JeffEngel wrote:SharkHunter wrote:Do we have any textev about Steadholder (Michael) Mayhew's marital status? Granted, he's likely old enough by now to be all married off and everything, but I don't remember any bits that got the deed done.
And if he's available... hmmmm. He's not THAT much older than Abigail Hearns, (11-12 years per the wikia) in post-prolong terms. IN a way he'd be "marrying up" if you catch my drift; Abigail's the closest thing to a "Grayson Born" Honor that RFC's introduced us to, and she'd be "marrying up" to a good man and into the top tier family on her home planet.
Good match, or no? Thoughts?
Well, politically, it'd help tie the Mayhew dynasty (through a cadet branch, granted) to a Steadholder. Shared naval interests would be good for them personally. I worry that the pressure someone in that position would have to crank out babies would work poorly with a GSN career though.
If I were Eloise and/or Elizabeth, I would be (though not where anyone could hear me!) championing Michael Mayhew marrying either a Manticoran or Havenite, and Abigail doing the same, just for the sheer potential it would have in cementing the Grand Alliance. Ties of blood, and all that. Though we don't know Katherine's or Elaine's maiden names, we can presume they were extremely high-status, and probably daughters of the Protector's allies; Grayson doesn't need another alliance match with itself, it needs it with the world outside. Marrying Michael Mayhew to a foreigner would be ideal in that a) it makes a huge political statement about the Graysons' commitment to the GA (in fact, I would champion him marrying a Havenite in particular for exactly this reason), but b) it would keep said "foreign influence" to a cadet branch of the family, not the direct line of the Protectorship.
(Politically speaking, this is also why I am so strenuously in favor of an Abigail/Oversteegen marriage; aside from the fact that I think they're perfect for each other, they're both prominent aristocrats.)
Marrying Michael Mayhew off to, say, Anita Eisenberg (Tourville's communications officer) or another similarly prominent Havenite would do wonders for the GA.
(Of course, he could pull the same stunt as his namesake in the Winton family and fall in love with someone entirely unexpected.
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