Eorling Mead Hall

[JennyHallu]

As the sun set and the members of Eodwine's chaotic household began to settle down to their meals, Marenil made his way slowly through the halls and tables, seeking out those Linduial had sent letters. He found Saeryn in the kitchen with Thornden and his young brother, and handed her both hers and Degas' letters with a silent shrug, not wishing to interrupt the spirited discussion. Saeryn raised her eyebrows when she saw Degas' name etched on one envelope in Lin's elegant hand, and Marenil shrugged again. He didn't know why the lad had practically fled the Hall, and he wasn't sure he particularly cared. With a father's fierce protectiveness, he was sure that neither Degas, nor any other lad that walked the earth and was not yet spoken of in song, was good enough for his pretty Lin.

He slipped out of the kitchen as quietly as he'd slipped in, searching for little Leodern and her father. He smiled. Here was an attachment he could whole-heartedly approve of. He had a great respect for Garstan, and the child was bright and trainable--and showed like to be as pretty as any King's court could boast of, a superficial trait, perhaps, but as tangible an advantage as any in the sophisticated circles Lin would walk in. A bit young for a real companion, perhaps...

He found Garstan almost by running into him, though he didn't immediately see the girl. Offering a quiet greeting, he took a seat beside the man and laid out the letter (this one in large block letters, he noticed with a smile, so the child could learn to read it as quickly as she learned the letters at all) on the table, along with the thin package.

"What are those?" the artisan asked, looking at them almost suspiciously.

"Well, this," Marenil said, tapping the letter with a thick finger, "is a letter to your daughter, from Lady Lin. I thought I would stay until she returned to you this even, and read it to her." He made the offer matter-of-factly, neither surprised nor upset over Garstan's apparent illiteracy. "And the package is a gift, to and from the same. I haven't read the letter yet, but I know what's in the package. I gave it to Lin myself, almost fifteen years ago, when she was only a bit younger than Leodern."

Garstan picked up the package, inspecting it carefully. "Some sort of book?" he asked briefly.

"A lesson-book," Marenil elaborated. "For the teaching of reading and writing. Lin's asked me to teach Leodern to read, which, honestly, I'm rather eager to do. Don't have enough to do here, not that uses my skills. I suppose any of the other children are welcome to join the lessoning too, if you or Stigend wish to send them early in the mornings. I'll teach them figuring and bookkeeping too, if it please you."