ooh, mysterious house.

[floweredknight]

He pushes briskly through the door -- a smallish young man of eighteen or twenty, sensibly dressed out of somewhere in the Middle Ages, sturdy, dark-haired and fair-skinned; he probably looks familiar. He stops as soon as he sees where he is, and looks back over his shoulder anxiously. "Brother

Comments

[dutifuldaughter]

Clar is still raiding the plothole for her cotton. Too many people not enough blankets, work as she might - at least, she figures, spring has mostly come, but with its advent the garden has needed work, and the meadows and woods and streams have needed walking, and she has little time for sewing.

But, nonetheless, down she comes, with a basket full of folded fabric over one arm, and a hand on the grand staircase's rail.

[floweredknight]

He looks up at her, and then blinks. "My lady?"

[dutifuldaughter]

Clar blinks down at him.

And then she sighs, sweeps the last few feet down the stairs, and pushes the basket at him. "You're lost," she says, "This is the wrong house."

[floweredknight]

"I had that impression," Florence says mildly.

[dutifuldaughter]

"Your father's house is in the woods," she says.

[floweredknight]

Since this was patently not the case the last time he checked, he's not sure what to make of it. He waits, politely.

[dutifuldaughter]

Clar rolls her eyes. "Come," she says, and pushes the door open. Really, they ought to issue maps.

[floweredknight]

A deep breath, and he follows dutifully.

[dutifuldaughter]

Good. At least her male relatives can be counted on to show proper deference.

"Thou art well," she says, not really a question, as she leads him across the lawn and towards the path through the woods.

[floweredknight]

"Yes, my lady. And you?"

[dutifuldaughter]

"Not enough time," Clar informs him, "But I bide well."

[floweredknight]

"I'm glad of that," he says, and smiles. It's a shy smile, more like his mother's than his father's, but it's sincere.

[dutifuldaughter]

"Mmm," says Clar, and smiles too, a pressed, thin little twist of her lips.

She makes a quick detour to the edge of the path to pluck up a visually innocous plant, and sweeps onward, hopping over the bend in the path as it comes up to the cottage.

[floweredknight]

Florence does his best to keep up. "Is this--?"

[dutifuldaughter]

"Yes," Clar says, and stops to undo the gate rather than hop over the fence. It's safer to always go through the proper way. Taking short cuts might open them up for things you don't want lurking.

[floweredknight]

He follows after, latching it again behind him.