History

If asked, Peter would jokingly claim to hate you or anyone else. It might be a situation that holds, but he pretends to joke or will joke without the words holding an ounce of truth. Unfortunately, it is everything about himself that he finds offensive in others. From where does the self-loathing come? He will forever blame it on a society where he has no real place and through no act of his own. That is the best place to begin. James Scrymgeour, the Earl of Dundee, was married to Elspeth Scrymgeour (Dudhope) for six years without an heir, not for lack of trying. The couple had understood that they were incapable of conceiving through traditional means. What does a rich couple do when they want children, but traditional adoption runs the risk of losing a family seat? They made Elspeth’s maid an offer she could not refuse. Moira Stone agreed to give them a child. She and her husband already had five children, all boys, as rowdy as they come.

When Moira agreed, she thought she and her husband would make a child and pawn it off as the Scrymgeour’s child when it was born. Elspeth and James emphasized that the boy had to be James’s son. Through a few false starts over the years, Elspeth knew she could not carry to term. Their attempt through Moira was a success. It was not hard for Elspeth to pretend her pregnancy. She got pregnant around the same time, expecting another false start. All she needed was for her doctor to confirm it and for Moira to attest she helped deliver the child when it came. Only things did not go at all according to plan. As sometimes happens when a couple resigns themselves to infertility and pursues other options, the pregnancy is held.

Elspeth gave birth to Ewan Scrymgeour, and a week later, Peter Scrymgeour was born. Both boys were born as planned during a family vacation home in Avignon, France. The boys were referred to as the twins when they returned to Scotland. Moira was paid for her silence, and her family moved to Liverpool, where she was never heard from until many years later. Peter was always treated the same by Elspeth. She loved her miracle twins. Peter always knew his place. Ewan was the firstborn and heir. Despite his drunken moods and selfish antics, he was the one of them to become the Earl of Dundee when their father passed out of consumption in 1886.

By then, both boys had finished at St. Andrews University and pursued their respective lives. Until then, the two brothers were in constant competition. And by that, they mean Ewan had to prove he was better than Peter at everything. Their father loved astronomy, and Ewan had to claim the right to pursue that interest and demand Peter to study something else. Peter only cared a little for a specific area of instruction in school. He was always talented with music, much to his brother’s frustration. Ewan might have gotten the title, but Peter went on to pursue his music. He was one of the youngest lead concert pianists for the Philharmonic Society of London. This achievement brought him more pride than his completion of university ever could.

It was a deathbed confession of James Scrymgeour to Peter alone, who his birth mother was, and the circumstances surrounding his birth. Nothing changed about his relationship with Elspeth; she was and remains the only woman he will ever call mother. Curiosity had the better of him. He wanted to know if Moira had musical talent. He had to get it from somewhere, and his family was known for their inability to play anything well, let alone carry a tune. The Stones were in a sad state of affairs when he met them. Moira’s first husband ran off with a good portion of the money; her sons were scattered to the wind, and Moira wanted nothing to do with Peter. Everything he learned about the family was from a neighbor who was happy to gab about the woman next door after Moira told him off and slammed the door in his face. From that moment forward, he was 100% Scrymgeour regardless of the womb that carried him. The past was settled.

Peter was engaged in 1886 to a woman of his parents' choosing, Vivian DuBois, as a means to inspire his brother to beat him to the altar. Instead, the woman left Peter alone at the altar in the summer of 1886. Months later, he received a letter from Dear John explaining that she had gone to America to chase her dreams. His brother and titled lords like to tease Peter about it, so he generally avoids high society social events where he can. And the whole failed engagement has left Peter jaded about serious relationships.