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May 21, 1205
It would have figured that the man Dani married would be one of Celina's cousins. Of course, Celina's cousins seemed to comprise about half the population--hell, Dani herself was a relation on her mother's side--but Severin was a first cousin. An honest to God, father's-brother's-son first cousin.
Enough of a cousin to merit a visit upon return from Dovia.
Why was she here, even? Dani had written promptly with the news of Aydelle's death, but judging by Celina's levity, she'd left Dovia before the letter had arrived--either that, or she was more callous than Dani had thought.
No. Celina was a lot of things, but if she were entirely heartless, she'd never have asked Dani to keep an eye on the kids. She'd left Dovia before the letter had arrived. She was probably in Naroni for yet another of her family's baby booms; CeeCee had just birthed twins, and Severin's stepmother was due any day now (and given the size of her, Dani suspected yet another set of twins). The timing was also such that Celina and Marsden could meet the Dovian delegation to the Princess Viridis's wedding as they returned from Carvallon, then accompany them back.
Val happened to turn her little head just enough to catch sight of her lingering by the doorway. "Mama!"
Dani tried to smile as her daughter beamed and her husband got to up to greet her. "Hello, sweetheart. Severin. Celina."
"Ah yes, my cousin here is trying to make as many visits as she can while she and Marsden are here." Severin kissed Dani on the cheek, lucky enough to not even suspect that his cousin may have had an ulterior motive. If Celina made a point to call on pretty much everyone she knew, then none would think it particularly odd if, say, Nearina and her children were included in that lineup--or, as Celina probably intended, Aydelle. "How was your day?"
"Oh, well enough, I suppose. I'll fill you in on the details over supper." In truth, the events of her day had quite slipped her mind at the sight of her old acquaintance. How lovely it would have been to have lacked the curiosity to get involved in the first place! "Would you mind running down to the kitchen for some biscuits? Since Celina's here, I might as well get her opinion on something--a woman's opinion."
Her husband smirked. Severin was clever enough, but possibly due to the melodrama of his parents' relationship as he was growing up, he had that exact lack of interest that would have spared Dani from her unfortunate role in Celina's mess of a life. "I'll make a point to dawdle, then."
The acoustics of the house were such that footsteps were prominent; Dani waited until Severin's left the stairs and fell to the floor before she herself approached Celina. "Here for the births, I take it?"
"Yes, although only because the timing was fortunate; I know I won't be able to make every family event, but the timing worked well in this case." Celina's eyes flicked to where Severin had sat before. "Are you going to sit down, or...?"
"No. I have a few things to do. You can resume visiting with Severin when he returns." Dani bit her lip. Who knew if anyone would tell if she didn't, and her distaste for her husband's cousin was not so strong that she would risk Celina showing up at Aydelle's old house only to make things awkward for her son and daughter-in-law. She also had no reason to force Cenric or Leonora into telling it yet again. "I take it you didn't get my letter."
NEXT CHAPTER:
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?"
NEXT CHAPTER:
March 12, 1180
"Ma-ma!" Arkon whined, dropping his toy horse to the floor of his castle and flopping back onto the rug in frustration. "Alina keeps chewing my toys!"
"What do you expect?" chided their older sister from the couch. "You know she's going to wreck anything you let her play with, so why do you keep sharing? Hide your toys like I do, dummy."
"Rennie, don't call your brother a dummy." Lettie lifted little Severin to her shoulder and took to rubbing his back. Was she a horrible mother if she hoped he never learned to speak? "Alina, take that out of your mouth. And Arkon, you know you have to share."
"But--"
"No buts." God. Whenever Searle got back from wherever he was--the inn, no doubt, for all it was barely noon--he was in for the tongue-lashing of a lifetime. The children were rambunctious at the best of times and today had been the worst of them. And while neither she nor Searle were noted disciplinarians on their own, none of the children were stupid enough to not to listen if they both had something to say.
Or shout, as she would have preferred right then.
Someone knocked. Finally. "Searle, I swear to God, if I smell wine--"
"I'm not Searle."
Lettie frowned. No... that was Sparron's voice. But what was Sparron doing here? He'd called on her a few days after Severin's birth, just to see how she was, which had been kind of him... but with that in mind, it didn't add up that he'd risk a run-in with Searle again so soon. "Sparron? Uh... come in, I guess."
And without a hint of his usual hesitation, he did just that.
He wasn't alone.
As early as that evening, Lettie would look back on that moment and marvel that she hadn't dropped the baby in her shock. She'd seen her middle son--for all she shouldn't have thought of him as such--whenever she'd dropped by Tetran Keep, but it was the first time he'd been at her castle since his birth. And it was the first time all five of her children had ever been in a room at once. "Prior!"
Prior gave her a toothy smile. "Leddie!"
"Yes, that's Auntie Lettie." Sparron hoisted the boy a little higher as he started toward her. "What about the children? Are you going to say hello to them?"
Prior nodded. "'Ello."
"Hello, Prior. Hello, Uncle Sparron," chorused Lettie's older two as Alina waved and even Severin stirred.
"Kids." Sparron's gaze fell to each of them in turn--but lingered longer on Alina, Lettie noticed. "How have things been around here?"
If only he knew. Not that any good would come of telling him. "To be honest, they've been better. But you wouldn't be here if you didn't have other business--would you, Champ?"
Sparron shrugged and glanced down at Prior, who was in turn eyeing Severin with... whatever interest toddlers could have in babies. It might have been a nice idea, but it was irrational to think he somehow knew that the infant in her arms was his little brother. "I'm going fishing with Isidro this afternoon, so since I had to ride by here anyway, I thought I'd see if you wanted to take Prior for a couple hours."
Lettie blinked, all thoughts of her absentee husband and her children's unruliness gone at the very suggestion. As if he'd needed to ask. But-- "You don't think it would be--?" She caught herself just before the word 'suspicious' slipped out of her. Rennie knew that word and Arkon might have too, and at least one of the two would be curious.
"No, it's fine." And, as if to confirm his father's words, Prior smiled at her. "Camaline and Thallie are out of the house and my father is busy and the nurse is preoccupied with my niece. I'd feel better if I knew you were keeping him out of trouble."
"He'll be no trouble." As far as Lettie was concerned, that was a certain as two and two were four. "Actually, he might keep the rest of them out of it--won't you, Prior?"
Prior nodded, grinning all the while. His hair flopped away from his face, granting her a view of his freckles. He hadn't gotten those from his father.
He kept looking up at her even as Sparron set him down. "You be good for Auntie Lettie, all right?"
Another nod. Sparron kissed him on the top of the head, then eased himself back up. "Have fun playing with Alina and Arkon. Papa will be back soon."
Prior scooted over to the other two and picked up a discarded doll--and didn't put it anywhere near his mouth, just as much to Arkon's relief as to Lettie's, no doubt. Sparron allowed himself another quick glance at Alina, then flashed a smile for the baby before meeting Lettie's eye.
"Thank you for this. It means a lot to me."
Lettie sniffed out a small laugh. As if it were just him. "No. Thank you."
NEXT CHAPTER:
