A minor technical difficulty has been fixed!

Darn that technical stuff! ;)

I am going to leave this slightly open in established relationship for Bess and the highwayman. Would you care for her to already know and be attached to him or would you like to orchestrate that at a later scene? It will give her slightly (but not overly) different responses to this handsome man asking for her attention.

I'd like to do a scene where she meets the Highwayman a short time later, an it please you. (Grins)

It does... very pleasing, indeed.

Apologies in advance as I find myself too tired to get out a response tonight. I'll get to it the moment I've free time tomorrow. I don't feel comfortable rushing Bess, she just might give me an ear tugging.

I'm still ferreting Diana out. It's interesting to me to think of the under currents that possibly might be lying behind all of the actions which then lead to the final end of the story. Diana was, at first, a rather bland character in my mind, and yet I feel that she couldn't be. She's been left to her own devices for five years. That would change any woman.

My apologies. I'm sure I'm somewhat anachronistic in this. Your posts say you've quite a bit of knowledge of the times while I've dabbled in all places and not in particular any one. It's left me struggling to keep up. Not that I mind! Don't think that. I'm enjoying it very much.

That said, I hope Diana works for you. She's still very malleable and easy to change if you'd like her portrayed differently. Let me know. :)

I think you are perfectly correct in assessing Diana. How Robert sees her and how she actually is are two different things, and I like the direction that you seem to be taking with her! Mind you, a side comedy-romance between her best friend and one of the officers could also make for an amusing back story! That's neither here nor there, but I thought I would throw that out there. In all honesty, Diana is your character. Evolve and shape her as you will, and I shall not wish for you to play her any differently than that.

Do not worry about being overly anachronistic! The idea is to simply flow with the general zeitgeist of the time; I'm sure if an expert in the time period were reading this, s/he would point out several glaring historical errors of my own. More importantly, the idea is to have fun telling the story together.

I just got back in from a convention a few short hours ago, so I’m off to bed. With luck, I should have a reply for you by tomorrow evening.

*L* I'll be interested to meet Fannie. I think she's going to be a tad vapid and more trusting of the social world than our dear, conniving Diana. But thank you, really - for the freedom on her. :) I wanted to ensure you're having a good time as it is your idea we're doing here.

Enjoy your rest. I'm still fighting this blamed flu (seriously, feeling human would be nice about now) and a convention over the weekend? Hope it was a good one!

Thank you for playing this - it's a real stretch for me and very, very fun to do. Glad to have a partner who can carry things when I'm flailing about.

Well, I think I might be a bit old fashioned... Actually, several people tell me that I am rather old-fashioned... but I believe that this is how writing partners should act towards one another. Partners should support one another, offer constructive criticism and offer ideas to play with, accept both the limitations of themselves and their partners while testing those limitations to always improve without offending. There will no doubt be times when I will be the one flailing about and you shall carry me, while other times we'll both be standing there staring at our respective screens completely stumped and laughing as we help each other along. And then there will be those rare, glorious moments when we're both synced and just throw post after post at one another for half the night just to see what happens next.

I hope you're feeling well again soon, but by no means should you rush your rest and recovery!

I'll have you know, there is no harm in old-fashioned! The world needs a bit more old-fashioned, I think. (But then, that could be because I'm old and .... of a fashion.)

That sounds like a perfect set-up, really. I've always found that those I really write well with are those who can take the natural ebb and flow of the process. I am all in favor of support, constructive criticism, and pushing limitations without being overly boorish about it. Of course, in this medium, at times even the softest (or hardest) blow we can offer may seem opposite of how we intended, so I think I will add to your marvelous list something I'm sure you already feel is a moot point - the best interpretation of any event. it is silly, and I've spent a lot of time over the last few months looking back over my assumptions of others' behavior. It's been a rather humbling experience and while I had thought I tended to give the benefit of the doubt, I found that I actually did not. Then, we'll always make assumptions, but as I said... OLD... and the older I get, the less I need those assumptions. :) Or perhaps, the more wide open the world of human behavior becomes for me.

And I go off on a tangent. Let's see if I can get back to the task at hand. Your post is marvelous. Robert's inner world is just lovely - or rather, not lovely at all, but written in a lovely, enjoyable manner. I feel badly for the poor man. He's really in need of a good, stiff kick in the short-trousers, but I'm afraid that there wouldn't be any real direction for him to go even if he had one. He's as much a caught bird at Diana is.

Also - I finally managed to get to see the entirety of the video you sent me. Thank you! Oh my goodness, it was adorable and funny. I'll have to look up the gentleman who did it and see if he has any more. It's always nice to get a chance to have something like that shared. (Which means, of course, I shared it immediately!)

So, off to dinner, catching up on writing, and see what happens next! I'm holding my breath, because we have one last character and he's not shown his face yet, but I think that the wait will be well worth it.

That... was lovely! Her pleas to her husband really tugged at my heart strings, almost making me wish to reconcile them and there!

Only, then there would be no real story, now would there?

Oh definitely! Please, no reconciliation yet! :)

She reminds me of Fleur de Lys, from Hunchback of Notre Dame - a woman who is a product of her time. She wants her husband back, but she isn't noble about it. She's practical. Makes me like her, even though she's very capable of being cold and heartless and manipulative as well. A good mixture, I hope that will come out as we play her out. As a result, however, she's a bit difficult to play. She's not clear-cut. So if she gets boggy, give me a hollar and I may have to rewrite her at times.

Otherwise, glad you liked her!

Feel free to switch to Bess whenever you like! The Highwayman will be appearing shortly, I think.

First - I love the quote - can't go wrong with The Storyteller.

Also - I realize this post was mostly Diana's head-space with little opening for Bess. You needn't even use Bess' hidden space either. It is just all she wanted to give me for the moment. I'm sure if I pushed it, she would be back in the tavern preparing the morning eggs. ;)

I apologize for the delay. It has been a "fun". I'm rather glad you didn't pack Bess back off to the kitchen yet, actually! It gives me a chance to introduce our Highwayman!

With luck, I should have a post up by later tonight.

Oh please don't worry about timeliness, not with ME. I'm often late and was almost there weeks making you wait on this last one. I had thought you'd be able to use the post as some kind of introduction, however, wanted to assure you that if you chose to introduce him elsewhere (wherever he felt he must be introduced, really) then she'd be amenable to being there also. ;)

Glad that filler can still function as a post. Heh. Always good to have that on those times there's little else to offer but filler, really.

Normally I do not overly worry about timeframes. Sometimes good writing comes when it comes, and of course there is always the harsh reality of that which we call real life to be dealt with. Only...

You last post. I had trouble formulating a response to it. I kept thinking a number of different ways I might respond or how I could take the story in this direction or that... Only your post was so completely and utterly amazing. You made me envious as a fellow writer! I thought it was so beautifully written that I wrestled with how I could match it! I know I had originally envisioned the Captain's wife only as a side character to the bizarre love triangle of Officer-Bess-Highwayman, but you have breathed such life into her as to make me blush! The expression of her thoughts and her maturing as she realizes the extent of her husband's debilitations... I found it so artistically done that I find myself in anticipation of her next appearance in our story! And whatever else might happen in our tale, I would hope that Diana might find a happy ending.

I do hope for Diana as well. I had originally thought she was something of a female general - mounting troops and attempting to get one of her generals back into the fray. I think she remains true to this, but now she has empathy.

Don't think she's kind though. *L* I think she loves her husband, but toward Bess, she'll be as ruthless as any good commander against the enemy. I like her steel. :)

Please forgive the silence... things got crazy and I will not be free for another week and a half.

Not to worry! Here's hoping things get less hectic for your own sake!!