|
|
Post by kayla on Mar 20, 2008 22:08:51 GMT -5
The people of Telgar Hold proper had become familiar with the fact that the Lord and Lady tended to lock themselves in the Study. And while gossips liked to romanticize it, a few knew that the reality was even sweeter than that. These were private meetings of full partnership between the husband and wife, meetings that usually happened while Leshya was feeding their baby girl, Kimlye. Which was the reason that the door was locked - neither of them wanted the Stewards there while she nursed - or worse! Enald's father!
Most of the Hold had come to accept the competency of Leshya, though there were some conservative hold-backs who thought that Enald simply humored his wife. Likewise, Leshya had come to accept, though reluctantly, that her daughter could not be heir, though she knew that she and Enald would work to find, when the far distant time came, a mate who would treat her as an equal, and hopefully love as well.
Leshya wore a full set of skirts, in good fall colors, with a wite blouse, though her blouse was currently hanging open as she feed Kimlye. That did mean, that for now, her husband had all the records and she was just thinking, talking, and listening.
"How about the new holders at Peyton? They had had a rough time settling in. Do we have any reports from them?" Leshya had agreed with her husband's idea of settling holdless, but also worried about how well they would adjust, and how they would get along with their neighbors. "Can we expect to see any contribution from them?" She also worried about the coming Winter.
|
|
|
|
Post by thedreamerlady on Mar 23, 2008 1:43:55 GMT -5
"Holder Jenson says that the former Holdless work as hard as the Holders before them, but tend towards fatigue and illness." Enald scanned several documents, all sent up from Peyton Hold, as well as thinking quickly back to anything his Stewards might have mentioned to him. A task that his lovely wife was distracting him from. He rubbed his ear, noticing it start to feel strange again. Like pressure was being built up to an obscene level.
"He requested another Healer to travel closer to those holds. His stores should leave them in good standing, but requests help to cloth his new Holders, as none of them have clothing suitable for winter." While the death toll was still far to high, some issues were easier to deal with. They had a surplus of stored food, as they had less people to feed, and a lot of the people they were feeding ate less. It didn't hurt that Telgar was a well-off Hold, and that Enald and Leshya were young and energetic and willing to bend tradition for the greater good.
"Even with additional marks shelled out to help our holds, we'll still be able to afford Kimlye's Gather." Enald added, not looking up from his hides. He was trying very hard not to be distracted from work, but sometimes that could be hard.
|
|
|
|
Post by kayla on Mar 24, 2008 11:09:36 GMT -5
Leshya nodded; it was good to know that the former Holdless, especially those who had a hard time adjusting, were working well and showing signs of fitting in. "Neither of those should be too difficult."
However, her eyes narrowed slightly as she noticed her husband rubbing his ear. She knew that it sometimes bothered him, but did not know quite how much. As she shifted Kimlye to the other side, he distracted her from asking if he was ok by stating that they would be able to fund the gather.
She grinned, "Wonderful!" She looked down at the little one nursing at her breast. "That's right, little one, we're going to have a good party to celebrate you." She grinned as she watched the oblivious little baby girl happily suck and giggled, "And as long as you have your Mommy and Daddy, you don't even care, do you?"
|
|
|
|
Post by thedreamerlady on Mar 24, 2008 21:29:59 GMT -5
"Not too difficult." Enald agreed. "However, we must consider a, mmm, gift perhaps to someone in the Healer hall." While Healers were in high demand right now, Telgar had a good reputation for now she treated hers Crafters, and with a bribe to the right person, they'd be assured a high end Journeyman. He hoped they wouldn't send a female crafter, however. Holdless men were a rough lot in general, and he wouldn't envy anyone working with them.
"Give her a few years." Enald suggested with a laugh. He'd grown up with a great deal of sisters after all. "She'll be beggaring us with Gathers, and clothing, and suitors." His droll tone made it slightly difficult to decide if he was joking or not. "And we will find ourselves unable to say no."
Looking down at his hides, the young man resisted the urge to rub his left ear again. Shards, it hadn't hurt this much in some time. It almost stung. He narrowed his eyes, focusing despite the ache.
"Is there anything special you'd like to see at this Gather? We'll plan dancing, and perhaps a free toast from us?" Enald smiled, and looked up at his wife again. He might live to regret this, but he was going to have to be honest with his wife. "The sky's the limit, Lesh."
|
|
|
|
Post by kayla on Mar 24, 2008 21:42:57 GMT -5
Kimlye finished feeding, and Leshya went about cleaning her breasts and cuddling the baby, knowing that she'd go to sleep soon after feeding. "I know our finances as well as you do, Enald. I want to make this special, not just to celebrate our precious little girl, but to help everyone recover."
She stood and moved over to him, "Why don't you take her, she'll go to sleep easily after feeding, and I can jot down some ideas for the Gather."
While she waited for him to take the baby, she thought out loud. "But I don't want this Gather to hurt us either. We all need the fun and the relaxation, and even the celebration, but not if it endangers us."
She smiled, "A few good harpers definitely. I can probably get one of my old dresses remade to be new but save us a bit." Though she knew full well that certain eyes would catch onto that no matter how different the dress was made. "If we need it, I could get Daddy to donate some wine without making it known. A quiet present for his granddaughter."
"I'd like to have racing, and a market and..." She sighed, "And everything you have at a Gather. I want it to be special. I want us to celebrate Kimlye in a big way." She grinned, "She deserves it, but not to beggar the Hold, definitely not right now."
|
|
|
|
Post by thedreamerlady on Mar 24, 2008 21:55:24 GMT -5
Making sure to cradle his precious daughter in his strong arm, Enald smiled up at his wife, this time trying very hard to convey reassurance. "We're not that close to being beggars, Lesh." The sickness had cost them, and Enald liked having a lot of extra marks, just in case, but he was the sort of man who was always doing that.
"I wouldn't say no to Benden wine," Enald added, thinking that the price had gone up since the sickness. "Though we don't necessarily need it." Cuddling his daughter close, he looked at her carefully. "We can afford to splurge on you once of twice, darling."
The brown haired man cleared his throat, and moved around a little bit, checking his arms carefully for any signs of stress. He wasn't a fool, about to risk his daughter because he couldn't pay attention.
"We can manage a Gather. Lesh," his voice petered out, "I feel as though I'm forgetting something." His bad hand rose and rubbed his bad ear.
|
|
|
|
Post by kayla on Mar 24, 2008 22:02:08 GMT -5
Lesh grinned, "I'll talk to Daddy. I'm sure he'll give us some, at the very least for our high ranking guests. I'd like to have some for the Harpers and Healers on duty as well, let them know that Telgar treats them well." She had been taught the game well, even there was a large part of it that she no longer had to, or could play.
She watched her husband with their baby daughter, smiling before going to pick up a hide and start making lists. "We'll need to make sure to invite the Weyrs, try to make some amends for having to limit the Searching."
She then noticed him rubbing his ear, this time she was distracted from it. "Enald? What's wrong with your ear? Are you all right?"
|
|
|
|
Post by thedreamerlady on Apr 6, 2008 16:22:32 GMT -5
"Hmmm?" Enald raised an eyebrow. "My ear is fine, dear. We're just under a lot of stress, makes me aware that I'm getting older." He felt as though he was going from twenty-six to forty-five. Maybe even older. But that wasn't something he wanted to ponder at that moment.
"The Weyrs, Crafthalls: is our credit good enough with Telgar or Igen for them to supply transport to the MasterCrafters?" Enald stroked Kimlye's soft cheek. "Crafters always have such nice gifts, don't you agree?" Yep, Enald was rolling away from any questions about his physical superiority, and focusing just on his duties. He'd consult a Healer later. Once they had spare time, when all the Holdless were settled in, and double checked for illness.
|
|
|
|
Post by kayla on Apr 7, 2008 9:21:24 GMT -5
Leshya chuckled as she watched her husband with their child. "Enald, you're not old. In fact, I'm not sure either of us is old enough to be allowed to feel old. Besides, we have a beautiful little girl, and that makes all the stress worth it." Well, maybe that was not entirely true, but she did find that the love of her husband and their precious baby girl did make the stress manageable.
She sighed at that question. "I don't know. We've increased our tithes, but we've also denied them the freedom to Search as they wish. And yes, I know it was necessary, and I agree with what we've done. But I do not know if the Weyrs will consider the increase tithe enough to compensate for the limitations on Search to provide us with transport." She was not even sure that the fact that her sister was Igen's Weyrwoman would help them out in this matter. "Perhaps we can offer them something to make it worth their while?"
"And yes, dear. I agree that the halls make very nice gifts." She chuckled at him, but she also knew that when her husband was talkative and well, especially when his talkativeness was rather disjointed, that he was hiding something.
"Enald, is something bothering you?"
|
|
|
|
Post by thedreamerlady on Apr 7, 2008 17:13:34 GMT -5
"Nothing's bothering me. What would make you think that?" Talkative Enald. A surefire way of figuring out something was wrong. Not that Enald was going to admit to anything. He trusted his wife, loved his wife, but discussing his weakness with her wasn't something that would ever be high on his list of something to do. Not until he was in his seventies and it was acceptable.
"Well, they did have a few of our Holders impress. The one Holdless boy- he Impressed a Brown. They can't say we hid them away for the Igen Riders to have, and tithe is good enough. Perhaps Igen would be more willing to give up riders for Transport. Weyrwoman Saylen is your sister after all. The two of you are close, right?"
Enald cleared his throat, and checked his arms nervously again. "Would you like to hold Kimlye some more dear?" The baby had made a funny noise. "I think she might be tired." He smiled up at his wife, thinking of how lucky he was to have her. At least his appreciation for his wife wasn't something he'd forget.
|
|
|
|
Post by kayla on Apr 7, 2008 17:54:44 GMT -5
"She's probably about ready for a nap." She took the little one from her husband and gently rocked her, taking a moment to coo to her.
"We used to be. I wish we still were, but she doesn't respond to my letters and she hasn't even come to visit since Kimlye was born." Which did sadden her, though she chose not to dwell on it. She had idolized her older sister, but she accepted, sadly, that they lived very different lives now.
"Both will be invited, perhaps we can get some members of both to help out with rides."
She smiled down, feeling Kimlye's breathing evening up and grinned. "She's asleep."
|
|
|
|
Post by thedreamerlady on Apr 9, 2008 23:53:08 GMT -5
"Asleep?" Enald smiled devilishly. "And I'm sure she's exhausted." He was still talking to much, a sure sign something was off, but Enald wasn't going to allow anyone to follow that train of thought. He had a more appealing idea.
"You know, there are several very interesting rumors going around the Hold about us locking each other in here all of the time. Want to give them some credence?"
Fade to black
|
|
