The Travels of Anadrasata Nearabhigan: Day 5
Time for a little introspection. Runs to 1,245 words.
Index Page.
Rhoinday, 15 Ochd, 1893 C.E.
Dear Journal,
I woke up this morning wondering why the Dowager Baroness upset me so much last night - and realised that it was because it's so close to being true. My father didn't leave me anything in his will, so I have no dowry or income to support myself, so I live with my mother on her jointure out of her charity and do the housekeeper's tasks to pay my way. My oldest sister is married, with the hope of children and managing her own household when her father-in-law passes on. My youngest sister studies a subject she enjoys and has a talent for, and she has the chance of marriage in her future. If anything happens to Mother, and eventually it will, I will have to find myself a paid position because I can't see that Anna, Sura, or Tallaig's future but unknown wife will want me in their households - I don't think I have the skills to be a children's governess or nanny. If, as Mother seems to believe sometimes, we are clinging to gentility by the merest of threads, then my thread is the one closest to breaking. When I think of what might become of me, I get frightened.
******
At breakfast I was polite and did not approach any of the dh'Uhghitairs. The Dowager Baroness took a tray in her cabin. The Naighteers were very kind.
Today's stop is Haitarnai. It's an odd place name, inherited from the language spoken here before the Empire took over. It wasn't related (isn't related because it still is spoken?) to any of the other local languages. That probably feeds into the story that the tribe here pre-dated the Circle Sea, but that shouldn't be possible - not if they lived here at the time. Two of the religious scholars are leaving us here - including the gentleman who would not talk to me.
The new Passengers are two widowed sisters-in-law, the Mrses Vahtraiti, with their maids, and the Baron dh'Ghair and his secretary. The ladies are travelling with us to Amnestri as they are going to the same northern seaside resort as the dh'Ughitairs. The Baron is only with us for tonight - he is travelling for business in the hinterland between Ulgorial and the coast.
It occurred to me over lunch that the Vahtraitis might be travelling incognito because the Baron dh'Ghair was more...deferential than I would have expected of him given their relative ranks. On the other hand, he may simply have been more considerate of their relatively new bereaved status.
I spent lunch with my back to the Dowager Baroness and I believe that she had her back to me. My morning of language studies had had a calming effect on my emotions, and I endeavoured to ignore the sometimes penetrating sound of her conversation for most of the meal.
After lunch I went for another walk arund the promenade deck and exchanged polite greetings with Baron dh'Uhghitair and his daughters - the Dowager Baroness is not their fault. I told the Baron so when he apologised for his mother's behaviour. I did not stay with them long but finished my walk and then repaired to the balcony parlor and its excellent lighting to begin work on the actual embroidery on the table runner.
When the tea tray for the afternoon came in, Mrs Naighteer poured for us, us being her, the Vahtraiti ladies, the three Misses dh'Uhghitair, and the Bariness. The Baroness very quietly and awkwardly also apologised for the upset that the Dowager Baroness had caused me, and I also told her that it was not her fault. The Baroness then spent three cups of tea gently prying any information the Vahtraitis had on the Baron dh'Ghair out of them. I believe that the most important piece of information was whether or not he is married (he is) but when she asked about his connections and acquaintances I began to wonder if the dh'Uhghitairs might be on strained terms with their existing acquaintances because she reminded me of visitors at Mother's AtHomes who were just that little too eager to make friends.
At dinner I was seated at the Second Officer's table between the Baron's secretary and cousin, Mr Persaius dh'Ghair, and Lieutenant Bainaigh. Mr dh'Ghair's interests lie in the Baron's interests, which he did not discuss, and provincial politics, which he did. The two subjects might not be unrelated. If I were going to reside here instead of just transiting, his comments on the regional newspapers would have been very useful. Lieutenant Bainaigh is one of the officers walking with a cane. When I made polite enquiries about his injury and recovery, he told me that he'd taken a glacier worm's spine through the knee and he was doing as well as could be expected at this stage. I mentioned that on my return journey I would be changing airships at Kordyliss and asked if he had any recommendations if I had to stay there more than one night. When I confessed that the dates of my return journey were not yet set, he advised me of several inns and quarters of the town that I should avoid. I resolved to look up glacier worms in the ship's library. It is small but comprehensive, so it probably has a small encyclopedia or a book on fauna of the Southern Ice. [I mean, its route starts in the Southern Ice.]
After dinner I ducked into the library for five minutes instead of going straight to the balcony parlor. There is an encyclopedia - a ten year old copy of Taishghain's. [This is better than our house where we don't have an encyclopedia at all.] The entry on glacier worms reads, as best I can remember it:
Glacier worms - also known as ice worms, these large creatures are the apex predators of the Southern Ice. They are believed to be several related species , given the presence and absence of spines, mouth tentacles, etc. observed in individual worms. There is a theory that these differences may actually indicate gender and life stage progression, but this is not widely supported. Glacier worms burrow through ice to find their prey, emerging from the ice to devour their victims and disappear again. The largest reported specimen had a length of half an Imperial league and a diameter of fifty Imperial paces. The largest slain specimen was a quarter of an Imperial league long and twenty-four Imperial paces in diameter. Spined specimens have been known to explosively release their spines of up to half an Imperial pace long.
I concluded that the Lieutenant was lucky to still have a knee.
I arrived in the balcony parlor in time to receive my glass of fortified wine and take a seat that meant that the Dowager Baroness and I were not in each other's line of sight. The Mrses Vahtraiti took over the tea tray when it arrived, and the Dowager Baroness did not try to direct anyone to do anything in a way that caught my attention all evening.
Lord Elnaith drew me into a game of cards with the Baron and Mr dh'Ghair, and we played four hands of tocal for copper points. I was very clear that I couldn't afford more than that and they were kind enough to accommodate me. I wound up four coppers down, but I believe I can afford that.
Anadrasata Nearabhigan