The Duke's Bride

[Countess Elaina Moorwood]

"No I'll get them when I wake up" I mumble

[Siegfried]

"Of course," says Siegfried, gently lowering her into the bed. 

[Countess Elaina Moorwood]

I wrap my arms around him gently as I snuggle into him and fall asleep

[Siegfried]

When she wakes next, he is gone; so is the cane fashioned to let him hobble around, though he left the ledgers she left behind on the desk. It is nearly noon, and when she goes looking she finds him struggling to put a comforter onto the bed in one of the unclaimed bedrooms, having tidied it and cleaned it for her use. 

[Countess Elaina Moorwood]

"You shouldn't be doing so much" a say gently coming to help him. "We should head downstairs my maid Maria and Sara will be here soon to help out. You can manage them while I get the real work done." I say jokingly

[Siegfried]

"As you command, Countess," says Siegfried, giving a wobbly bow on one leg. 

[Countess Elaina Moorwood]

"Don't break yourself any more!" I say steadying him.
I lead him down stairs.

I smile asi see my friends.

Sara is tall and thin with straight black hair worn in a long braid down her back. Her eyes are the most intense green, and her face  with its sharp features mimincs her mother's the lady Midsukie's. She follows her style sense preferring a simple horse shoe dress as is the style in China now.

Maria is short and broad with  a wide grin on her face. She wears a colorful scarf wrapped around her head and a small silver star on a chain around her neck.

"Elania!" Maria calls brightly "it is so nice to see you again.is this Lance?" She asks gesturing to seigfried

"No thir is seiffreid out head butler. He had a mischief unfortunately but will help direct us." I say quickly lunching into a bride summery of all that has happened in the last day. "So you see we have our work cut out for us. I will be meeting with knights and merchants all day tomorrow so we should get this underway." With a nod of agreement we split up to start to clean the castle.

[Tova koshack]

The journey to my friends new home was quiet. Sara and I are not veery close. She is the Dougherty of the Chinese embasidor and a member of the empirical court. She's nice enough but her thinking is to caged for Elanena and I, I think that's why her mother sent her with me, a moderating force as it were. When we arrive she crinkles her nose at the dust and drab and even more so when she saw Elaina helping Siegfried down the stairs. She turned her nose up at cleaning but has taken over the kitchen so she's not fully useless.

I guid Siegfried upstairs to keep me company as I sweep and air out the ladies study so that Eliana can greet guests tomorrow. I don't know what to say to my new companion so I just begin rattling off.

"I'm from Jerusalem. My father brought us here when I was a child. He's a traveling mench, any way we've been here ever since. I became one of elinas maids after I killed my husband, accident of course, had to support my daughter. She'll be joining us in a week or so......" I ramble on non stop about my family until the rambling gives way to song.
"Hava nagelia hava nagelia hava nagelia Fay nistana " I sing gayly moving to scrub the floor as one song ends another beings each more rockus than the last

[Lance Roidmet]

Cleaning is never just cleaning. There's chatter. Joy. Merriment. Noise, where previously there had been hushed whispers or nothing at all. Singing. It's disrespectful, is what it is. It's cruel to her memory. 

Lance throws open the door, finally, of his own volition. He is wearing loose linen pajama pants and no shirt once more, though he's thrown a suitcoat haphazardly over his bare chest. As he does, he roars out, "WHAT IS THE MEANING OF THIS?!"

[Tova koshack]

"The meaning of this is you've let your house fall to ruin and now we're fixing it!" I state looking him up and down "if you're so full of ire why don't you put it to good use!" I say calmly tossing him a broom. "We can use an extra set of hands since Sara thinks cleaning is above her." I roll my eyes befor going back to the hall floor I was scrubbing

[Lance Roidmet]

"AM I not the Lord here in my own house! In my own bedchambers! Leave off!"

[Tova koshack]

"Then act like one" I snap scrubbing at a spot on the floor.

[Lance Roidmet]

"GET. OUT. OF. MY. HOME!"

[Tova koshack]

"Make me" I say standing up

[Countess Elaina Moorwood]

Drawn by the shouting I come running to intervene. I know tova she has been thought to fight to survive and won't back down from a fight. Lance is the same way and if the get into it they might bring the castle down on top of us "stop it both of you!" I scream hurling myself between them