This was yet another amazing chapter!!! I’m speechless how well-written this is. You write character development so well, and especially Bertie matures as the war goes on. But he still sounds exactly like himself. Also, the pacing of all the chapters is perfect and you balance angst well with humour and fluff!
Oh, Jeeves… It’s so understandable that he wants something to do and not just wait around for Bertie. He is used to being in control of everything and now that that’s been taken away from him, it’s no wonder that he has had hard time adjusting. But at the same time it’s also so reckless that he risks his safety like that. It’s good that he was able to defend himself against Thos, but if he had had a gun, the situation might have ended differently. No cosh can shield from bullets. Also, Bertie had a good point when he said that there is no point of him fighting the war if Jeeves gets blown up.
I mean, Bertie did enlist, but he was also under pressure to do so. Even if they had stolen back the evidence, Aunt Agatha could have just tried to hurt them (Jeeves) other ways. It would have been quite a big risk to take. Even if they wouldn’t have been found guilty in a court of law, the rumours could have destroyed their reputations. Especially Jeeves’. And once the word would have been out there, people would have paid attention to everything they were doing, and as it has been stated multiple times, Bertie isn’t exactly subtle. So Bertie didn’t exactly have a choice.
So, I hope that Jeeves listens to what everyone have been saying to him and leaves London. Or at least confides to Aunt Dahlia so that she knows what’s been going on. Or that Bertie writes to her. (I loved how Aunt Dahlia corrected Jeeves when he called her Mrs. Travis and that Jeeves is family to her. I love their relationship. Both in the books/TV show and in this fic.) Jeeves needs something to do but I don’t know if he is just punishing himself right now.
Also, I was thinking about Bertie’s latest letter to Jeeves where he said: “I order you to leave London at once”. Doesn’t he technically have a right to relocate Jeeves e.g. to Brinkley Court? He is still Jeeves’ employer after all (which he seems to forget all the time in the books). But I was also wondering whether he is hesitant to play that card because he doesn’t want to exert power over Jeeves as he wants that they are on equal footing in the relationship? And because he wants to respect Jeeves’ decisions.
And it broke my heart when Jeeves wrote to Rebecca that Bertie’s sister is his next of kin and he wouldn’t be the first to know if something happened to Bertie… He might not even be the second person to know, because Bertie’s sister wouldn’t know to tell him. And in the worst case scenario he might just find out about his death from the newspapers in case no one realised to inform him. Though I’m quite sure that Bertie has thought about this too and left instructions to someone what to do in case he died. But that’s just me speculating.
I don’t know if I have ever read a letter that has alarmed me so deeply as your most recent effort.
Couldn’t agree more. I love Rebecca though. She is such a supportive big sister, but I also love how she calls Jeeves out when he needs that.
You have written Florance very well. My blood pressure skyrockets every time she appears. She is the character we all love to hate.
Also, unlike Rebecca, I love Jeevesian schemes and look forward to how he will resolve the issue with Florance. (I can’t believe her audacity to demand proof of Bertie’s engagement. I never liked how all the women just informed him that they were going to get married in the books (and in the TV show). And the condescending tone in her letters is so spot on!)
It’s a jolly lot of trenches and holes and things with canvas stretched over them, all dug out under sand dunes. I say, there is absolutely nothing more maddening than digging a great bally hole in a sand dune! You haven’t known frustration until you’ve shovelled out a trench in a sand dune with nothing but a hand shovel and a prayer for a windless hour! I’m beginning to know what Ozy-whats-it’s shattered visage felt, what? Half sunk in sand for eons; I shouldn’t wonder that his map held a frown and a wrinkled lip! I wouldn’t be surprised to learn that I’ve acquired a sneer of cold command myself these days.
This was so well written!! You have captured Bertie’s way of writing to a T, this sounds like it could have been in the books. Amazing job!
I have a feeling that Bertie and the Australians are going to get on very well. I wonder what kind of new clothes/songs etc. they inspire Bertie to try so that Jeeves has something new to disapprove.
I pulled him out of further harm’s way behind a goodish sized boulder that I had earmarked for just such an occasion earlier in the day
Gotta love competent Bertie! He is also so modest when he just mentioned that he was acting as a major while Archie was recovering.
I was so happy when Charlie came to talk to Bertie. And his stories are always the perfect icebreaker!
I love that they are both wearing their rings! They are so sweet.
The pleasure I felt at receiving your letter was immeasurable, my Lord. Though I do understand entirely why you have not written, your silence for the last month has been as a stone in my heart. I could not even open your letter for nearly half an hour after it arrived, due to the shaking of my hands.
Oh, Jeeves… Again, I repeat myself, but I always love his pov because we get to see the emotions he hides behind the calm exterior. And you write Jeeves so beautifully!
I loved how he was honest to Bertie (he absolutely deserves to know what has been going on). And it was such a Jeevesian way to deliver the bad news (with no sugarcoating). He was almost more distressed about the shirt than he was about the attack.
You have gone too far.
You will recall your goon at once. By ‘goon,’ I mean your miserable excuse for progeny. He is fortunate indeed that Jeeves did not have him arrested. Should he ever lay a hand upon Jeeves again I will not be responsible for my actions. The wrath of an Earl shall be upon him, and upon you, and you will be excluded from all polite society.
I am not the rubber-spined lad you used to bully over the consommé, Old Relation. Don’t forget, you sent me to war, and I have learned to fight.
Toodle-pip.
I love how Bertie matures during this fic, he actually sounds quite terrifying while threatening Aunt Agatha in the most Bertie way possible. That ending was so funny…
I am aghast, entirely. What have I dragged you into, old thing? I ought never to have kissed you, dash it. I have always been so obliviously selfish. Now there’s a madman out there wanting to do you in and it is entirely my fault. You should have gone and stayed with Chuffy, and then you’d be safe in America with no bombs and no Wooster relations.
And poor Bertie can’t catch a break… They deserve their happily ever after when all this is over. It’s so heartbreaking that Bertie too is now blaming himself when he has done nothing wrong.
I was happy to see that we got to read a letter from Archie. You have written him very well, he is such an interesting character! (I love all your OCs but he is one of my favourites.)
I love the idea of Bertie being a mother hen to all the soldiers. He reminds me of a golden retriever mother with all the puppies following him around. And no one can blame them, Bertie is such a sweetheart. It makes me so happy that he is surrounded by people who love and appreciate him. He deserves nothing less.
And it’s very understandable that Archie wants to cheer Bertie up, but when he said that they need his positive energy to keep the morale up, it was maybe a little unfair expectation of Bertie. It’s kind of a hard burden to bear if he is expected to be everyone’s cheerleader. He has a very positive outlook on life, but it doesn’t make him immune to feeling down sometimes. Archie of course couldn’t have known what was in that letter, but for all he knew Jeeves could have broken up with Bertie or something might have happened to him (which was the case). It was an interesting choice that he contacted Jeeves rather than try to talk to Bertie. I wonder is he still avoiding him? Also, Jeeves did say that he doesn’t like to speak openly to strangers, so I don’t know if that was a big leap of logic that Archie called him a friend, even though in Jeeves’ last (and only) letter to him, he didn’t give any indication that he considered Archie his friend. And dropping the fake names is kind of crossing Jeeves’ boundaries when they have at least tried to conceal his real identity. Especially now that his life is in danger. I look forward to Jeeves’ letter to him. (I’m sure Archie means well but he has an interesting approach to things, lol. He likes Bertie. Well, why not just kiss him? Bertie wants to talk after the rejection. Well, why not just try to kiss him again? Bertie is taken. Well, why not just write down “Ginnie’s” address and just contact him? Bertie seems depressed after reading “Ginnie’s” letter. Having an honest conversation with him is an option but why not contact his spouse without using the fake names instead? Perfectly logical. Gotta love him.)
Thank you so much for another chapter! The only problem with this fic is that the chapters eventually end. I can’t wait to read the next chapter! This is one my favourite jooster fics ever written and you are such an amazing writer!
Ahh! Thank you so much. For some reason I felt iffy about this chapter so that's incredibly reassuring to hear.
Yes, I do really think Bertie did the best thing he could have done, given the circs. I think his lifelong fear of Aunt Agatha is grounded in a quite realistic idea of what she's capable of. Maybe Jeeves couldn't really appreciate it, until now, hopefully.
I love Aunt Dahlia's appreciation for Jeeves in the stories and the show! She's really the only person who treats him like a human other than Bertie and it's quite noticeable. That's why I figured she'd be one of the few people they'd really trust. A lot of Bertie's friends think he's remarkable, but they don't really talk to him like he's a person. He's still just a servant to them, but Aunt Dahlia is different. She's where Bertie gets it from, I guess!
As for Bertie ordering Jeeves around, I was mulling that over recently. I was thinking about how he seems to do it less and less as the books go on. In the first early stories he does it quite frequently, but by the last few novels, I don't think he pretty much ever does; unless I'm forgetting. At the same time, Jeeves becomes gradually more accepting of Bertie's eccentricities. I think by the time of this fic, fifteen years down the line, I'd imagine that Bertie basically never orders Jeeves to do anything, so this would be quite a departure from their usual way of speaking to one another.
Haha, I'm glad you enjoy Florence and how terrible she is. She's the worst of Bertie's fiancées by far. I actually quite like several of them, but Florence is terrible. It makes so much sense that Wodehouse eventually teamed her up with Aunt Agatha.
I have to say, I have been having a great time researching Australian soldiers in WWII and the sorts of things they got up to.
Your description of Archie's train of thought made me laugh out loud. He really doesn't make the best decisions at all. Presumably he's not so bad on the battlefield, but he's not exactly well-mannered. I am very fond of him and how stupid he is, so I'm delighted that you enjoy him, too. As for calling Jeeves a friend, I do think his life has been lonely enough that he starts to think of anyone he can share anything with as being a friend.
Thank you so much. I know I always say this, but your comments make my day.
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