Once Tessa had left the room to go to her sister and a re-invigorating sleep, Averyll, Vieana, and Elen found themselves alone in Tessa’s room. They shared a stunned silence, each of them thinking how futile and silly their little counter-campaign of rumors had been in the face of what was truly afoot. It was the political equivalent of tossing a glass of water on a forest fire. Corsairs! Of course.
Averyll shook her head and buried her face in her hands. Reading her thoughts, Vieana reached over and stroked Averyll’s chestnut hair.
“We can’t stop fighting now,” she said softly. “We have to help Finduilas even more now than ever.”
Averyll nodded. “We must support Finduilas and the steward at all costs. But how?” She raised her head and looked from Elen to Vieana.
Vieana shook her head, equally at a loss for ideas.
“But, Averyll,” said Elen suddenly, her eyes lighting up with hope. “What was it you said at the ball? Something about the Morthaniawens. Did you remember what it was? That could be of great help!”
Her face fell again as Averyll slowly shook her head. “No,” Averyll said softly. “It occurred to me as I was getting ready for bed that I was mistaken. The name was something that sounded like Morthaniawen, but it was another name entirely. Worthanifen, or something like that. He was a rather foppish tailor to whom my husband owed a good deal of money. Unfortunately, he can’t be of any help to us. At least not unless the Corsairs need an over-priced suit of clothes.”
The three ladies once again fell into silence. Finally, Averyll rose and, smoothing the skirt of her dressing gown with her palms, smiled at the other two.
“Well, I guess there’s nothing else we can do tonight,” she said. “I vote that we follow Tessa’s lead and go back to our beds. We’ll be able to think so much more clearly with a little sleep to our bodies.”
“So true!” sighed Vieana. “We can all sleep on the problem and put our heads together again at breakfast.”
“I think so, too,” agreed Elen.
"Perhaps we could send a message to Eckthelion in the morning, placing ourselves at his disposal," suggested Averyll. "At the very least, we should explain what we know, what we suspect, and even what we have done, folly as it turned out to be. He may think us silly and empty-headed, but even he must realize that we are not entirely without our usefulness."
Vieana and Elen each nodded, and Elen stifled a yawn. "Perhaps you're right," Elen said quietly. "But let's think about it in the morning, okay? I'm so tired that at the moment I'm afraid I have no usefulness left at all!"
Averyll and Vieana both laughed, but, then Vieana yawned, followed immediately by a monstrously unladylike yawn from Averyll. With that, the three of them decided that it was indeed time to go back to bed and, for Averyll at least, a very fitful sleep.
[ September 09, 2003: Message edited by: Ealasaide ]
|