In Which Camaline Learns of a Village

July 12, 1183

"Happy birthday!"

Prior dropped Camaline's hand and ran toward Alina, intent on a hug. It was returned quite willingly. "You too!"

Back by the door, Lettie turned her eyes Camaline's way, though Camaline did her best not to meet them. After Jeda's most recent birth, she'd felt obliged to once again apologize to Lettie for the whole ordeal with the twins, a little more profusely and a little more earnestly, and things had been uncomfortable since. She'd woken to serious second thoughts about the plans for the day.

But Prior and Alina always spent the afternoon of their birthday together, for all they believed it to be mere coincidence, and for all the visits had to be cut short before dinner because Lord knew that Sparron and Searle dining at the same table couldn't possibly end well. They'd also had fewer and fewer play-dates the past while, so that had added further reluctance to cancel; apparently Lettie had been concerned about the twins perhaps getting a little too friendly, at least until Sparron told her about Prior's betrothal to his cousin Neva.

Camaline couldn't see why it was an issue, personally. Lord knew she'd never developed romantic feelings for any childhood playmates. Not early enough that anything could happen, at least.

The embrace ended and Alina tugged at Prior's sleeve. "Come on, let's go find my sister and brother."

"I'm here!" piped up little Severin from the rug.

"Not you! Arkon."

A less resilient child might have pitched a fit as his sister and her friend hurried off without him, but Severin just shrugged and resumed playing on his own. His mother was the more fussed of the two. "Did she even say hello to you?"

"Oh, let them run along and play. She can tell me hello when she comes back--and he can tell you," Camaline added. Most mothers let other women's children get away with more than their own ever could; Lettie, trying to compensate, sometimes took that to a whole new level with Prior. "But enough about the kids and their manners. Have you started planning your curriculum?"

"One sub-discipline done, and making good progress on a second." Good. If the professors were already doing their jobs, then there would be a point to Camaline's. "Have a seat."

"All right."

A wave Severin's way as she passed, Camaline obliged, taking the nearest end of the couch; Lettie sat next to her. "How have your preparations been coming along?"

"Also fairly well. Construction on the school has been finished, and enrollment is in progress." And thank God for that! She thought she was coping well enough, but being busy helped. It always had. "Prime land, right in the center of the kingdom. Nobody should have too difficult a commute."

"A lucky thing for you, then." The university lands were in the far southeast of the kingdom... but since that was still Veldorashire, why should that have mattered to Lettie? "Poor Farilon will probably have to move to Master's Village if he wants to get to work in a reasonable amount of time."

"Master's Village?"

"Yes, Raia wanted some options for staff housing, so both the nunnery and the monastery will have dormitories there, and there will be houses for any secular staff in need of them. It'll just be Cherry and Farilon at this point, but who knows? We'll expand eventually. Besides, a village will attract more businesses to the campus. Artan and Maddie will be running an inn down there; Seoth thinks it will be good practice for whenever he kicks the bucket."

"Hmm. Maybe Morgan can move down there if she doesn't like living with Vera and Lucien."

"It's a possibility." Lettie's lip curled inward, eyes squinted, as if reading a book nailed open on the opposite wall. "Or maybe..."

"Maybe what?"

"Oh, nothing." It sure didn't sound like 'nothing'. "So, how are things with your family?"

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