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DerynifanK

March 17, 2024, 03:48:44 PM
Happy St Patrick's Day. Enjoy the one day of the year when the whole world is Irish.

Bewitched, Bothered, and Bewildered--Chapter Seventeen

Started by Evie, August 15, 2011, 09:23:16 AM

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Evie

   Chapter Seventeen

   July 15, 1134
   Braxton House, Rhemuth

   I watched as two laborers carried a crate of Avisa's household belongings into the new, roomier lodgings I had secured for us in Rhemuth.  "Upstairs, my lord?" one asked me.

   I peered inside at the crate's contents, recognizing the stacked pieces of wood within as disassembled benches and stools.  "Yes, this load belongs in the solar."  A young chambermaid entered close behind the men, her arms laden with a large basket containing the embroidered seat cushions belonging to those furnishings.  "Those also.  You can follow the men up," I instructed her.

   Nurse Moira came down the staircase.  "Lord Sextus, you're wanted in my lady's bedchamber."

   I suppressed a grin.  With our wedding date still nearly a month off, as we'd wanted to wait until the chaos of the move was over and the household had fully settled into Braxton House and back into a regular routine before we left Rhemuth to enter married life and depart on our honeymoon trip, I knew Avisa was calling for me on matters of practicality, not pleasure.  Still, I quite looked forward to being required upstairs for more enjoyable reasons than planning the placement of furnishings and supervising the household staff in scouring and readying the chambers.  In the meantime, I still shared a bedchamber with Grub.  Tempting though it was to move into my lady's chamber before the month was up, there was her reputation to consider.  A child born too soon after our marriage would set tongues to wagging even more so than news of our upcoming nuptials had already started them up, so I sternly reminded myself of the need for patience.

   Still, our new Braxton House had a delightfully situated private garden with a very shady arbor.  It might serve for a late night tryst or twelve, as long as we could both remind ourselves of the need to wait for anything more than a few stolen kisses.  I'd promised my brother I would be reasonably well behaved until Denis could solemnize our marriage vows.  I'd never promised him I'd become a saint.  Fortunately Sophie had assured me, with a deep blush and some giggling, that even Sir Perfect had unbent enough to steal a generous number of kisses before they'd been properly wed.

   I entered the large bedchamber.  Avisa's back was turned to me as she stretched on tiptoe to assist a chambermaid in securing the yards of canopy fabric to its supporting frame.  I approached her stealthily until I drew close enough to wrap my arms around her, pulling her close to me.  She squealed in surprise, and the chambermaid began to giggle, a blush suffusing her cheeks as she turned away slightly.

   "I'm told you want me, my lady?" 

   Avisa grinned, clearly tempted to state the obvious but restraining herself in her maid's presence.  "Yes, in fact; we could use your help in rebuilding the bed."

   "Ah.  Yes, I could help with that.  I've quite the vested interest."  Behind us, the maid burst into muffled laughter. 

   My betrothed flushed becomingly, her eyes dancing.  "Behave, Sextus, or I'll shove you into the moat to cool off."

   "You'd have to dig one first," I told her, bending to steal a kiss.  "It's not worth the bother.  Just have your maids pour me a nice, deep bath instead."  I thought back on the charming scene I'd stumbled upon at Godwyn Hall.  "One large enough for two would be perfect."

   Avisa burst out laughing. "This is going to be the longest month in all recorded history, isn't it?"

   I grinned.  "Absolutely.  All three weeks, five days, and four and a half hours of torment left to endure until our wedding night.  Not that anyone is counting."

#

   August 10, 1134
   Godwyn Hall, Duchy of Haldane


   I glanced around at the festively decorated Hall.  Avisa's household had outdone themselves in preparing for their lady's wedding day, and the air was fragrant with fresh flowers from the manorial garden and fresh herbs scattered among the newly replaced reeds covering the floor.   It was true that the manor was quite humble in comparison with the greater splendor of the Great Hall at Chateau de Moreau, and even somewhat small in comparison with my brother's manor house at Tre-Arilan, yet this manor was where my bride's heart lay and where the people who had always loved her best resided, so we'd chosen to have our wedding here.   What Godwyn Hall lacked in stature, it made up for in enthusiastic welcome of our arriving wedding guests.  Master James had completed the repairs to the guest wing just in time for the day's festivities, and chambermaids and manservants busied themselves with getting guests settled into their temporary quarters over the past couple of days.  The wedding day had finally arrived, a gloriously fair day now shading into early evening, with even a mild breeze arriving to herald the setting sun, cooling the heat left over from a bright and sunny August afternoon.  My uncle Denis, resplendent in his bishop's finery, had officiated over our wedding vows, exchanged on the front steps of the manorial chapel, though old Father Aelfred, Godwyn Hall's aged chaplain who had been the spiritual father of the manor since his youth, and who remembered Avisa's christening ceremony as if it had occurred only yesterday, had been given the honor of officiating the nuptial Mass afterwards.   The two clergymen now sat together at a table nearby, heads bent together in conversation, probably sharing stories of our misspent youths judging by their frequent glances at Avisa and myself and their shaking heads and wry smiles.  The rest of my family appeared to be similarly engaged.  At one point Seisyll buried his face in his hands as Javana chortled over some story Jashana was sharing with great animation.  I couldn't hear what they were talking about, but from Jashana's pantomimed gestures I gathered she was probably telling Javana about our unorthodox betrothal announcement with Hortense at Tre-Arilan.

   My new in-laws, Lord and Lady Taggert, sat in a position of honor near the High Table, though not on the dais itself.  They had arrived early that morning, and had spent most of the day in a seemingly bewildered daze, occasionally glowering at me, though I wasn't sure if that was due to having been excluded from joining us at High Table or whether they simply objected to me in general.  Avisa had insisted that only our immediate family be seated on the dais on this special occasion to celebrate the new union of our houses, so in addition to the two of us, there were only our three children seated at our High Table.  An unexpected late-arriving guest was also invited to join us, as was his due by right of his high rank and precedence, but he had declined with a laugh and the assurance that he was quite looking forward to not having to sit under the direct gaze of the public eye for once.

   I glanced at my bride.  She was radiant, her face aglow as she accepted the well-wishes of another guest who approached us at our High Table.  On my other side sat Grub, looking tired.  She had weathered the day's excitement quite well up until now, but her energy was starting to flag at last.  Still, she smiled sleepily up at me as she caught my eye.

   "Do I have to sleep in the nursery with Aldwyn and Taggert tonight?" she whispered.

   "I'm afraid so." She certainly wouldn't be sharing my bedchamber on my wedding night!  Still, she'd been sleeping in my quarters on most evenings since I'd had her in my keeping.  "You're not worried about sleeping apart from me from now on, I hope?"

   "No," she assured me solemnly.  "You'll be all right.  Lady Avisa will take good care of you.  Just behave and don't steal the whole sheet in your sleep, all right?  It's a very bad habit."

   I turned away slightly, biting my lip to keep from laughing.  "I'll do my very best not to, if you'll tell her not to start any pillow fights."  I glanced at Avisa again briefly, then reconsidered.  "On second thought, pillow fights might be quite fun."  Especially if I'd get to wrestle her for the pillow.  Not that I expected I'd even remember what we were wrestling over after the first few moments.  I felt a rush of impatient anticipation and wished all our wedding guests would hurry up and eat so we could get on with the rest of the night.

   Grub raised an eyebrow at me, looking oddly like Seisyll.  "You want to pillow fight on your wedding night?"  She shook her head.  "Six, you're weird.  But I guess I can't really blame you.  At least that would be more fun than all that yucky stuff other grownups do in bed together."

#

   The unexpected, albeit welcome, guest to our wedding had been Prince Nigel.  The King and Queen had been invited, although not really expected to attend, and they had sent their regrets, doubtless to the collective relief of Godwyn Hall's household staff, who had done wonders already in readying their manor for a wedding and an influx of family and close friends at fairly short notice but who would have been even more hard-pressed to make ready for a full royal entourage as well.  But Their Majesties had sent Prince Nigel to convey their well wishes along with another responsibility the King had decided to confer upon me on my last day in Rhemuth.

   A young man wearing the red and silver of my new Braxton livery dropped to one knee before me.  "Jemmy Kitchener of Rhemuth at your service, my lord," he said, earnest brown eyes studying me curiously under a shock of light brown hair as Prince Nigel smiled approvingly down at him.

   I studied the lad with equal curiosity.  "Rise, Jemmy."  I knew who he was, of course—most of the Court did, after that fateful summer day two years previously when a cook's apprentice had foiled an assassination attempt on a King and had found himself rewarded with the opportunity to be trained as a page and to gain an education.  Now, having acquitted himself well under Prince Nigel's training in the royal page school, Jemmy was old enough to be squired to a knight.  While Nigel had averred he'd have no objection at all to continuing the lad's training at the Castle, since Jemmy had shown Deryni talents on that day when he'd discovered the plot against Kelson, the King had decided it would be better for Jemmy to be placed in the household of a knight who could see to his Deryni education as well as his martial training.  And in addition, Kelson had informed me privately, he thought Jemmy would be most useful to the Kingdom if I trained him more specifically in how to become a fact-finder.  As he was of common birth already, I'd not need to teach him how to blend into the local population in a commoner's guise, and yet his more recent years in training under Prince Nigel had already given him sufficient polish to know how to fit in with the more rarified atmosphere of a Royal Court.  "How was your journey from Rhemuth?"

   The lad grinned.  "Enjoyable, my lord.   It's fair countryside.  I've not been out of Rhemuth much yet, so I quite like having a change of scenery."  Beside him, Prince Nigel chuckled.

   "Yes, well, I assure you, you'll be seeing quite a lot of interesting new 'scenery' over the next few years, if you're in my service."  I gave the Prince a wry smile.  He gave me a knowing grin in return.  "See that chestnut haired man in Godwyn Hall's colors, Jemmy?  That's Master James, our steward here.  I'm sure he'll find a lot of tasks to keep you occupied over the next few days until our guests leave and we're ready to make our way to Braxton Hall."

   My new squire bowed dutifully and took his leave, making his way towards Master James to see how he could make himself most useful.  Prince Nigel remained, drawing closer to the High Table to lean casually on the edge of it, his gray eyes crinkling with amusement.  "If you're wondering, I'm standing here engaging in casual conversation with you to make a point," he whispered.

   "A point, Your Highness?"

   A low chuckle.  "Your new in-laws turned up in Court a fortnight ago to lodge a formal protest over Lady Avisa's betrothal to you.  It seems they'd hoped to renege on their prior agreement with her that she could choose her next husband, if she meant to give herself over to a ne'er-do-well.  No, no, keep looking at me," he added as I started to glance at their table.  He grinned, continuing in the same quiet voice.  "Kelson had a word with them in private, but he also wanted me to make it subtly clear that the 'Arilan ne'er-do-well' happens to be in Royal favor.  So please don't do anything while they're here to make them decide we Haldanes are a mad lot."

   I laughed.  "I'll be on my best behavior, Your Highness."

   He shook his head, his lips twitching slightly.  "God help us, then.  Just this once, Sextus, trying being on my best behavior instead."

#

   The interminable-seeming feast finally drew to an end.  The women present sang wedding songs as they escorted my bride up to her bridal chamber, while Seisyll raised his goblet in a final toast.  "May you have a happy and fruitful union, Sextus," he started out solemnly enough as the last of the ladies left the Great Hall, followed by Nurse Moira, who led the children out separately to ready them for their beds.  As the door closed behind Grub, he added, "I trust I won't need to tell you how to go about that?"

   Once the roar of laughter died down, I replied.  "No, I think I'm well enough informed on that subject already, and feeling quite up to the challenge in fact, but thank you, brother."

   Denis shook his head at us, though he was smiling.  "I'm just glad you're finally married.  I'll pray for poor Avisa's endurance."

   Master James, standing behind me, gave a low chuckle and bent to whisper a quiet observation.  "He doesn't know my lady very well yet, does he?   I'll be praying for yours."  I grinned up at my wife's half-brother as he straightened, his features composed into their regular expression of dutiful attentiveness, though a gleam of humor lurked in his eyes.

#

   I was allowed to join my bride at last, and the nuptial blessing was prayed over us.  The wedding guests now departed, leaving us mostly alone in the bridal bedchamber.  Avisa called one of the chambermaids to her side as the rest of our visitors filed out of the room.

   "Wait here for just a moment," she whispered to the surprised girl.  "I may have a small favor to ask of you once everyone else has left."

   "As you wish, m'lady," the girl replied, the bafflement in her eyes reflecting my own.

   "Remain just outside the chamber door.  I'll tell you what it is in just a moment."

   "Aye, m'lady."  The girl exited the room with the last of the guests, closing the door behind her.  I cocked my head curiously at Avisa.

   She smiled back at me, blushing.  "Would you mind very much if we spend our first night together somewhere else?"  She gestured towards the walls of our chamber.  "The manor house is a bit...um...crowded tonight, and not as private as I'd like for our first night together...."

   I thought I understood her hesitation, and had planned on setting up wards around our bed to provide more privacy, but some instinct prompted me to ask her what she had in mind before proposing that option.  "I could solve that problem if you wish, but where else did you have in mind?"

   Avisa beamed, looking relieved.  "You'll need to dress again, but we won't go very far.  Let's just say we're going adventuring again."  She grinned, rising from our bed.  I stared more than a trifle wistfully at my beloved's barely clad form, temptingly visible through the sheer fabric of her nightdress as she moved towards the doorway.  "I'm just going to tell Cécy that we'll be staying the night elsewhere, so my maidservants won't be unduly alarmed if we're not where they expect us to be when everyone wakes up tomorrow morning."

#

   There was a ladder propped outside the bedchamber window, I discovered shortly thereafter, and Master James stood at the bottom of it, looking thoroughly unsurprised.  In fact, he was a more than willing accomplice in Lady Avisa's planned elopement from Godwyn Hall.  Also waiting for us were Murray and Nutmeg, saddled and ready for our departure.

   "Have you any idea how difficult it is to get a wool-stuffed pallet and a feather mattress across a stream and up into a tree without mishaps, my lady?" he teased as he helped Avisa mount. 

   She laughed.  "None at all, James.   That's what I have you for."

   He smiled.  "I'll keep your whereabouts secret until noon tomorrow, but not a moment longer, so please be wearing clothes when I send the staff to collect your belongings."

   "Don't worry."  Avisa grinned teasingly at me.  "I don't want to start out newlywed life with sunburn in tender places."

#

   The King Tree was garlanded with flowers and resplendent with hanging lanterns which shone like stars beneath its leafy branches as we walked up the slope towards it, turning the large oak into an enchanted fairyland.  To my surprise, the area was lightly warded to both camouflage it and add a circle of protection around us.  Nothing had appeared at all out of the ordinary about the King Tree and its surroundings until after we'd crossed the stream and I'd felt the faint tingle of the ward's energies as we crossed through them.  I gave Avisa a questioning look, wondering where she'd learned that skill, for warding wasn't an innate Deryni talent.

   "My father warded the area for us, once he heard what I was planning," Avisa said at my inquiring look.  "The one who sired me, that is, not the one who raised me.  He was afraid the lights might draw unwanted attention."  She laughed.  "Not to mention mosquitoes.  I'm afraid I hadn't thought about those."

   "He's still alive, then?"  I had assumed that Master James had become Godwyn Hall's steward upon his father's death.

   She nodded.  "Yes, Master Jordan lives in the village now.  He retired from the stewardship a few years ago—he's in declining health—but he still enjoys riding over the grounds every now and again on his better days."  Avisa sighed.  "He's quite curious about you, but he thought it best not to attend our wedding, as my parents would be there."  Yes, that seemed most circumspect, under the circumstances.  "Hopefully you can meet him sometime during our stay here, though, once our guests have left and before we head forth for Braxton Hall."

   We climbed up to the platform in the King Tree, now transformed into an inviting bridal bed.  Avisa's eyes glowed in the firelight from a nearby lantern as she reached for me.  She smiled.

   "Are you ready for the next stage of our adventure?"

   I was more than ready.  So was she.  I answered her wordlessly, drawing her into my arms and opening my mind to hers.  After a moment she followed suit, following my lead as we explored previously uncharted territory together, learning in each other's arms the simple yet profound magic of two Deryni uniting minds as well as bodies in shared love.
   

"In necessariis unitas, in non-necessariis libertas, in utrisque caritas."

--WARNING!!!--
I have a vocabulary in excess of 75,000 words, and I'm not afraid to use it!

Jerusha

May the adventure continue for many years to come!

A very satisfying ending to an enjoyable story.  Many thanks, Evie!  :)
From ghoulies and ghosties and long-leggity beasties and things that go bump in the night...good Lord deliver us!

 -- Old English Litany

AnnieUK

And I'd even forgotten it was Monday! :D

"Six, you're weird."  "No, not weird, Grub, just interesting."  And hopefully you'll tell us some more tales of his interesting life - I'm sure he and Jemmy will get up to something!

Evie

Oh, it's probably not the last you'll see of any of them.  Not that I have any particular stories in mind at the moment, but it's dawned on me that I've just placed a young squire on the threshold of puberty into Sextus's hands, of all people's, for fostering and guidance.  And Sextus also has a swiftly maturing and far too streetwise daughter to contend with.  I can't imagine anything going wrong with that mix anytime down the road, oh no, not at all, could never happen....   ;D
"In necessariis unitas, in non-necessariis libertas, in utrisque caritas."

--WARNING!!!--
I have a vocabulary in excess of 75,000 words, and I'm not afraid to use it!

derynifanatic64

Excellent ending!!  It was great to see Nigel as well!!
We will never forget the events of 9-11!!  USA!! USA!!

Alkari

Thank goodness they are finally married!  And LOL at Grub's reactions.

Sending Jemmy to be a squire to Sextus - hmm, methinks our Kelson and Prince Nigel have very wicked senses of humour  :D


kirienne (RIP)

To say I have enjoyed this story is an understatement, I've LOVED it!!! I am glad to see Six finally married, but think there might be many possibilities for you to write further adventures...especially since he has a new, young squire now. I'll miss Grub, so I hope you put her in more stories.
Thanks for sharing this with us....I look forward to reading any adventures you are working on. :-)

Evie

Oh, I'm quite certain you'll see all the Arilans popping into other stories time and again.  I've spent nearly a year with this family now, and have come to love them and all of their quirks.  There might even be another "Six and Grub" story down the road, perhaps a few years later when Grub is old enough to really make her Dad want to tear out his hair!   :D  (Not to mention he'll doubtless have other children in his future, and few things make me laugh as much as the thought of Sextus Arilan trying to figure out how to handle an infant!  ;D )

I actually have two partially written stories queued up, though one of them is currently on the back-burner.  It's one I began months ago but then shelved when it became clear to me that I needed to find out more about what happens in this current generation of Deryni before writing a longer work in the same time period as "The Rustic Prince."  Several stories later, I dusted it off and added another few chapters to it, but then my main character asked me a question that I didn't have an answer for, and that, in a roundabout way, led to my current story-in-progress being born.

The current story-in-progress takes place in 1136, about half a year after this one ends.  I was inspired by a variety of things.  I wanted to write a story that dealt with the early years of the Schola, once some sort of program was already in place, but before it had many years to get fully established.  I wanted that story to feature Duncan, because for a guy who is my all-time favorite Deryni, he really has gotten surprisingly little scene time in my stories, aside from my very first one, and I wanted to write a story that focuses more on him this time around.  A Duncan story from a more mature standpoint in some ways--he's around 44 or 45 now, he's loved and lost, he's got grandchildren, he's got more life experience all around--and yet one in which he's still learning, still growing, and still trying to find the right balance between the needs of Duncan the bishop, Royal Council member and Schola rector on the one hand, and Duncan the man on the other.

And then I bought a DVD of a wonderful movie called Vision, set in Germany in the 1100s, about an abbess named Hildegard von Bingen.  German movie with English subtitles, set almost exclusively in a convent, with a cast of characters mostly comprised of nuns and monks.  At first I was raring to write a convent story, perhaps about Sister Therese the Infirmarian, who had a walk on scene in "Maidens of Mayhem" and has haunted my brain since.  But then I realized that the Servants of Saint Camber, while not strictly a monastic order or cloistered, being made up of laity rather than under holy orders, would still be similar in some respects.  A character began to take shape in my mind who was loosely based on Hildegard von Bingen, but I quickly realized I'd need to tone her down to make her believable as a fictional character.  The real Hildegard, despite being a cloistered nun, has made her mark on our world's history by being a visionary (both in terms of literally seeing what she believed to be prophetic visions, and in terms of being viisionary in her actions and goal-setting), an author, a healer, a composer of religious music, a theologian, and a woman so highly respected that she had the ear of the Pope, the Holy Roman Emperor, and other leaders of the day.  If I were to create a fanfic character who was that astonishingly gifted, she'd immediately be dubbed a "Mary Sue"!   :D  So I tossed most of those qualities out the window, but kept the two traits I thought would be most likely to fit in with a Deryni story--the healing gift, and the visions, though my new character's visions are of a different sort, not so much prophetic as clairvoyant.

Oh, and it's shaping up to be a mystery story.  Or perhaps even two.   :D

So there's a brief foretaste of coming attractions for you, and hopefully I'll have enough of the story underway to start posting the earlier chapters before too long.
"In necessariis unitas, in non-necessariis libertas, in utrisque caritas."

--WARNING!!!--
I have a vocabulary in excess of 75,000 words, and I'm not afraid to use it!

Alkari

Quotefew things make me laugh as much as the thought of Sextus Arilan trying to figure out how to handle an infant!

Well, Sextus may well surprise you!  I suspect he will make a great Dad, and Avisa's two boys will be very glad he is their stepfather.   Though I'm not too sure about this business of 'training' young Jemmy ... ;)

Evie

Jemmy may have been sent to become a good influence on Sextus, rather than the other way around....   ;)
"In necessariis unitas, in non-necessariis libertas, in utrisque caritas."

--WARNING!!!--
I have a vocabulary in excess of 75,000 words, and I'm not afraid to use it!

Elkhound

Quote from: Evie on August 15, 2011, 10:53:35 PM
Jemmy may have been sent to become a good influence on Sextus, rather than the other way around....   ;)

Do you think that Jemmy and Grub might end up becoming a couple when they are older?

Evie

Hard to say.  There's only a few years between them, but a lot would probably depend on whether Grub grows up thinking of him more like an extra brother in the family, or if she ends up thinking of him as that hot young squire the King was nice enough to send Six's way....   :D  And of course the reverse is true as well.  Grub's only seven when Jemmy first meets her, and I think he's around 12 or 13 now.  He's certainly not going to see her as very interesting right off, but as she gets older, will she become fascinating enough to him to overcome any memories he might have of her with a runny nose and scabby knees?  Don't really know at this point, but she is one of those stubborn and devious Arilans, so if she decides down the road that Jemmy's the man she wants, then God help the lad, he probably won't stand a chance....   ;D
"In necessariis unitas, in non-necessariis libertas, in utrisque caritas."

--WARNING!!!--
I have a vocabulary in excess of 75,000 words, and I'm not afraid to use it!

Elkhound

Quote from: Evie on August 17, 2011, 02:40:22 PM
Hard to say.  There's only a few years between them, but a lot would probably depend on whether Grub grows up thinking of him more like an extra brother in the family, or if she ends up thinking of him as that hot young squire the King was nice enough to send Six's way....   :D  And of course the reverse is true as well.  Grub's only seven when Jemmy first meets her, and I think he's around 12 or 13 now.  He's certainly not going to see her as very interesting right off, but as she gets older, will she become fascinating enough to him to overcome any memories he might have of her with a runny nose and scabby knees?  Don't really know at this point, but she is one of those stubborn and devious Arilans, so if she decides down the road that Jemmy's the man she wants, then God help the lad, he probably won't stand a chance....   ;D

If Jemmy goes away on some quest, or Grub gets sent to a convent school (in which case one feels sorry for the Abbess, but that's another matter) or some other establishment for turning girls into young ladies, a couple of years'--or even 6-8 month's-- separation could give either a new perspective on the other.


Evie

Actually, they're both attending classes at the new Schola in Rhemuth (I've caught a glimpse of Jemmy there already in one of the early scenes of my current story-in-progress), since that's located conveniently enough that Sextus can spare him the hours off he needs to get some formal training in the Deryni arts that will supplement the squire training he's getting from Sextus (not to mention that I'm sure Sextus will also be providing him with some individual instruction in those arts as well), and that also means Grub will be able to have schooling without having to go too far from home.  Granted, Sextus and his household aren't always in Rhemuth, since they've got Avisa's son's barony and manors of their own to tend to, but they're in the City often enough for Jemmy to do part-time studies and for Grub to stay in full-time once she's older, without too many long separations from her family.

So there's no Abbess to feel sorry for, but you might want to spare a prayer or twelve for Bishop Duncan, since he's the Schola's Rector....   :D
"In necessariis unitas, in non-necessariis libertas, in utrisque caritas."

--WARNING!!!--
I have a vocabulary in excess of 75,000 words, and I'm not afraid to use it!

Mcath

Quote from: Evie on August 15, 2011, 12:26:20 PM
Oh, it's probably not the last you'll see of any of them.  Not that I have any particular stories in mind at the moment, but it's dawned on me that I've just placed a young squire on the threshold of puberty into Sextus's hands, of all people's, for fostering and guidance.  And Sextus also has a swiftly maturing and far too streetwise daughter to contend with.  I can't imagine anything going wrong with that mix anytime down the road, oh no, not at all, could never happen....   ;D

Thanks for the laugh ..... and I await the the misadventures of Grub and Jemmy with some interest. :D