out on behalf of them and other members of their class. And he has been willing to make any effort to come to their aid - especially those who work on his land, even if he sometimes come off as patronizing. He has certainly expressed anger when he believed any of them has needlessly suffered, due to the actions of the upper-class or other wealthy types. Ross had spent days in a state of drunken anger after one of his former employees, Jim Carter had died after spending over a year in prison for poaching. He had also married his kitchen-maid, Demelza Carne, despite the tongue-wagging of his elite neighbors and family members. Also, one cannot deny that the Warleggans deserved Ross' scorn. George Warleggan's grandfather had been a blacksmith who eventually became a moderately wealthy man. His sons - George's father and uncle Cary - acquired even more wealth, leading the family to become their parish's wealthiest bankers. George was the first in his family to be and his family were a money hungry bunch that resort to grasping ways - legal or illegal - to not only acquire money, but also rise up the social ladder in order to become part of Cornwall's upper-class. They are pretty much an ambitious and venal bunch. And yet . . . the interesting thing about the Warleggans is that they had managed to acquire great wealth on their own - meaning without the help of some aristocrat or gentry landowner. So, why did I have a problem with Ross' words? Were viewers really expected to believe that only noveau riche types like the Warleggans were capable of greed and exploitation? History tells us that the landed gentry and the aristocracy were just as guilty of greed and exploiting not only their workers, but their land. Years of land exploitation, living greedily from their profits and doing a poor job of managing their money led to a decrease in their wealth. This was the case for Polarks, the Chynoweths and other upper class families - fictional or not - who found themselves cash poor by the eighteenth and nineteenth centuries. British landowners had been enclosing their lands - forcing tenant farmers to become agricultural laborers - since the late seventeeth century, at least a century before George Warleggan had enclosed the Trenwith estate, following his marriage to Elizabeth Chynoweth Poldark. And they continued to do so well into the nineteenth century. If Ross regarded himself, his uncle Charles Poldark, his cousin Francis Poldark and other members of the landed gentry like Sir Hugh Bodrugan, the Treneglos, Ray Penvenen and Unwin Trevaunance as "gentlemen", then his comments to George were spoken in error. Most, if not all, of these gentlemen were capable of greed and exploitation. Ross might occasionally criticize the behavior of his fellow members of the upper-class, just as he had did following the death of his former employee, Jim Carter. But he has never expressed antagonism toward them with the same level that he has toward the Warleggans. It is quite obvious that he regarded these men as "gentlemen". He seemed to have no problems with socializing or forming a business enterprise with them. And if this is the case, I cannot help but wonder about the true reason behind Ross' antipathy toward the Warleggans. Had Ross' antipathy originated with his exposure of the Warleggans' cousin, Matthew Sanson, as a card cheat? I rather doubt it. Ross and some of his other acquaintances had been making snide comments about the Warleggans' rise in wealth since the series began. No matter how many times George tried to befriend Ross throughout most of Series One, the latter would dismiss his effort with a sardonic or nasty comment. Yet, Ross seemed to have no problems with socializing with the likes of the snotty Ruth Teague Treneglos and her ineffectual husband; the money grasping blue-blooded politician Unwin Trevaunance, who sought heiress Caroline Penvenen's hand for her money; or the self-absorbed Sir Hugh Bodrugan, who seemed to have no concern for anyone or anything, aside from his own pleasures - including Demelza Poldark, whom he pursued like some aged satyr. Even Ross is not the epitome of "gentlemanly" sainthood. He seemed so hellbent upon finding a wealthy source of copper or even tin from his mine, Wheal Grace that he failed to consider that he lacked the funds to ensure a safe environment for his workers. This greed and determination to strike a lode without any safety measures led to an accident and the deaths of a few men. And his aggressive, yet adulterous actions against his widowed cousin-in-law (I might as well be frank - his rape of Elzabeth) in the eighth episode of Series Two made it perfectly clear that "gentleman" or not, Ross can be repulsive. And yet, despite all of this, Ross seemed to regard the Warleggans as an unworthy lot. I am not saying that George and his uncle are a nice pair. They can be just as repulsive and greedy as their upper-class neighbors. And on several occasions, the Warleggans have made derisive comments about Demelza, who happened to be a miner's daughter. All this tells me is that contrary to Ross' comment to George, the latter's family is no better or worse than the other upper-class characters in the "POLDARK" saga. They are quite capable of being snobs. But what about Ross? Is he a snob? He may be friendly toward his workers and willing to help them out, but his positive regard toward them seemed to have a patronizing taint. In fact, his love toward his working-class wife Demelza seemed to have the same taint. Although his good friend, Dr. Dwight Enys, managed to rise from his working-class background to become a doctor, he did so with the help of upper-class patronage. And Ross provided his own patronage toward Dwight in helping the latter establish a medical practice in their part of Cornwall. Ross even helped Dwight in the latter's romance with the blue-blooded Caroline Penvenen. I cannot help but wonder if the Warleggans had the benefit of "noblesse oblige" in their rise to great wealth, would Ross have been less hostile toward them? Perhaps it is one thing for Ross Poldark to help the lower classes have a better life - by offering them jobs or homes, providing patronage for someone like Dwight Enys, or marrying his kitchen maid. It is another thing - at least for him - to tolerate people from the lower classes like the Warleggans to rise up in wealth through their own efforts and not via the benefit of the "noblesse oblige". And my gut instinct tells me that the Warleggans’ rise via their own grit, ambition and brains was something that Ross could not stomach.

[challengeborne]

              “  you mustn’t pay him any mind,  ”    she said, slipping a hand under the other girl’s elbow and drawing her away. sir hugh bodrugan was near impossible to avoid under the best of circumstances. but when he’d had a drink or two and had spotted demelza in the company of a pretty companion, there was no chance of escape.    “  ‘tis not certain he ever did learn the word ‘no’. but please -- don’t let him spoil the evening! not all of cornwall is like sir hugh,  ”    she added with a short laugh.   //   @suverennaya​ liked for a starter!

[proudismyfuneralpall]

anonymous asked:

|     Sir Hugh Bodrugan ambled over, stealing looks across the interior where Demelza could be seen dancing with Ross. He then glanced sidelong, emitting a throaty chuckle and digging Hugh with his elbow. “Got a good eye, eh? She’s a little minx, that one. Promises more than she ever gives.” He turned his gaze back towards her, breathing somewhat heavily from all the commotion. “And I appreciate a hunt, good man, but by God, she’s strung me along for years now!” He exhaled and coughed into his fist.

“ demelza? ”

to begin with, he could only stare——taken aback, and unable to believe what he was hearing while he looked between demelza and this man who now had the effrontery to speak of her.

then, the lines around his mouth began to harden——to darken, and his eyes settled.

“ i do not believe we could be speaking of the same mrs. poldark, sir. ”

his voice was low now, and uncharacteristically cold——and as he spoke, a still less characteristic hostility blackened it further.

“ nor do i find those to be acceptable terms upon which to discuss any woman, least of all one whom you would claim to admire. ”

the look he was wearing was set, steely, and intent, and——there was something more, too.

“ i must ask that you do not speak of her again in such a manner. ”

a sort of base disgust that swelled in him the longer he looked at the man he was now addressing.

“ if i find my demands have not been met, i may feel myself compelled to take action on behalf of mrs. poldark’s honor. ”

[xxsparksxx]

Demelza tells Cecily that she has made many mistakes and that they have been spectacular. I can think of only one, her dalliance with Hugh. Yes, there have been her matchmaking efforts, but they have all ended up well, especially concerning Verity, who would have ended up with a very unhappy life had it not been for Demelza. What would the others be?

Off the top of my head, some of her mistakes include:

- matchmaking Verity and Blamey which caused major, major problems between Ross and Francis, culminating in the early demise of the Carnmore Copper Company because Francis gave George the names of the shareholders as revenge- going fishing in rough waters when nine months pregnant (!!!)- not talking to Ross about her concerns about firstly Elizabeth, and then Valentine, instead choosing to obliquely mention them and be unhappy when he doesn’t choose to be open in response (thank god that’s over with)- arguably, going to Trenwith to care for the Trenwith Poldarks, knowing she risked getting ill herself, and causing Julia to become ill. Knowing Demelza, she wouldn’t consider this a mistake, and it was very compassionate, but even so, the fact remains that had she not done so, Julia would likely be alive still.- as you say, Hugh- broadcasting Ross’s pamphlet far and wide, embarrassing the government- going to Sir Hugh Bodrugan’s ball at Werry House- Malcom McNeil, in general- leaving Ross in London after he’s begun to recover from his injury in the duel

She’s not perfect. Her judgement is not always perfect. And even when things end up happily (as with Verity), that doesn’t mean that the path to that happy end has been easy, or simple, or without consequence. And Demelza knows this, and accepts it, and strives to do better.

[lordandladybridgerton]

The Angry Tide - Chapter Eleven

What really went down on the trip home to Cornwall...

Major book spoiler under the cut

Part III

Torrential December rain flooded the road near Marlborough, and Ross and Caroline’s coach was held up for a day.  Sunday the 8th they spent in Plymouth and they knew that tomorrow they’d be home. 

They had dined together each day and supped together together pleasantly each evening and had talked of many subjects from the insanity of the Czar to the tax on horses; but they had kept off personal issues.  Ross found Caroline an agreeable companion, witty when she talked but economical of speech. She didn’t have Demelza’s small conversation. 

They were sleeping at the Fountain Inn, and dining in one of the comfortable boxes with the red plush sheets and walnut table; and eventually it was Ross who for the first time drew aside the polite veil that existed between them.  He reminded Caroline of the meeting he had contrived between Dwight and herself at the inn. It was scarcely more than six years ago, in fact. 

‘It seems half a lifetime’ said Caroline. ‘And must seem more still to Dwight, covering as it does not merely his captivity in France but four years of marriage to me!’

‘I have often wondered,’ Ross said, ‘at my arrogance in bringing you together almost by force, at my supposing I knew better than you and he whether you should become husband and wife’. 

‘The trouble is, Ross’ she said ‘that you’re an arrogant man. Sometimes it is a great virtue and sometimes not’. 

‘Well, which was it on that occasion?’

She smile.  She had changed for supper into a gown of cool green velvet, her favourite colour, because it contrasted with her auburn hair and brought out the green in her eyes, which could often with other colours look plain hazel or grey. 

‘A virtue,’ she said. ‘Dwight is the only man I’ve ever wanted to marry… Though perhaps not the only man I’ve ever wanted to bed.’

Ross cut up a piece of the mutton on his plate and added some caper sauce. 

‘I don’t think that makes you so unusual,’ he said. 

‘No… we all look elsewhere from time to time. But then we glance away.’

‘Usually…’

She ate a little, picked at her meat. 

She said abruptly: ‘Dwight and I, you and Demelza; do you realize how moral we are by the standards of today?’

‘No doubt.’

‘No doubt at all. So many of my friends in London… But forget London. This county we live in.  Add up the number of affairs that are going on, some secret, some blatant, among our friends, or their friends. And the same, thought perhaps to a different pattern, among the poor.

Ross took a sip of wine. ‘It has always been so.’

‘Yes. But also there has been a small core of real marriages existing amongst the rest - marriages in which love and fidelity and truth have maintained their importance.  Yours is one and mine is one. Isn’t that so?’

‘Yes.’

Caroline took a long draught of wine, half a glass as against Ross’s sip. She leaned back against the red plush.  ‘For instance, Ross, I could lie happily with you tonight.’

His eyes went quickly up to hers. ‘Could you?’

‘Yes. In fact I’ve always wanted to - as perhaps you know.’

‘Do I?’

They looked at each other. 

‘I think so.  I believe you could take me as few other men could take me - matching my arrogance with your own.’

There was silence between them. 

‘But…’ she said.

‘But?’

‘But it could not be. Even if you are willing. I have the instinct of a wanton but the emotions of a wife.  I have too much love for Dwight. And too much love for Demelza. And perhaps even too much love for you.’

He raised his eyes and smiled at her. ‘That’s the nicest compliment of all.’

The colour in her face came and went.  ‘I am not here to pay you compliments, Ross, but only - I’m only trying to say some things that I think you should hear.  If we got rid of Ellen - as we easily could - and spent all night making love, and if then the first time I went to Nampara I told Demelza about it, do you think she would be hurt?’

‘Yes.’

‘So do I.  But I am a good friend of hers now. We are deeply attached to each other.  Perhaps in time she would forgive me.’

‘What are you trying to say?’

‘I’m trying to say that if I told her what had happened between us she would be hurt. But no more so, I believe, than you hurt her in London.’

Ross put down his knife. ‘I don’t understand at all.’

‘You killed a man because of her.  Oh, I know it was his challenge.  And I know the quarrel was about some seat in the House. And I know you disliked each from the start. But it was really because of her the you killed him, wasn’t it?’

‘Partly, yes. But I don’t see-‘

‘Ross, when you fought Monk Adderley, it was not really him you were killing, was it?’ 

‘Wasn’t it?’

‘No… it was Hugh Armitage.’

He took a gulp of wine this time. ‘Damn you, Caroline, it was a plain straightforward duel-‘

‘It was nothing of the sort, and you know it! You killed him because you couldn’t kill Hugh Armitage, who died anyway.  But Hugh was a gentle, virile, sensitive man - the only sort Demelza would ever have, could ever have felt deeply drawn to. You must have known from the beginning that she wouldn’t have spared so much as a thought for a wild worthless rake like Monk Adderley.’

‘Sometimes one doesn’t think these things out.’

‘Of course one doesn’t think them out - that’s the trouble! Yours was a totally emotional act.  But you were fighting the wrong man just the same.’ 

Ross pushed his plate away and put his fingers on the table. 

‘And don’t get up and leave me,’ she said ‘for I should consider that a piece of very ungentlemanly behaviour.’

‘I have no intention of getting up and leaving you. But I can listen better to your lecture if I am not eating.’

‘The lecture is over, so you may enjoy the rest of your supper in silence.’

‘After than I’m not sure that I want to enjoy my supper either in silence of in seasonable conversation.’

‘Perhaps I should not have spoken.’

‘If you believe it, then you should.  I am trying to think hard of what you’ve just said, to be - rational about it instead of emotional.  D’you know your the second person in two weeks to accuse me of making emotional decisions.  You’ll never guess who the first was. But so be it. Let me think…’

She toyed again with her meat for a few moments, broke a piece of bread with her long fingers but make no move to eat it. 

He said: ‘There may be some truth in it. How am I to be sure? Certainly I’ve felt a lot, and thought a lot, about Demelza and Hugh these last two years. When I first found out about Demelza it was as if I had lost some belief - some faith in human character. It was not so much her I blamed as - as something in humanity.  You must not laugh at me for sounding silly and pompous.’

‘I’m not doing so. But if-‘

‘It was like finding an absolute flawed.  If something has drive me of late, there may be jealousy in it but it is not just jealousy.  At times I have discovered a new lowness of spirit, a new need to revolt, to kick against the constraints that a civilized life tries to impose.’  He stopped and regarded her.  ‘Because what is civilized life but an imposition of unreal standards upon flawed and defective human beings by other human beings no less flawed and defective?  It has seemed to me that there is a rottenness to it that I have constantly wanted to kick against and to overset.’ He stopped again, breathing slowly, trying to marshal the complexities of his own feelings. 

‘And this has all come — this has derived from your estrangement from Demelza?’

‘Oh, not in its entirety.  But one and the other. One and the other. You called me an arrogant man just now, Caroline. Perhaps one aspect of arrogance lies in not being willing to accept what life sometimes expects one to accept.  The very feeling of jealousy is an offence to one’s spirit, it is a degrading sensation and should be stamped on.’ He tapped the table. ‘But so far as Demelza and Monk Adderley were concerned, I think you do me some injustice.  Demelza did give him encouragement, of a sort.  She was always exchanging asides with him, making another appointment - or at least permitting him to. And she allowed him to paw her -‘. 

‘Oh, nonsense’ Caroline said. ‘It is Demelza’s way to be friendly - to flirt a little out of sheer hight spirits.  Whenever she goes out, as you well know, some man or another is always attracted by her peculiar vitality and charm.  When she is enjoying herself she can’t resist giving off this - the challenging sparkle..  And men come to it.  And she enjoys that. But in all innocence, Ross, for God’s sake! As you must know. Are you going to challenge Sir Hugh Bodrugan to a duel? He has made more attempts on Demelza’s chastity than any two other men I know. What will you fight him with - walking sticks?’

Ross half laughed. ‘You must know that jealousy flares only when there is a risk.’

‘And do you seriously think that Monk Adderley constituted a risk?’

‘I … thought so.  It was not as simple a choice as that. And in any event he challenged me, not I him.’

Caroline shifted her position, and stretched. ‘Oh, that coach has tired me!… One more day and we shall be home.’

The waiter came and took away their plates but left the knives and fork for use again. 

Ross said quietly:  ‘Yes, I could sleep with you.’

She smiled at him. 

He said: ‘And for the same reasons will not’. 

‘Thank you Captain’. 

He said: ‘You’ve always been my firm friend - from so long ago. Almost before we knew each other well at all.’

‘I believed I fancied you from the beginning.’

‘I believe it was something more important than tat, even then.’

She shrugged but did not speak as the waiter came back. When he had gone again she said: ‘Perhaps I have been hard on you tonight, Ross… What a thing to say! Hard on you!  Strange for me to be in this position I’ve never before dared!  Well, I understand - a little - how you must have felt about Hugh and Demelza.  It has been - irking, festering in your soul for two years.  And the rest too, if you will.  I don’t deny that a single disillusion, if deeply felt, can lead to a general disillusion.  Well… But now the blood is let.  Even if it be the wrong blood. Let us not discuss any more the merits or demerits of your quarrel with Monk Adderley.  It is over and nothing can revive it. Well, so is your quarrel with Hugh Armitage. So should be your quarrel with humanity. And so should you quarrel with Demelza. She has been desperately affronted by what happened in London. The rights and wrongs of it do not matter so much as that you killed a man because of her, and that you risked everything, your life, her life - in a way - for a senseless quarrel which to a well-bred person may seem the ultimate and honourable way of settling a difference, but to a miner’s daughter, with her sense of values so firmly and sanely earthy, looks like the petulance of a wicked man.’

‘God,’ said Ross.  ‘Well, I will keep that in my heart and let that fester a while.’

‘You spoke to me straight six years ago, ‘ said Caroline.  ‘I speak to you straight now.’

‘Out of love?’  he asked. 

She nodded. ‘Out of love.’ 

[legopoldark]

Warleggan, Book Three, Chapter 3

In visiting Sir Hugh Bodrugan she knew she was on thin ice. Ross strongly disapproved of her giving any encouragement to his attentions. In the second place Sir Hugh, though playful enough most times, was becoming less easy to keep at arm’s length. … She had not expected to meet Malcolm McNeil again, and she half expected him to show some resentment; but he greeted her like an old friend. … In the end Demelza got the information she wanted, though not without tactical manoeuvre. … ‘Gossip is always a pleasant topic over tea, especially bawdy gossip.’ ‘About Elizabeth and George?’ … 'I was in to Truro on Monday ordering some new cravats, and my tailor told me in confidence he’d just received an order for a wedding suit from George. ’Twas all secret at present, he said. So what George’s relations are with your cousin-in-law, I’d not pretend to say. Either he’s going to be legal about it or he’s keeping her for the side door. I hope for your sake it is the first, for it would be a grand thing for the Poldarks to get George Warleggan in the family.

She reached home without the necessity of having to tell Ross where she had been. She had discovered what she had gone to discover, but was unrelieved for knowing it. She knew at once that she could not break the news to Ross, she found she could not even hint at it. What his response would be, how he would act, she had no idea. All she knew was that she did not want to be the one to tell him or to be present when he was told.

[arlome]

Envy

The lovely @dismiss-your-fearsx prompted me with ‘wait a minute, you’re jealous!’, and I scribbled this in return. 

Be warned, it is not great; I’m incredibly jetlagged, so expect bad quality and grammar that will make you cringe:P

@ainagren , your prompts are next!

Sir Hugh Bodrugan's 60th birthday party is an event of great pomp and vulgar splendor; gigantic chandeliers, slightly outdated powdered wigs, buckled shoes, and a pungent scent of French perfume and sweat fill and crowd the great house.

The most prominent families in the district are present tonight, dancing and drinking in merriment. The great table is laden with dishes and silverware; creaking and groaning under the excessive weight. Exotic fruit and cakes and pies in all shapes and flavors; great, roasted pheasants hunted down and skinned by Sir Hugh himself, whole piglets and sweetmeats- all find their final resting place on the Bodrugan table.

Dwight drinks his brandy begrudgingly, staring at the dancing couples in barely disguised resentment. His beautiful, young, luminously radiant wife is dancing and flying among the couples like a lovely butterfly, light on her feet and full of elegance and grace. She's very striking tonight- but, then again, she always is – adorned in her exquisite light-blue frock; her hair is beautifully enslaved and held in place by countless law-abiding pins and only one, long, wheat-colored ringlet is allowed its freedom. It bounces off her shoulder-blade with every skip and every turn, and catches the light from the chandelier and turns into the purest gold.

It's Caroline's fifth dance this evening, and her dancing card is completely full, or at least, very close to being so. His name – the only name that should matter- is absent from the list of dancing partners. It is not that he doesn't want to dance – with her as his partner, he would spring into a merry jig in the middle of the busiest street in Truro – it is just that it seems that Caroline assumes that he would rather return to prison in France than dance the gavotte. It is true that he prefers to sit at home, by the roaring fire, and read a good book rather than prance around in the Assembly Rooms nowadays; but he always used to enjoy a good dance, and the pleasure of dancing with her, the opportunity to hold her close at such a public gathering, to be able to breathe in her ear, and rest his palm on the small of her back-

But another man has the pleasure of touching her arm tonight. Unwin Trevaunance, once Dwight's bitter competition, leads Caroline in dance.

Dwight scowls into his drink. Of all men assembled in this blasted party, why does it have to be him?

A strong hand lands on his shoulder and shakes him and his almost empty cup.

"I've never known you to stare at the bottom of your drink so studiously, Dwight," says Ross happily in his ear, "One might think that you are in your cups!"

He looks happy tonight, Dwight concludes; the usually somber face flushed with merriment, making the scar more prominent. Unlike Dwight, Ross has been dancing most of his dances with his own wife; to the great disappointment of the host of this graceless party.

"You know I am not one for these gatherings, Ross," Dwight answers solemnly and drains the rest of his cup, and immediately takes another from a passing tray.

"Nor I" says Ross and arches an eyebrow at his friend's unusual drinking pace, "but I do try to make an effort, once in a while, for the sake of Demelza; she dearly loves a good dance, and I dearly dislike the notion of Sir Hugh laying his paws on her."

Dwight snickers into his drink and raises his eyes over the rim to stare at his dancing wife. She's flushed with excursion, and smiling; her white teeth gleaming in the light. She seems to be enjoying herself.

Feeling slightly guilty, Dwight hands his half-empty cup to Ross.

"I think I should stop drinking," he explains, already feeling a slight haziness that comes with overindulgence, "in case I am needed."

Ross drains the rest of the cup and raises the empty dish in salute.

"Wise choice, my friend," he declares and places the now empty cup on the table, "wise choice. Now, if you excuse me; the dance is nearly over, and I must go rescue my wife from the clutches of John Treneglos."

They clap when the Musicians finish playing, and Ross, with a wink and a slight twist of the lips, disappears into the crowd; off to seek Demelza in the mess of moving bodies. Dwight sighs and turns to the table, trying to spy a non-alcoholic beverage to try and cool his overheated brain.

"There you are! I was nearly certain that you jilted me and escaped back to Killewarren to spend a pleasant evening with your books!"

High spirited, face-flushed and eager, eyes sparkling with exercise, Caroline regards her husband with fond amusement. She's done dancing for the moment, and, thirsty as she is, she snatches the cup of a recently acquired fruit punch from Dwight's hands and drinks greedily. A tiny drizzle of juice spills from the corner of her lovely lips and slides down her chin. Dwight frowns.

"I am sure you would have found ample entertainment elsewhere, would that have been the case," he says rather bitterly and her eyes widen.

She's clearly hurt and surprised at his acerbic tone; but then she takes note of his pursed lips, and the stiff way he seems to hold his shoulders and she takes a step forward, a tiny smile blossoming on her lips.

"Wait a minute…" Caroline says quietly so that only he can hear her," Dwight…you are jealous!"

He scoffs and means to turn from her, but her sudden hand on his upper arm prevents him from doing just that. He returns his gaze to her face and notes that she's smiling, her eyes soft and warm.

"Dwight…" she sighs," you silly man. I have waited two years for you; what can you possibly be jealous of?"

"You did not dance with me," he blurts out before he can stop himself, and Caroline's eyebrows rise in startled surprise.

"You never dance with me," Dwight clarifies, and Caroline's surprise turns into a frown.

"I always assumed…" she starts, and then looks up at him, her frown deepening, "well, if you wanted to dance with me, why didn't you ask? Why did you not sign your name on my card?"

"I shouldn't have to ask, Caroline!" he sighs dejectedly, and takes the forgotten, empty cup from her hands and places it on the table, "I am your husband; I think I deserve a dance or two, once in a while."

A wide smile spreads across her face, and she leans slightly into him, propriety be damned.

"This is where you are wrong, Dr. Enys," she says sweetly, and her free ringlet sways forward and tickles the exposed skin above his neckcloth, "you should always ask. All women enjoy being asked, especially if the gentleman asking is their husband! I would have gladly filled my card with nothing but your name, Dwight; even to the eternal scandal of the district."

"Would you?" he asks, surprised and terribly pleased; a quick glimpse around to make sure that no one pays much attention to them, and his palm slides across her waist to rest on her lower back.

"Would I!" she cries softly against his jaw.

His palm tightens against the small of her back, and he takes a deep breath; the air around them is laced with her sweet perfume.

"May I claim the next dance, Mrs. Enys?" he asks; his lips dangerously close to her cheek. Caroline's breath hitches and she grows soft in his arms.

"The next, and all the rest, Dr. Enys," she replies sweetly and steps away from his embrace; her face flushed with excitement and anticipation.

Dwight smiles brightly and offers her his arm.  

[proud-is-my-funeral-pall-blog]

Sir Hugh Bodrugan ambled over, stealing looks across the interior where Demelza could be seen dancing with Ross. He then glanced sidelong, emitting a throaty chuckle and digging Hugh with his elbow. "Got a good eye, eh? She's a little minx that one. Promises more than she ever gives." He turned his gaze back towards her, breathing somewhat heavily from all the commotion. "And I appreciate a hunt, good man, but by God, she's strung me along for years now!" He exhaled and coughed into his fist.

At first, he could only stare——caught off his guard, unable to believe what he was hearing, looking between Demelza and this man who now presumed to speak of her. Then, the lines of his face began to harden——to darken, eyes settling. His voice was low and uncharacteristically cold, with a still less characteristic hostility blackening it further.

“I do not believe we could be speaking of the same Mrs. Poldark, sir. Nor do I find those to be acceptable terms on which to discuss any woman in polite society.” His features were set, steely and intent. He could feel the disgust in him rising the longer he looked at the man he now addressed.

“I must ask that you do not refer to her again in such a manner, in my presence, or at all. If I find my demands have not been met——I may feel myself compelled to take action on behalf of Mrs. Poldark’s honor.”

[upstartpoodle]

Poldark + Colours >> Green

[swatch-dogs-and-diet-cokeheads]

“Suppose we toss a coin?”

[challengeborne]

@aleximedicus​ said:  “Is this man bothering you?” wow a ball starter that isn't just lewis being cranky, unheard of

she turned towards the voice -- and let out a sigh of relief. gratitude shone in her eyes. of course, it was sir hugh bodrugan again. she often felt that she could scarcely stir in public without drawing his attentions -- all forward comments and wandering hands. at times it was something merely to be laughed at, but others, when he was deeper in his cups, she found herself searching desperately for an escape. tonight, that escape appeared to be mr. anwyl. slipping her arm through his, she made a hasty excuse to sir hugh and dragged them away.    “  judas! i don’t know how to thank you!  ”    she said in a low voice once they were out of earshot.    “  i was beginning to think i should be trapped there all night...  ”    she glanced up at him, a glint of humor in her eye.    “  are you always so heroic?  ”

[xxsparksxx]

Sparks, have you got to the bottom of the ask box yet? I am patiently waiting for my question about Ross and Carolines conversation in The Angry Tide on their way back to Cornwall. I would love your opinion. (from Nov.)This relates to the discussion about Caroline not having a POV. in the books or show. I don't feel Ross was thinking about Caroline and having sex with her. I think all he was thinking about after the duel was how he was going to obtain Demelza forgiveness. He was against dueling.

The depths of my askbox make me weep tears of exhaustion, anon, but you’ve been waiting so very long that I’ll skip back to your ask :)

I was wondering if you have ever discussed the conversation in The Angry Tide with Ross and Caroline on their return from London? They stop for the night at an Inn and Caroline talks about infidelity. What is her motive? To sleep with Ross or to explain Demelza's anguish over the duel? Love reading your opinion on all these questions.            

I have never discussed this! Which is an outrageous omission, really, because it’s fascinating. It’s so fascinating.

Caroline seems to understand Ross on a level that not many others do - including Demelza. And I suspect partly that’s because she and he are the same social class. The same sort of background, the same old family name, the same........the same arrogance. I use that word consciously, because it’s something they admit about themselves and each other (in this conversation, and elsewhere). There is an arrogance about both of them which gives them a different kind of bond.

The conversation in question is too long to share in full, but I’ll share bits and pieces as I go (I say this, but it’s such a fascinating conversation that yeah, the quotations may get long).

It stems from them being overnight at the same inn where, six years previously, Ross had contrived to bring Dwight and Caroline together again. And from there, Caroline nudges the conversation in the direction she wants it to go:

‘Dwight is the only man I’ve ever wanted to marry . . . Though perhaps not the only man I’ve ever wanted to bed.’ Ross cut up a piece of the mutton on his plate and added some caper sauce. ‘I don’t think that makes you unusual,’ he said. ‘No . . . we all look elsewhere from time to time. But then we glance away.’‘Usually . . .’

[omitting for brevity]

She said abruptly: ‘Dwight and I, you and Demelza; do you realize how moral we are by the standards of today?’‘No doubt.’‘No doubt at all. So many of my friends in London . . . But forget London. This county we live in. Add up the number of affairs that are going on, some secret, some blatant, among our friends, or their friends. And the same, though perhaps to a different pattern, among the poor.’Ross took a sip of wine. ‘It has always been so.’‘Yes. But also there has been always a small core of real marriages existing amongst the rest – marriages in which love and fidelity and truth have maintained their importance. Yours is one and mine is one. Isn’t that so?’‘Yes.’ Caroline took a long draught of wine, half a glass as against Ross’s sip. She leaned back against the red plush. ‘For instance, Ross, I could lie happily with you tonight.’ His eyes went quickly up to hers. ‘Could you?’‘Yes. In fact I’ve always wanted to – as perhaps you know.’‘Do I?’They looked at each other.‘I think so. I believe you could take me as few other men could take me – matching my arrogance with your own.’There was a silence between them.‘But . . .’ she said.‘But?’‘But it could not be. Even if you were willing. I have the instinct of a wanton but the emotions of a wife. I have too much love for Dwight. And too much love for Demelza. And perhaps even too much love for you.’He raised his eyes and smiled at her. ‘That’s the nicest compliment of all.’The colour in her face came and went. ‘I am not here to pay you compliments, Ross, but only – I’m only trying to say some things that I think you should hear. If we got rid of Ellen – as we easily could – and spent all night making love, and if then the first time I went to Nampara I told Demelza about it, do you think she would be hurt?’‘Yes.’‘So do I. But I am a good friend of hers now. We are deeply attached to each other. Perhaps in time she would forgive me.’‘What are you trying to say?’‘I’m trying to say that if I told her what had happened between us she would be hurt. But no more so, I believe, than you hurt her in London.’

What Caroline is trying to make Ross understand is, as you suggest, how deeply, how grievously he has hurt Demelza by his actions. To Demelza, the fact that Adderley challenged Ross, the fact that there was a spurious excuse about a scuffle over seats and gloves in the House - these are irrelevant. She knows the truth. She knows the quarrel was over her, because she knows that Ross has been irrationally jealous about Adderley, jealousy that’s misplaced, left over from Hugh and everything that happened with Hugh. A jealousy that Ross felt while Hugh was alive, but that increased enormously when Hugh was dying and dead.

Because, as he’s said to her before, he can’t compete with a ghost. So what he’s done now, in fighting Adderley, is fought a ghost.

Caroline knows how deeply hurt Demelza is by what’s happened. They’ve talked about it:

Caroline looked at her friend. ‘Go kindly with him, Demelza. You know him better than I; but if I read him right he will not escape his own self-criticism over this affair.’‘So he should not! . . . But, Caroline, I feel so much of it is my fault.’‘Your fault!’‘Well, my responsibility, like. It was over me. The quarrel was really over me. You know that, don’t you.’‘I know it was partly over you. But I do not believe it would have got so far on that alone. Ross and Monk detested each other from the moment they laid eyes on each other, and that is something in the blood, not a matter of behaviour.’Demelza got up. ‘Was my behaviour at fault?’‘None that I saw.’‘You see, I was – happy. Ross and I were happier together than we had been since – since before Hugh; and I was excited, enjoying myself in a new society. Perhaps I was freer with Monk Adderley than I ought to have been. Maybe I’m too free for London society. Maybe men – anywhere – take too much encouragement from my manner, even in Cornwall. But it’s the way I was born. Of course in all these years I’ve learned a lot, but maybe I haven’t learned enough. Ross should never have brought me!’

Caroline and Dwight are perhaps the only people who can really always talk straight to Ross. I’m not even sure I can include Demelza in that group, because while they do talk frankly a lot of the time, there are also things they can never say to each other. So Caroline, knowing how agonised Demelza has been over what happened, takes this opportunity to just talk straight to Ross:

‘Ross, when you fought Monk Adderley, it was not really him you were killing, was it.’‘Wasn’t it?’‘No . . . it was Hugh Armitage.’He took a gulp of wine this time. ‘Damn you, Caroline, it was a plain straightforward duel—’‘It was nothing of the sort, and you know it! You killed him because you couldn’t kill Hugh Armitage, who died anyway.’

The question of infidelity, of their mutual desire for each other, is simply what Caroline uses to illustrate the point: that infidelity is a grievous hurt for a marriage, but so too is what Ross has done. I don’t think Ross had registered, before that, how much Demelza was hurt by his actions. He certainly hadn’t really owned up to how incomprehensible it waas that Demelza could ever be attracted to someone like Adderley. He still tries to argue that he’s not been entirely unjust!

‘But so far as Demelza and Monk Adderley were concerned, I think you do me some injustice. Demelza did give him encouragement, of a sort. She was always exchanging asides with him, making another appointment – or at least permitting him to. And she allowed him to paw her—’‘Oh, nonsense!’ Caroline said. ‘It is Demelza’s way to be friendly – to flirt a little out of sheer high spirits. Whenever she goes out, as you well know, some man or another is always attracted by her peculiar vitality and charm. When she is enjoying herself she can’t resist giving off this – this challenging sparkle. And men come to it. And she enjoys that. But in all innocence, Ross, for God’s sake! As you must know. Are you going to challenge Sir Hugh Bodrugan to a duel? He has made more attempts on Demelza’s chastity than any other two men I know. What will you fight him with – walking sticks?’Ross half laughed. ‘You must know that jealousy flares only when there is risk.’‘And do you seriously think that Monk Adderley constituted a risk?’‘I . . . thought so. It was not as simple a choice as that. And in any event he challenged me, not I him.’

In the end, what she’s really trying to do - as she says to him - is to purge the festering ill will from his heart and mind. It’s the kind of straight-talking conversation that, as I say, I don’t think he can really have with many other people. And coming from Caroline, who is as arrogant as he is, as entitled, it’s a conversation that he can stomach, digest, and accept.

‘Perhaps I have been hard on you tonight, Ross . . . What a thing to say! Hard on you! Strange for me to be in this position I’ve never before dared! Well, I understand – a little – how you must have felt about Hugh and Demelza. It has been – irking, festering in your soul for two years. And the rest too, if you will. I don’t deny that a single disillusion, if deeply felt, can lead to a general disillusion. Well . . . But now the blood is let. Even if it be the wrong blood. Let us not discuss any more the merits or demerits of your quarrel with Monk Adderley. It is over and nothing can revive it. Well, so is your quarrel with Hugh Armitage. So should be your quarrel with humanity. And so should be your quarrel with Demelza. She has been desperately affronted by what happened in London. The rights and wrongs of it do not matter so much as that you killed a man because of her, and that you risked everything, your life, her life – in a way – for a senseless quarrel which to a well-bred person may seem the ultimate and honourable way of settling a difference, but to a miner’s daughter, with her sense of values so firmly and sanely earthy, looks like the petulance of a wicked man.’‘God,’ said Ross. ‘Well, I will keep that in my heart and let that fester a while.’‘You spoke to me straight six years ago,’ said Caroline. ‘I speak to you straight now.’‘Out of love?’ he asked.She nodded. ‘Out of love.’

Sorry for the long wait, anon :) hope this is a good enough answer for you!

[johnwgrey]

[legopoldark]

Jeremy Poldark, Book Two, Chapter 15

Also some chill had come upon his relations with Demelza. Her thoughts were not as open to him. Dating strangely from his acquittal, the laughter had gone, and the instant understanding. He tried more than once to break down this new reserve but failed, and the failure left its mark on his own responses.

“Sir Hugh has called—” Demelza began. “My mare Sheba is ill, Poldark, and I’ve called to solicit your wife’s good offices." After a few more sentences, Ross went upstairs, but Sir Hugh was not hurrying.

After about ten minutes, she heard Ross come down again, and she followed him back into the parlor. “We’re neighbors, Ross. You couldn’t expect for me not to receive him.” “Who? Oh, Bodrugan.” Ross lifted an eyebrow. “I suppose you will not go tomorrow.” “Of course I’ll go,” she said, a faint edge on her voice. “I promised, didn’t I?” He said with irony, “D’you really suppose he wants you to cure his mare? I had a greater regard for your intelligence than that.” “You mean you’ve no regard for my intelligence at all.” “I’ve a great respect for it…sometimes. But you must realize what Bodrugan is after. He makes it very plain.” Because it was three-quarters true she resented it the more. “I think I ought to be able to judge that for myself.” “No doubt you think so. But be careful that his tide doesn’t dazzle your eyes. It has that effect with some people.” “Especially,” she said, “a common miner’s daughter who doesn’t know any better.” He looked at her a moment. “That’s for you to demonstrate.” He turned to go, but she was at the door first. “You’re detestable, saying things like that!” “I’m sure I didn’t start this argument.” “No, you never do start arguments, do you, with your cold looks an’ your bitter tongue! You just freeze everyone up an’—an’ despise everything that isn’t up to your standard. It’s—it’s unfair and horrible! Perhaps that’s what you want me always to feel. Perhaps you’re sorry you ever bothered to marry me!” She turned and was out of the door, slamming it behind her, and he heard her running up the stairs.