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rix_scaeduHere we are on Day 49 of Anadrasata's travels. She is still in beautiful Tlemutsiko within the Confederation, and tonight her suitor has been invited to dinner with her family. Her family that sided with the winning side in the War of Secession, and subsequently renounced their citizenship and did not return to the Empire. He is an Imperial kinsman who is also an Imperial official with a roving remit who first set out to meet her because there were official concerns that her visit to her relatives could be part of some scheme by the Confederation's government against Imperial interests. Why would anyone be nervous about this dinner?
This piece runs to 3,036 words and I hope that you enjoy it.
Daighsday, 30 Naisen, 1893 C.E.
Sulese, 17 Sajibu, 2157 T.M.L.
10 Tlanoluaoy, 4 Coatl, 6.11.2.1.8.3.5
Dear Journal,
My night passed peacefully, except for a dream where I found myself naked at the dinner table with Lord Elnaith and Crimson Blossom of the Ninth. They were both beautifully dressed in what my dream told me were the latest fashions.
Nais woke me when she brought in my warm water, and we were of the same mind as to which dress I should wear tonight - the new dining gown in a variety of blues that no-one had seen yet. All being well, there should be a return dinner invitation for me to dine at the consulate (or possibly in a restaurant) in the near future, and we agreed that when it comes I should c0nsult Great-aunt on whether it will be appropriate for me to dress in an Imperial or a mixed style.
Mitzli was leaving for his club when I reached the foyer, and so we exchanged greetings. I thought he looked better for having the day off yesterday.
Cousin Ghrus, Axolin, and Chiccetlalli were eating when I entered the breakfast room, and Matlal set me a place several seats down from them so I assumed that their conversation, low voiced and in Coac-htl, was on a close held family or business matter. Matlal dished up my breakfast for me, encouraged me to try a slightly hotter version of chilli than I had previously had, and then provided me with tea and a freshly ironed morning newspaper. My cousins had acknowledged me when I entered the room but otherwise continued their conversation while I did my best to tread the fine line of politely attending to my own affairs, being available for conversation, and not eavesdropping.
More Fraisis numbers in the margins again. They are a sequence of themselves, quite separate to the numbers we've already come across. One of the clerks suggested that they might be cross references to something else, and we had a brief session, but quite a lively one, where we all suggested things that an Imperial gentleman might cross reference his diary to. Another diary, an appointment book, and his personal accounts were all suggested. I don't know enough about library organisation to know if they could be referring to books in a library, and would a man of the age Great-uncle was then have had a substantial library? (Just going by the apparent span of the number sequences.) A note was sent to Great-aunt and another to Cousin Ghrus asking whether any other of Great-uncle's personal records were still extant, but we had no reply when I was there this morning. The one Ghaistonyc passage we found this morning was a stanza from the poem The Silver Hind. I was very careful to translate exactly what Great-uncle wrote because I am certain that it is not quite true to the original, but it's the fourth verse and I only have the first verse by heart these days. I made sure to note that it is a verse from a well known poem but that I believe that Great-uncle's version is not, I believe, the accepted and taught version.
Cousin Ghrus was not in for lunch, and Axolin sat in his seat at the head of the table. Chiccetlalli sat next to me and asked me whether I really meant to encourage the advances of an Imperial nobleman. I pointed out that I am an Imperial citizen and subject, that I intend to return home after my visit here, and that at home not only would this be considered a most advantageous match but one that was a bit beyond my touch in the normal course of things. I then pointed out that if I am so fortunate as to marry Lord Elnaith, then his connections will be added to my family's connections, including his. It might not make much difference to Chiccetlalli, but it would much improve Tallaig, Sura, and any future nieces and nephews' prospects. Cousin Ghrus strikes me as someone who might make such a tenuous connection useful if it was sustained by regular correspondence. Chiccetlalli said he found me oddly practical on this subject. I replied that as I had no prospects until very recently, I was finding the whole experience rather heady. I added that having identified the mutual advantages of the match, this stage of proceedings was aimed at assuring each other that neither of us was mistaken in the other's personality and character - I am not sure exactly what a gentleman would say but I am hoping for a reasonable chance of mutual and individual marital comfort and happiness, as well as a reasonable assurance that I would be safe in putting myself and my future in Lord Elnaith's hands. Our section of the table then had a discussion about the legal position of wives in the Empire and the Confederation. Apparently marriage contracts here don't have to be quite so particularly worded as they do at home in order to preserve a wife's rights to her marriage portion and dower property. Confederation law and custom holds, for instance, that both parties' tools of trade are always their own property. This would not apply to me, but I wonder what the position is at home - it's not something I have ever had to consider, not having a trade and never having previously contemplated marriage.
I spent the afternoon in the parlor, working on my embroidery. It wasn't an At Home or conversation class afternoon but we were visited by several relations of Cousin Poktlilui's and several friends of Great-aunt Giltreeada's. The relatives had several matters to discuss, most of them about people I don't know and hadn't previously heard of, but Tehaneume did sit through a polite, detailed, and interested questioning on her expectations with Yeixi. That finished with a declaration by the senior visiting aunt/great-aunt that he's a nice young man and that the family should look at doing something for him. At that point, Tehaneume introduced the subject of my suitor, purely, I am sure, in self-defence. The Hutitlahuatli ladies (Cousin Poktlilui's maiden name) weren't nearly as interested in my marital prospects as they are in Tehaneume's, and who can blame them? They became more interested when they realised that if I marry Lord Elnaith that will give the Forbaigns, and thus the Hutitlahuatlis a distant, and possibly tenuous, but clearly traceable link to the Imperial family. I could practically see the puzzle pieced slotting into place behind their eyes as they became very encouraging towards me. I was not surprised to be told after they left that the Hutitlahuatlis are a very political family.
Great-aunt Giltreeada's friends, on the other hand, called mainly to talk about a charity they had established shortly after the end of the War of Secession to care for orphaned, strayed, or abandoned children of Imperial and part-Imperial parentage. Those original children are now adults, and mostly established in happy, productive lives and the charity these days functions more as an extended family substitute, but they still take on a few new charges every year in the offspring of Imperial visitors, long gone by the time the child was born or, more sadly in my view, the children of Imperial visitors who have died without registering their presence in the Confederation with the Imperial embassy or a consulate, and without leaving behind the direction of any kinsmen. I was told that, generally, if an Imperial identity card cannot be produced for at least a parent, if not the child, then there is very little that the consulate can do and, depending on the official, less that the embassy can do. It sounds unsatisfactory to me, but I am not sure what changes should be made that could not be shirked by the unwilling.
I went upstairs to prepare for dinner earlier than usual this evening, partly because I was nervous and partly because the household wanted to make sure that I put my best foot forward this evening. My nerves were not because I was to dine with Lord Elnaith, which I have done frequently since leaving home, but because tonight's event is significant. It was the first of the events which would normally be about meeting each other's families in acknowledgement of a possible betrothal, however in our circumstances me family is being represented by my cousins and I suspect that Lord Elnaith's will be represented by the consul and his staff.
I think that this evening went well.
I wore my blue dining gown and Nais put my hair up with combs and blue ribbons - I was impressed with how well I looked when I glanced in the mirror, the image I saw was of an attractive lady. (Yes, I did do more than glance in the mirror. Vanity might be a sin I could succumb to with sufficient encouragement.) I was also one of the first of us down to the parlor where we were assembling before the meal. Almost all of us had assembled by the time Lord Elnaith arrived, right on the time he had been invited for. Axolin and Tehaneume had been being supportive for at least five minutes before he arrived, but Yeixi entered the room almost on Lord Elnaith's heels and carried Tehaneume away while Lord Elnaith was exchanging pleasantries with Great-aunt, Cousin Ghrus, and Cousin Poktlilui (his host and hostesses). Mitzli entered the room while Lord Elnaith and I were exchanging the traditionally nervous greetings of the possible happy couple in these circumstances (I know that I was worried about what I might do to ruin what seems to be a happily promising relationship), looking very freshly bathes and as if he might have finished dressing on his way down the stairs. He was also limping again, but it was the other leg this time.
We not only had a formal seating plan for tonight, but a formal escort in to dinner. Lord Elnaith was seated on Cousin Ghrus' left, I was seated on Lord Elnaith's left, and Cousin Poktlilui was on Cousin Ghrus' right and opposite Lord Elnaith. If anyone was in any doubt about the significance of this evening's invitation, that should have enlightened them. Great-aunt Giltreeada presided over the far end of the table. Axolin was opposite me and Nahuitlau was on my left, putting Lord Elnaith and I in the middle of my closest and most senior male relatives with Cousin Poktlilui supplying the feminine counterweight. [All due respect to my male relatives, but I think Cousin Poktlilui was the most impressive person at our end of the table.]
Nahuitlau entertained me with the news from home he had received in a letter from his mother this morning, or at least those portions of it which he was prepared to share outside his immediate family, and explaining who the various people she had mentioned were. That kept me occupied while Lord Elnaith conversed with Cousin Ghrus. I don't believe that Cousin Poktlilui joined in that conversation, but I am sure that Axolin paid attention to it. The first course was three seafood dishes - a robust flavoured fish with chilli sauce, a large bodied crustacean served in its tail shell with a butter and citrus sauce, and a lightly grilled, flat shellfish with a sharp, green dressing.
When the plates were removed, we changed conversational partners, and Lord Elnaith's first comment was that I was looking very well tonight (as if he had not already said that earlier before we came in to dinner), then that Cousin Ghrus is very well informed, and then quietly as he patted his mouth with his napkin, he asked if I knew that Cousin Ghrus is an Obsidian Knight? I said that I knew he was some sort of government official, but I didn't know exactly what - and if I did I might not know what the equivalent is at home, because they do things differently here. Lord Elnaith gave me a very brief overview of his understanding of what an Obsidian Knight is and does while we ate a slow cooked joint of meat, roast fowl, three different types of potato dish, yams, steamed leafy green vegetables, and a mainly tomato salad. I don't know if he was impressed or not when I remarked that it sounds very similar to what he, Lord Elnaith, does for the Empire. I happened to catch Axolin's eye while I was helping myself to the condiments, and when I turned back to Lord Elnaith remarked that Axolin was probably an Obsidian Knight himself or in training to be one. He then asked me a question about shopping, he has female relatives he needs to buy gifts for, and I took that to mean that he thought our previous topic shouldn't be pursued further in that company.
I spoke with Nahuaitlau again over the dessert course, which was a multicoloured array of fruit jellies, a very nice steamed honey pudding, a selection of fresh fruits, and an array of nuts and dried fruit. After Nahuitlau had finished explaining to me what the running order of a traditional local meal would have been (Great-aunt's views of suitable menus still hold sway in this house) I asked him what an Obsidian Knight is. He was very informative (I think he likes explaining things) and very forthcoming. The Obsidian Knights, as they are called in Imperial, are one of three orders sworn to support and defend the althepetls and the alliance between them that forms the Confederation. The other two orders are the Jaguar and Eagle Knights. They are not knighthoods as the Empire knows them but they are oath sworn brotherhoods whose vows include fidelity, obedience (within certain limits), loyalty, and a few other things. The tools of the Obsidian Knights are the law and diplomacy, the Jaguars' is correctly channelled and limited violence, and the Eagles wield good works. I still believe that an Obsidian Knight is very nearly to the Confederation what Lord Elnaith is to the Empire. He also told me, without my asking, that Cousin Ghrus and Axolin are Obsidian Knights, and that Mitzli is a Jaguar Knight - the extended family here is very proud of them.
At that stage the ladies withdrew to the parlor to enjoy our kasoolht. Cousin Poktlilui's first task once we had all been served was to assure me that things were going very well and I should not be concerned about how things would go while the men were alone. Tehaneume had an amusing story about an uncle by marriage's first meeting with the family, which Great-aunt Giltreeada followed with the tale of the first time my maternal grandfather called on the family. [I have written it out elsewhere to share with the rest of the family when I get home.]
Cousin Poktlilui commented that the gentlemen shouldn't be too much longer just before the parlor door opened and they rejoined us. Lord Elnaith came and sat beside me almost at once and commented that he was not expecting after dinner spirits to be quite as...insidious as he found the serving he received here, and apologised if he was a trifle bosky. Whatever it was they were drinking, he couldn't recall the name, it was not kasoolht and nor was it grain based. I don't believe my cousins meant to get him drunk, and I don't think he was very drunk, but he knew that he was under the influence and that made him careful in his movements and behaviour. Possibly because he was also trying to make a good impression.
Fortunately, Axolin and Mitzli suggested that the three of us introduce Lord Elnaith to the local 'dominoes' game. We played two games through before Lord Elnaith found it time to depart. He very properly made his thanks to Great-aunt Giltreeada and Cousin Poktlilui as his hostesses, and Cousin Ghrus as his host before bowing over my hand on his way out. Mind you, he didn't just bow over my hand, he kissed the back of it! (I'm not entirely sure that wasn't due to the after-dinner spirits.)
After he had left the house, Cousin Ghrus remarked that I should start deciding what I was going to say when Lord Elnaith asked for my hand - and that I needed to let him (Cousin Ghrus) and my brother know what I wanted to do as Lord Elnaith seemed the man to do such things in high form. Great-aunt asked if they had tried to get our guest drunk, Cousin Poktlilui sighed and shook her head, and Axolin admitted that they might have wanted to encourage him to be a little overlubricated 'for reasons.' Mitzli suggested that no-one try that again, noting that if a man put limits on himself there was probably a good reason. He also noted that although Lord Elnaith is travelling on a diplomatic passport, he is here as a private individual, so he should be left alone - accompanied by sharp looks at his father and brother. When asked how he knew that, Mitzli replied that it had come up while Lord Elnaith had been helping with his enquiries about the street incident.
Great-aunt Giltreeada said something about would they please remember not to endanger my potential future, and then the two of us withdrew for the rest of the evening. I heard Cousin Poktlilui saying something penetrating just after we left the room, and I believe that she and Tehaneume were not far behind us.
I do hope my cousins weren't trying to get Lord Elnaith to divulge Imperial secrets after dinner. That would make things far more difficult than they need to be. Besides, although he probably does know Imperial secrets, it is quite likely that the ones he does know have nothing to do with the Confederation.
It may be tiredness, but it occurs to me to wonder if someone thought it clever to try to make Lord Elnaith think that I need rescuing from a hotbed of Confederation somethingness? Too tired to even form the thought properly. Good night.
Anadrasata Nearabhigan.
no subject
Date: 2024-11-03 12:16 pm (UTC)I'm also fascinated by the fact that it's Mitzli who's the one saying 'back off'.
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Date: 2024-11-03 12:58 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2024-11-03 03:21 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2024-11-03 09:55 pm (UTC)