[Jasper feels something twist in his chest at Hendrik's... pleasant but honestly kind of naive assumption, and he's not entirely sure what the feeling provoking it is. Guilt? Shame? Some sort of desire that Hendrik had been correct, even if he really hadn't felt much more for the child's mother besides physical attraction and a general appreciation for the fact that she was good in bed and made for intelligent conversation?
It all sounded far more noble than the truth.]
...You make it sound far more meaningful than it truly was.
[Perhaps Hendrik would go on thinking that, but it was more likely than not that he'd hear it pushed through the mouth of the king by the thing wearing his body or some other gossip. At least if Jasper told Hendrik himself, he'd know he knew instead of being driven mad wondering.]
It was intended to be nothing more than a summer tryst. Something that would provide a few nights of stress relief that the two of us could forget about once we got back to our usual business.
[He'll reach over to touch the teacup himself a bit impatiently, although, well... maybe Hendrik would be a better judge of the appropriate temperature...]
Things did not go at all as planned, because why would they, of course things would go wrong even if I took all the necessary precautions, so I chose to take responsibility for at least finding a decent home.
[...honestly, he'd been so set on taking responsibility that he hadn't really pressed for details on why she couldn't find something, though he suspected based on their conversations that it was some sort of tenuous family politics thing that was far easier to deal with if the baby went to some Heliodorian knight instead of, you know, a local Gondolian family member...]
no subject
It all sounded far more noble than the truth.]
...You make it sound far more meaningful than it truly was.
[Perhaps Hendrik would go on thinking that, but it was more likely than not that he'd hear it pushed through the mouth of the king by the thing wearing his body or some other gossip. At least if Jasper told Hendrik himself, he'd know he knew instead of being driven mad wondering.]
It was intended to be nothing more than a summer tryst. Something that would provide a few nights of stress relief that the two of us could forget about once we got back to our usual business.
[He'll reach over to touch the teacup himself a bit impatiently, although, well... maybe Hendrik would be a better judge of the appropriate temperature...]
Things did not go at all as planned, because why would they, of course things would go wrong even if I took all the necessary precautions, so I chose to take responsibility for at least finding a decent home.
[...honestly, he'd been so set on taking responsibility that he hadn't really pressed for details on why she couldn't find something, though he suspected based on their conversations that it was some sort of tenuous family politics thing that was far easier to deal with if the baby went to some Heliodorian knight instead of, you know, a local Gondolian family member...]