|
|
Post by kayla on Apr 29, 2007 14:45:51 GMT -5
Leshya had thought long and hard about how to approach the subject with her husband. She had considered trying to manipulate him, making him think that he had reached the conclusion himself. However, she had decided against it for a couple of reasons. First, she loved and respected him enough to talk with him honestly. The second was now that he knew she was smart, she thought he might suspect her of that, and somehow she knew he woulld not appreciate it.
She took a deep breath and then knocked on the door to his study. Like her bower, his study was a place he could go to be alone if he chose, and she would not violate that by coming in without knocking, even though she knew he would not mind. She smiled a bit to herself, besides, if there was anyone in there with him, her knocking would maintain the illusion that she was the sweet docile pretty wife.
In her hands she carried the reports, hoping only that her father in law was not attending his son at the moment.
|
|
|
|
Post by thedreamerlady on Apr 29, 2007 19:56:30 GMT -5
Most of the work on Enald's desk was miscellaneous work. It would have been easy enough to give it to one of his stewards, but the man liked the work. These reports, usually a page or so long, spoke of new locations for cotholds, or new deposits of stone, or a likely horse to race during the conclave, or the birth of a child to one of the lords and ladies of his court.
None of it required the attention of a Lord Holder, but it was relaxing, and made it easier for him to go to sleep at night. After all, it was good to know that his hold was prospering.
A gentle knock at the door startled him from a report on a good location for another inner Telgar Hold. Fairly sure he knew who the visitor was, he actually bothered to get up and open the door- it wasn't good manners to bellow at your wife after all. He hoped he didn't look too much a mess in his brown slacks, and brown shirt. It wasn't' as fancy as it usually was, but he'd been relaxing.
"Hello, dearest."
|
|
|
|
Post by kayla on Apr 29, 2007 22:22:35 GMT -5
She smiled warmly to her husband and would gently kiss his cheek. "Good evening, dear. I was wondering if we could talk some? I found an issue in the records that, that has me rather concerned."
She had decided to do this straightforwardly, and he would probably notice that she was not using any cute pouting or other feminine wiles. She did not expect this to be easy. Nor did she expect it to be solved in one night. She hoped, though doubted, that maybe he just hadn't realized what his father's policy had been and hadn't changed it.
She sighed a bit and would hand him the reports, "Enald? Why aren't we tithing properly to the Weyr?"
|
|
|
|
Post by thedreamerlady on Apr 29, 2007 22:33:58 GMT -5
Enald nodded, noticing the records in her hands. Since this obviously wasn't a personal visit, he didn't bother treating it like one. Mouth twitching upward in a smile as he remembered one of his father's jokes about being two different people, he gestured toward his desk, inviting her to sit down.
Taking his own seat across from the one he'd offered her, he waited for Lesh to continue- she didn't need any help from him, after all. He accepted the records, and looked at them. They were, for the most part, detailed accounts of the tithes that the Weyr received from his hold biannually.
"We tithe them what they need." He said seriously. "The Weyr has no cause to complain, and they get what Telgar can afford to give them." This had been something he and his father had discussed before handing over power to Enald, and so he knew what he was talking about.
|
|
|
|
Post by kayla on Apr 29, 2007 22:41:30 GMT -5
She sat down, from habit she sat down properly, spreading her skirts and crossing her legs at the ankles. Her hands were folded in her lap and her posture perfect. It was how she sat, without even thinking - though there had been plenty of times she had relaxed more, usually when she was alone with Enald.
"How do you know that we give them what they need, Enald? Have you spoken with their weyrwoman to make sure that they do have everything that they need?"
Yes, it probably would have been easier to try to manipulate him. No, this was the right choice.
"Its not even just a matter of what they need, Enald. As Holders we have an obligation to the Weyr. And we're not meeting it."
|
|
|
|
Post by thedreamerlady on Apr 29, 2007 22:50:49 GMT -5
"We, as Holders have an obligation to our Holders, first and foremost." His words were smooth, like wind on water. He leaned forward, placing the records on his desk. Though it was on the tip of his tongue to ask Lesh if she favored the Dragonriders over her own people, he didn't bother. This was not an impassioned speech, this was cool and true logistics.
"And you know as well as I that the Weyrwoman would send a representative if she lacked anything." The Weyr and the Hold didn't have bad communication, after all, they were both only seconds away from each other. Perhaps a little bit longer in the case of the Hold, but sweeprider's were not uncommon, nor were Searchriders.
The Hold did their duty in more than just food supplies, naturally.
|
|
|
|
Post by kayla on Apr 29, 2007 23:06:36 GMT -5
She took a deep breath, "We do. But the Riders are a part of that obligation. When Thread falls we cannot afford to be on bad terms with the Weyr. I don't believe that they would shirk their own duty to us, but can we do anything but our best for those may very well give their lives protecting us?"
She sighed, "I know that it can seem like a drain on our resources. But the service they do for all of us is far beyond something that we can put a simple price on. Where would Telgar Hold be if Dragons had not protected us in past falls?"
She smiled to her husband, but it was not meant to manipulate, only because she knew she was fortunate to have a husband who would listen and discuss things with her. "The Weyrwoman has not been there that long," She did smile at that actually, "We've been Lord and Lady longer than she's been weyrwoman. Perhaps she jut has not been made aware of the need yet? Or perhaps, since we're still new, she's hoping that in our next tithe, we'll meet our obligation."
|
|
|
|
Post by thedreamerlady on Apr 30, 2007 0:54:05 GMT -5
Morality wasn't something he felt like discussing. It was simply something that the two of them would get upset about as neither of them would change their options. In his eyes his Hold would always come first, and in her eyes the Weyr and the Hold were either equal, or the Weyr was more important.
"Have you decided where you think that we could make cuts in our Hold to have more to give the Weyr?"
It was not an indication that she would get her way, merely a way of allowing her to express herself. If something would work, he might agree- and if he didn't, then he wouldn't. He stared at her quietly, awaiting an answer.
|
|
|
|
Post by kayla on Apr 30, 2007 9:31:01 GMT -5
Leshya would have been devasted if she knew her husband thought she did not put the Hold first. She did. She just did not see the break between Hold and Weyr to be as clear cut as he did.
She nodded at his question and would lean forward to sort through the records until she found the one she wanted. "One area is how much grain we put away in the case of an emergency. I understand and agree with that, but it seems that we are storing up more than is necessary. I'm not remotely suggesting that we don't store anything away for an emergency, but given what our current stores are, if we cut what we're storing by half, we would still have more than enough to provide for the entire Hold for a Turn, even counting the grain which has to be discarded after a time and without going to lean rations."
She would go through the records again. She had not come to her husband prepared with all the answers, but she had come with some solutions in mind.
She came to the hide with the information about fabrics on it, "I also believe we could send some materials of better quality than we are currently sending to the Weyr without cutting into profits in a way that would make a difference to our coffers."
|
|
|
|
Post by thedreamerlady on Apr 30, 2007 20:37:03 GMT -5
Enald nodded, impressed. He was glad to have a wife who didn't just come to him with problems(his stewards, and his father did that enough), and would consider this more deeply just to reward her for her hard work.
"I'll consider it. I'll want a detailed report, with all possibilities mapped out, and considerations put in for crop failure, and outfitting for new holds." He paused, and smiled, stretching out his arms. When she brought back the reports, Enald would run them by his stewards. They would poke holes in anything that wasn't completely perfect, and would make sure that the Hold wouldn't be too tied up in feeding the Weyr. After all, there was another Hold that would be working beside them. Perhaps Telgar could make some comments to Crom if they boosted how much they were sending. It would make Crom look bad, after all.
"Anything else you wanted to run by me?"
|
|
|
|
Post by kayla on Apr 30, 2007 20:53:04 GMT -5
She smiled and nodded, "Thank you, dear." She could not express how much she appreciated that her husband took her seriously and treated her as a partner.
She would frown at the question of whether or not there was anything else. She really didn't want to discuss the anything else. She just wanted it to be fixed. She shook her head, though her hand would move to belly. Talking wouldn't fix that.
She needed a woman to talk to, someone who could give her suggestions as to what to do in order to expediate matters - though she did enjoy trying!
|
|
|
|
Post by thedreamerlady on Apr 30, 2007 21:14:59 GMT -5
Enald watched as his wife's hand slid to her belly- a belly, that was considered by most of his peers to be being disobedient by not swelling with their child. It didn't bother him, but he was sure that she heard the whispers too.
"It will come when it's ready." The Lord said, soothingly, sounding as he felt- confident that their blessing would arrive when it was ready, and no sooner.
He stood up, and walked to her side, dropping onto one knee and rested his head on her lap. She had a nice body, and he was sure that after it changed from the birth of their son or daughter, he would miss this body. Though, Enald thought to himself, the new shape of her body would probably be just as appealing.
"My mother took a long time to conceive as well- but look at how many children she brought into the world."
|
|
|
|
Post by kayla on Apr 30, 2007 23:50:29 GMT -5
Leshya nodded at his words, "I know. I just..." She sighed, and while she might not be the stupid girl most thought she was, she was still a woman and having a child was more than meeting some maternal need within herself - it was a requirement as a Lady of a major Hold.
When he moved beside her and laid his head in her lap, she would smile a bit, even as she bit back her tears. She ran her fingers through his hair, listening as he reassured her with the mention of his mother - which was probably a first as his mother was anything but reassuring! She would never say anything about it to Enald, but that was probably the only way he could ever compare her to his mother that it would not have been an insult.
She sighed softly, "I know, Enald. I just... I hear what is said, and most don't even try to watch saying it around me, they just couch it in terms they don't think your simple minded wife would understand." She laughed shortly, "I know, that's what I want them to think, but it doesn't mean that their words don't hurt."
And she did not want to think about what Enald's choices would be if she never did get pregnant, though she trusted him to not just put her away.
"I'm sorry. I'm probably just having a silly girl moment." She did take comfort in running her fingers through her husband's hair, and in knowing that he loved her.
|
|
|
|
Post by thedreamerlady on May 1, 2007 0:39:28 GMT -5
Mouth muffled by Leshya's body, Enald spoke.
"Nothing about you is simple, and you know it." Pausing to take a breath, the man continued. "And if bothers you, show off." It wasn't like his father could ask him to change wives based on the intelligence of his current wife- though he could ask him to leave a barren woman. However, as Enald knew, there was nothing physically wrong with his wife- she was just taking a little bit longer than they'd hoped for.
As she ran her fingers through his hair, the man sighed. It felt rather good, and he relaxed, allowing himself to be a place for rhythm and softness. He rather hoped no one would walk through the door at that point.
|
|
|
|
Post by kayla on May 1, 2007 13:15:09 GMT -5
She smiled a bit at that, "I don't mind them thinking I'm simple, Enald. It means that I hear things that I wouldn't otherwise. Tongues are much freer when they think I'm just a simple pretty girl."
She smiled a bit, it was nice to have a husband who was willing to be gentle and encouraging. "I just wish that... they'd talk about something less personal." Though she did know that those of the Hold did have a stake in whether or not she conceived, she just wished... well, more that she would.
"It helps a lot that you're not overly concerned about it."
|
|
