31 Plays in 31 Days, #29 - "How You Hated Him"

[breakinglight11]

Again building off of this Mrshawking.com blog entry, which speculates about the Colonel's work in the years between the loss of Gabriel and his death. I'm thinking of working this notion into Mrs. Hawking 4-- God, why is the process of editing Base Instruments making me want to skip right on ahead to writing installment 4? --as relating to Nathaniel's part of it. That story is going to be about HISTORY, and way the characters are affected by history both that they're aware of and not aware of.


Day #29 - How You Hated Him
From Miss Stanton
By Phoebe Roberts

VICTORIA HAWKING, lady’s society avenger
NATHANIEL HAWKING, her nephew and assistant
~~~

NATHANIEL: Have you seen this?

(He slides a document across the table. MRS. HAWKING glances at it.)

MRS. HAWKING: What is it?

NATHANIEL: It’s Uncle’s commendation. From her majesty herself, offering him a knighthood.

MRS. HAWKING: Where did you get that?

NATHANIEL: Father sent it to me. Apparently he made a point of making sure someone saved it.

(Pause.)

NATHANIEL: Why had I never heard of this?

MRS. HAWKING: It seems you’ll have to take that up with your father.

NATHANIEL: What was it for?

MRS. HAWKING: What else? Service to the empire. What is it ever for?

NATHANIEL: But… was there something in particular?

MRS. HAWKING: I don’t know.

NATHANIEL: You don’t?

MRS. HAWKING: That service took him abroad a great deal. I was not present to witness it.

NATHANIEL: But… no one ever addressed him that way.

MRS. HAWKING: That is because he turned it down.

NATHANIEL: What?

MRS. HAWKING: He declined the honor.

NATHANIEL: He declined a knighthood?

MRS. HAWKING: That is what I said.

NATHANIEL: Why would he do that?

MRS. HAWKING: I don’t know.

NATHANIEL: You don’t know?

MRS. HAWKING: Are you having unusual difficulty following me, Nathaniel?

NATHANIEL: Are you telling me you knew he was offered a knighthood of the realm for distinguished service, and when he turned it down, you did not feel the need to ask why?

MRS. HAWKING: How many ways can I tell you that ours was not a companionate marriage?

NATHANIEL: Because… how could you? How could you live in the same house and not ask?

MRS. HAWKING: Why does that still surprise you?

NATHANIEL: It was one of the highest honors in the empire! What some men work all their lives for! How could you not want to know why he wouldn’t take it?

MRS. HAWKING: We did not talk about such things.

NATHANIEL: No. You didn’t talk.

(NATHANIEL carefully gathers up the paper and tucks in into his jacket. He pushes away from the table.)

MRS. HAWKING: You know this.

NATHANIEL: Forgive me. Even now, it’s still difficult to accept how you hated him.