?The spring??
?Yes, the spring.?
Laeyna lifted her gaze with a weighted breath. ?Do you think you could be more specific? Spring is a large expanse of time.?
?Late spring.?
?Helpful, Jolly, really.? She looked back down at the table between them. The kitchen was warm with the heat of the cooking. Spices tempted the senses, and though Laeyna had briefly balked at speaking over wedding details in the kitchen, there really as no other suitable place. It also helped that frequent grunts from Arcelia had timed to side with Laeyna?s suggestions or complaints.
For Jolyon?s part, it also kept Laeyna from asking questions he did not want to answer. Serena?s life was not his to share with his sister, for all her good intentions in the asking. Beyond that were the questions about himself that he would also rather not answer. Laeyna had a nosey nature, curious she liked to call it, but she would not breach decorum so far as to question him in front of his own staff.
The woebegone sigh that escaped with a pitiful shake of her head was chased with, ?A simple affair, I gather considering how little information you or Serena are sharing with me. It would be so gauche to have a grand to-do only with the bride and groom suffering the entire time.?
?I would not be suffering, and I doubt Serena would either. You saw how well she managed her role in Markland society. Is that gentleman still pining for her??
?Which one? There were three or four who asked after her, and not the least of which was Gerald Pewter. Quite convinced he was of being able to persuade Serena she chose you in haste and had him as a more suitable selection.? Laeyna brushed at a non-existent wrinkle on her blouse sleeve, hedging her gaze at him past a loose tendril of dark brown, near black, hair.
His reaction was likely all she could have hoped. ?He dared to be so presumptuous as to state that?? Joly felt his jaw tighten as much as his fist did upon the table. ?That?that??
?Now, Jolly, don?t let it vex you so. Your friends rallied to your side, I assure you. Gerald took his bravado elsewhere, so I am told, and likely that was to Mrs. Bellamy?s House.? Her nose wrinkled, voice hushed, just speaking of the courtesan house. It was a house actually well looked upon by most society, but no one admitted to it in the higher social circles in case a man or lady was caught out by a blush.
?He touches her?ever--?
Laeyna?s frown was too severe for her young face and showed the lines of early aging around her eyes far too much. ?Whatever has gotten into you, Jolly? You are such a sullen fellow. And no,? she had caught the look in his eyes, ?I will not hush. Arcelia will not be surprised by my opinion, and I daresay shares it.
?You?ve gotten terribly gloomy. You used to write how this world fascinated and intrigued you. Every new letter a new thing to go five pages and more on the smallest detail. Now, you rarely write at all, and the first letter I?ve had since your visit comes from your dear fianc? with concern to your well being. I was shocked, I must say, utterly shocked at it. If you will not confess to me your matters, I will be forced to bring up such grievances to mother and father.?
Jolyon felt his scowl sharpen, but his hand relaxed. Rubbing the scowl from his face, he said, ?Father would only think he proved himself right. What a failure I?ve become. Disgrace to the family.?
?Impossible.? She snapped. ?Only you think that. I won?t have it, Jolly. I simply won?t. You are marrying a wonderful girl who absolutely deserves you to be the steady, delightful fellow I know you to be. A man of your convictions. Look at what you have done here! Now, you shape up, or I will make good on my word. I would rather report to mother and father that things are going swimmingly and anticipate you and Serena?s visit for the wedding fittings and her trousseau very soon indeed. Do not disappoint me. I will have to be cross with you, and you know it does not suit my complexion to look cross.? Her pout had been perfected since she was very little indeed. It was a masterwork of eyes and lips in a pitiful combination that melted too many men?s resolve into puddles of nothing.
Jolyon had to smile at it, but he flicked a glance to Arcelia, then a light nod to the entryway. The cook had the grace not to argue, but vacated the room. The kitchen was not exactly private with such arching open entries, but it would do with his voice cast low. ?It has worn me down, Laeyna. I never thought my education as of much use to anyone but the study of the past and future, the interplay of cultures. Three times now, my gross misunderstanding of the risk of it all, has caused suffering in others. They trusted me to help them, and I failed. I cannot seem to find my bearings. I have a wife to think of now, and how am I to support her? The winery does well enough to keep going, but I?ve not written a significant work in almost a year. The blacklisting from the University board not at all helpful in that matter.?
?They are scoundrels, but they are not the only ones with authority to print your work nor are they the only world, as you have discovered time and again. Perhaps it is time you used what you have discovered to your own advantage for once.?
Rubbing his hand over his mouth, he nodded. ?I have thought of it, but the ideas. What to do with them? What to make of them into something of value and not just observations of dystopia.?
She set a hand on his forearm and gave a squeeze along with a blossoming smile that did do her complexion justice. ?You will find it. And if I know you, you?ll find it along the time of early April when you are meant to be preparing for a wedding. Three parties at least.?
?Three??
?Oh, at the very least.?
?Yes, the spring.?
Laeyna lifted her gaze with a weighted breath. ?Do you think you could be more specific? Spring is a large expanse of time.?
?Late spring.?
?Helpful, Jolly, really.? She looked back down at the table between them. The kitchen was warm with the heat of the cooking. Spices tempted the senses, and though Laeyna had briefly balked at speaking over wedding details in the kitchen, there really as no other suitable place. It also helped that frequent grunts from Arcelia had timed to side with Laeyna?s suggestions or complaints.
For Jolyon?s part, it also kept Laeyna from asking questions he did not want to answer. Serena?s life was not his to share with his sister, for all her good intentions in the asking. Beyond that were the questions about himself that he would also rather not answer. Laeyna had a nosey nature, curious she liked to call it, but she would not breach decorum so far as to question him in front of his own staff.
The woebegone sigh that escaped with a pitiful shake of her head was chased with, ?A simple affair, I gather considering how little information you or Serena are sharing with me. It would be so gauche to have a grand to-do only with the bride and groom suffering the entire time.?
?I would not be suffering, and I doubt Serena would either. You saw how well she managed her role in Markland society. Is that gentleman still pining for her??
?Which one? There were three or four who asked after her, and not the least of which was Gerald Pewter. Quite convinced he was of being able to persuade Serena she chose you in haste and had him as a more suitable selection.? Laeyna brushed at a non-existent wrinkle on her blouse sleeve, hedging her gaze at him past a loose tendril of dark brown, near black, hair.
His reaction was likely all she could have hoped. ?He dared to be so presumptuous as to state that?? Joly felt his jaw tighten as much as his fist did upon the table. ?That?that??
?Now, Jolly, don?t let it vex you so. Your friends rallied to your side, I assure you. Gerald took his bravado elsewhere, so I am told, and likely that was to Mrs. Bellamy?s House.? Her nose wrinkled, voice hushed, just speaking of the courtesan house. It was a house actually well looked upon by most society, but no one admitted to it in the higher social circles in case a man or lady was caught out by a blush.
?He touches her?ever--?
Laeyna?s frown was too severe for her young face and showed the lines of early aging around her eyes far too much. ?Whatever has gotten into you, Jolly? You are such a sullen fellow. And no,? she had caught the look in his eyes, ?I will not hush. Arcelia will not be surprised by my opinion, and I daresay shares it.
?You?ve gotten terribly gloomy. You used to write how this world fascinated and intrigued you. Every new letter a new thing to go five pages and more on the smallest detail. Now, you rarely write at all, and the first letter I?ve had since your visit comes from your dear fianc? with concern to your well being. I was shocked, I must say, utterly shocked at it. If you will not confess to me your matters, I will be forced to bring up such grievances to mother and father.?
Jolyon felt his scowl sharpen, but his hand relaxed. Rubbing the scowl from his face, he said, ?Father would only think he proved himself right. What a failure I?ve become. Disgrace to the family.?
?Impossible.? She snapped. ?Only you think that. I won?t have it, Jolly. I simply won?t. You are marrying a wonderful girl who absolutely deserves you to be the steady, delightful fellow I know you to be. A man of your convictions. Look at what you have done here! Now, you shape up, or I will make good on my word. I would rather report to mother and father that things are going swimmingly and anticipate you and Serena?s visit for the wedding fittings and her trousseau very soon indeed. Do not disappoint me. I will have to be cross with you, and you know it does not suit my complexion to look cross.? Her pout had been perfected since she was very little indeed. It was a masterwork of eyes and lips in a pitiful combination that melted too many men?s resolve into puddles of nothing.
Jolyon had to smile at it, but he flicked a glance to Arcelia, then a light nod to the entryway. The cook had the grace not to argue, but vacated the room. The kitchen was not exactly private with such arching open entries, but it would do with his voice cast low. ?It has worn me down, Laeyna. I never thought my education as of much use to anyone but the study of the past and future, the interplay of cultures. Three times now, my gross misunderstanding of the risk of it all, has caused suffering in others. They trusted me to help them, and I failed. I cannot seem to find my bearings. I have a wife to think of now, and how am I to support her? The winery does well enough to keep going, but I?ve not written a significant work in almost a year. The blacklisting from the University board not at all helpful in that matter.?
?They are scoundrels, but they are not the only ones with authority to print your work nor are they the only world, as you have discovered time and again. Perhaps it is time you used what you have discovered to your own advantage for once.?
Rubbing his hand over his mouth, he nodded. ?I have thought of it, but the ideas. What to do with them? What to make of them into something of value and not just observations of dystopia.?
She set a hand on his forearm and gave a squeeze along with a blossoming smile that did do her complexion justice. ?You will find it. And if I know you, you?ll find it along the time of early April when you are meant to be preparing for a wedding. Three parties at least.?
?Three??
?Oh, at the very least.?