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kings_speechesTitle: Letters
Author:![[livejournal.com profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/external/lj-userinfo.gif)
cruisedirector
Rating: R
Word Count: 1000
Summary: Elizabeth keeps an eye on her husband's epistolary habits.
Note: Ten drabbles. I stole a few lines from actual letters exchanged between the Duke of York and his speech therapist. The snuff box is real, too. The rest of this is completely made up.
Even when they're expected to be gracious, it's common for Bertie to disappear after a speech to send off a note to Logue about how it went. On tour, when he can't get to a telephone, he writes to Lionel constantly.
Elizabeth believes the letters must be dull to anyone unfamiliar with speech therapy. They contain rehearsal logs, reports on practice sessions, things of that nature.
Why she decides to read the note crammed into his snuff box, she can't say. Perhaps it's how the page has been disguised, folded so many times that it pushes up on the lid.
~
Elizabeth has never heard her husband use language like this. She has never heard him express wishes like this either, though for a shy man, he can be quite direct in bed.
The words make her face grow warm. Did Bertie write them just to see the fantasies spelled out, with no intention of sending the letter? Or has he said things like this to Lionel?
Has he done things like this with Lionel?
She knows Bertie isn't careless. He didn't leave this letter by accident in such an obvious place.
He must have intended for her to find it.
~
"My dear Logue," the letters usually begin, followed by words of thanks: "I must send you a line to tell you how grateful I am for all that you have done for me..."
Then, mentions of tongue twisters, breathing exercises, chest compression. Never before has Elizabeth wondered whether the words might hold a double meaning.
She'd seen another note a few days earlier, praising Lionel's tenacity, telling Lionel that he'd filled Bertie with confidence for this trip. Indeed, Bertie is a changed man. His speaking is vastly improved.
Lionel must have filled him with something.
She'd wanted results, hadn't she?
~
Once the shock wears off, it makes Elizabeth smile. At least it isn't that actress who offered to give Bertie private breathing lessons in her studio. At least it isn't an ambitious social climber like Grieg. At least it's someone Elizabeth likes.
Yet even if it weren't, she wouldn't try to stop it, because Bertie had done what he had promised her he'd do before their wedding. He'd destroyed not only her letter, but all memory of its contents... the one in which she'd told him, for the last time, that she couldn't marry him. Because she wasn't a virgin.
~
In Panama, Bertie lets Elizabeth see the letter he is writing. "'Reading every day is hard to arrange for any length of time, but I do so at odd moments, especially after exercising when I am out of breath,'" he tells Lionel. "'Your teaching I must say has given me a tremendous amount of confidence and as long as I can keep going and thinking about it all the time for the next few months I am sure you will find that I have not gone back.'"
"You do seem to think about it all the time," she says, winking.
~
His father's illness puts a strain on them all, especially with David away, leaving his duties to Bertie. It's not a happy birthday for him.
"You should write to Lionel before we go down," she suggests.
"Won't we be late for dinner?"
But he listens to her, thanking Logue for his birthday gift. "'I don’t know whether you sent it with a gentle reminder for me to come and see you more often or not, but I liked your kind thought,'" Bertie writes. It is difficult for him, being away from London for so long, yet his speech remains strong.
~
"My job is over," Lionel says, only half joking, after Bertie's wartime address goes off without a hitch. Instead of being pleased, the compliment leaves Bertie agitated.
"Suppose he thinks I don't need him any longer?"
"Write and tell him otherwise," Elizabeth orders her husband. "Make sure to tell him how important his preparations are to you." She smirks a bit.
She will never see the letter, nor Lionel's response, which must be particularly salacious for Bertie to keep it hidden, but she will know from Bertie's exuberance and Lionel's mischievous grin before the next speech that Lionel is convinced.
~
She knows how dreadful Bertie must feel when he can't find the strength to write to Lionel.
Logue has been ill as well, she knows; he was hospitalized when his wife died, and he's looking his age. His letters, too, come less often, and the contents are so civilized that Bertie leaves them out for her to see.
"Read that one to me again," Bertie asks her. It's a chatty note about the College of Speech Therapists, of which Lionel has persuaded the king to become the patron.
In public language, she supposes, that is a formal declaration of love.
~
"Ask him to come," Bertie begs her.
Elizabeth doesn't tell her husband that she has already written to Logue suggesting that he come to the palace to visit the king. She hadn't dared request anything more specific. Logue's sons may intercept his mail, and she wants no gossip about Bertie's health or speech problems after his operation.
She writes another letter, unsure what she'll tell Bertie if there is no response. If Lionel is on his deathbed, it would be better if Bertie never knows.
Somehow Lionel comes, as always.
She leaves them alone, two tired old men, and weeps.
~
"I want to send this to Lionel Logue," Elizabeth tells her newly enthroned daughter.
Surely Lionel knows what the king kept in his snuff box. When he receives it, Lionel will realize that Bertie's wife knew what was written in the letters saved and treasured for a time where Bertie could read them whenever he wished.
Now the letters have been destroyed, as Elizabeth trusts Bertie's letters to Lionel have been as well.
She hopes Lionel will understand that in sending the snuff box, she is passing on Bertie's love, in the only way she can, for Lionel to keep.
Author:
cruisedirectorRating: R
Word Count: 1000
Summary: Elizabeth keeps an eye on her husband's epistolary habits.
Note: Ten drabbles. I stole a few lines from actual letters exchanged between the Duke of York and his speech therapist. The snuff box is real, too. The rest of this is completely made up.
Even when they're expected to be gracious, it's common for Bertie to disappear after a speech to send off a note to Logue about how it went. On tour, when he can't get to a telephone, he writes to Lionel constantly.
Elizabeth believes the letters must be dull to anyone unfamiliar with speech therapy. They contain rehearsal logs, reports on practice sessions, things of that nature.
Why she decides to read the note crammed into his snuff box, she can't say. Perhaps it's how the page has been disguised, folded so many times that it pushes up on the lid.
~
Elizabeth has never heard her husband use language like this. She has never heard him express wishes like this either, though for a shy man, he can be quite direct in bed.
The words make her face grow warm. Did Bertie write them just to see the fantasies spelled out, with no intention of sending the letter? Or has he said things like this to Lionel?
Has he done things like this with Lionel?
She knows Bertie isn't careless. He didn't leave this letter by accident in such an obvious place.
He must have intended for her to find it.
~
"My dear Logue," the letters usually begin, followed by words of thanks: "I must send you a line to tell you how grateful I am for all that you have done for me..."
Then, mentions of tongue twisters, breathing exercises, chest compression. Never before has Elizabeth wondered whether the words might hold a double meaning.
She'd seen another note a few days earlier, praising Lionel's tenacity, telling Lionel that he'd filled Bertie with confidence for this trip. Indeed, Bertie is a changed man. His speaking is vastly improved.
Lionel must have filled him with something.
She'd wanted results, hadn't she?
~
Once the shock wears off, it makes Elizabeth smile. At least it isn't that actress who offered to give Bertie private breathing lessons in her studio. At least it isn't an ambitious social climber like Grieg. At least it's someone Elizabeth likes.
Yet even if it weren't, she wouldn't try to stop it, because Bertie had done what he had promised her he'd do before their wedding. He'd destroyed not only her letter, but all memory of its contents... the one in which she'd told him, for the last time, that she couldn't marry him. Because she wasn't a virgin.
~
In Panama, Bertie lets Elizabeth see the letter he is writing. "'Reading every day is hard to arrange for any length of time, but I do so at odd moments, especially after exercising when I am out of breath,'" he tells Lionel. "'Your teaching I must say has given me a tremendous amount of confidence and as long as I can keep going and thinking about it all the time for the next few months I am sure you will find that I have not gone back.'"
"You do seem to think about it all the time," she says, winking.
~
His father's illness puts a strain on them all, especially with David away, leaving his duties to Bertie. It's not a happy birthday for him.
"You should write to Lionel before we go down," she suggests.
"Won't we be late for dinner?"
But he listens to her, thanking Logue for his birthday gift. "'I don’t know whether you sent it with a gentle reminder for me to come and see you more often or not, but I liked your kind thought,'" Bertie writes. It is difficult for him, being away from London for so long, yet his speech remains strong.
~
"My job is over," Lionel says, only half joking, after Bertie's wartime address goes off without a hitch. Instead of being pleased, the compliment leaves Bertie agitated.
"Suppose he thinks I don't need him any longer?"
"Write and tell him otherwise," Elizabeth orders her husband. "Make sure to tell him how important his preparations are to you." She smirks a bit.
She will never see the letter, nor Lionel's response, which must be particularly salacious for Bertie to keep it hidden, but she will know from Bertie's exuberance and Lionel's mischievous grin before the next speech that Lionel is convinced.
~
She knows how dreadful Bertie must feel when he can't find the strength to write to Lionel.
Logue has been ill as well, she knows; he was hospitalized when his wife died, and he's looking his age. His letters, too, come less often, and the contents are so civilized that Bertie leaves them out for her to see.
"Read that one to me again," Bertie asks her. It's a chatty note about the College of Speech Therapists, of which Lionel has persuaded the king to become the patron.
In public language, she supposes, that is a formal declaration of love.
~
"Ask him to come," Bertie begs her.
Elizabeth doesn't tell her husband that she has already written to Logue suggesting that he come to the palace to visit the king. She hadn't dared request anything more specific. Logue's sons may intercept his mail, and she wants no gossip about Bertie's health or speech problems after his operation.
She writes another letter, unsure what she'll tell Bertie if there is no response. If Lionel is on his deathbed, it would be better if Bertie never knows.
Somehow Lionel comes, as always.
She leaves them alone, two tired old men, and weeps.
~
"I want to send this to Lionel Logue," Elizabeth tells her newly enthroned daughter.
Surely Lionel knows what the king kept in his snuff box. When he receives it, Lionel will realize that Bertie's wife knew what was written in the letters saved and treasured for a time where Bertie could read them whenever he wished.
Now the letters have been destroyed, as Elizabeth trusts Bertie's letters to Lionel have been as well.
She hopes Lionel will understand that in sending the snuff box, she is passing on Bertie's love, in the only way she can, for Lionel to keep.
![[identity profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/openid.png){kind=small}
no subject
Date: 2011-06-07 02:01 am (UTC)no subject
Date: 2011-06-07 02:24 am (UTC)no subject
Date: 2011-06-07 02:46 am (UTC)I love that you can do this to me. *sniff*
no subject
Date: 2011-06-07 02:49 am (UTC)Thank you!
no subject
Date: 2011-06-07 08:42 am (UTC)no subject
Date: 2011-06-07 03:09 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2011-06-07 05:21 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2011-06-07 04:10 pm (UTC)Some favourite lines:
Yet even if it weren't, she wouldn't try to stop it, because Bertie had done what he had promised her he'd do before their wedding. -- I'm really intrigued by this idea, and I like the kind of solidarity it creates between Elizabeth and Bertie -- that they're the protectors of each other's secrets, as it were.
She will never see the letter, nor Lionel's response, which must be particularly salacious for Bertie to keep it hidden, but she will know from Bertie's exuberance and Lionel's mischievous grin before the next speech that Lionel is convinced. -- I'm having quite a lot of fun imagining the contents of those letters. *g*
"Ask him to come," Bertie begs her. -- That Bertie is so desperate to see Lionel is just... Oh, my heart. <3
Just beautiful!
no subject
Date: 2011-06-07 05:04 pm (UTC)I want to write a story where Elizabeth turned down Bertie's marriage proposals not because she didn't want him and his life but because she didn't think he really understood or would approve of her or her life if he really knew her. But that would require lots more research and that massive Queen Mother bio costs more in the Kindle edition than the enormous-brick-hardcover edition.
I originally drafted the scene at the very end of "The Beauty of Their Dreams" where they're both asleep on the couch for a different story in which Lionel went to see Bertie when it was obvious to both of them that they were slowly dying. It was just too painful to write, so I yanked the scene and put it somewhere happier.
no subject
Date: 2011-06-07 04:58 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2011-06-07 05:06 pm (UTC)I did not mean for the ending to be so sad. It actually makes me happy that neither man outlived the other by much, and I have to assume that Elizabeth had a whole lot of other things going on in her life to have apparently lived cheerfully for as many years again as a widow.
no subject
Date: 2011-06-07 10:46 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2011-06-08 12:14 am (UTC)