inclination came upon him. Until fifty years before, this had been his time with the Imperial Discreet, but that post was now empty.
At 3:20, he would meet once again with—we may as well say his name—Khaavren, who would conduct him to the Hall of Windows for dinner, which began promptly at 3:30. Dinner was the largest and the most
varied of the meals, and was often attended by guests of state. It was frequently lavish, always well prepared, measured at least six courses, and consumed two and a half hours. Lately, His Majesty had developed the affectation of wanting meals from every area of his realm. On one day the dinner might feature a kethna, roasted in the spicy style of the Eastern Mountains. On another, perhaps there would be anise-jelled winneasaurus steak from the North. On yet another day, perhaps a fish stew from the South.
At 5:45 began the evening recreation, which might involve cards, or visiting a theater or a concert hall, or even quietly reading in his chambers. Depending on the activity, the Consort might be present; if so, this would be the first time they saw each other that day; if not, they would see each other at 9:15, which was when they had their supper together. Supper was the lightest meal of the day, and would often consist only of delicacies, perhaps preceded by a broth.
At 10:45 he would retire to his baths, often with the Consort. Khaavren, on those occasions when our Tiassa remained late at the Palace, would meet with His Majesty again at 11:55 and conduct him on his evening rounds of closing the doors as he had opened them—more often, Khaavren would delegate this duty to whichever guardsman had performed exceptionally well in some capacity or another. The Consort would sometimes accompany His Majesty on these rounds which, in any case, would end at His Majesty’s apartments at 12:55, which was the time scheduled for his Majesty’s evening toilet, which would be completed by 13:10, which was the hour at which His Majesty would retire for the evening.
It is certainly the case that, on some occasions, Her Majesty the Consort, Noima, would accompany His Majesty into his bedchamber, and it is also the case that it is only Khaavren who would know how often this was done. Yet this is one subject upon which the Tiassa has never breathed a word, and so we are left to engage in unseemly speculation, or not. The fact that the Consort was delivered of a child must be held sufficient for our purposes. But we ought to add that, while court gossip was certainly divided about Their Majesties’ domestic lives, most of those who held that moments of passion between them were rare and mutually unsatisfying were those who wished to pay court to Her Majesty, and were very likely engaging in the time-honored practice of confusing desire with truth. There were few, we should add, who desired to pay court to Tortaalik, for he furiously objected to any such familiarity, and his flirtations with mistresses were few and short-lived.
The astute reader will, no doubt, notice that, excepting only the briefest of remarks while discussing His Majesty’s morning toilet, we have entirely neglected the subject of dress. Our reasons for doing so are twofold: We do not wish to tire the reader with needlessly lengthy descriptions; and the matter has
been extensively elaborated upon in numerous scholarly and several popular volumes, not the least of which are Traanier’s Court Dress Before the Interregnum, belonging to the former category, and the unfortunately named Baron Vile’s The Clothes Unmake the Emperor belonging to the latter.
For those unfamiliar with these or similar works, we will mention that His Majesty changed his dress no fewer than six nor more than eleven times during the day, but rarely returned to his apartments to do so, rather instructing the chief servant of his household, Dimma, to procure what he wished so that he could duck into any unused room and effect a change in costume. The scandal
At 3:20, he would meet once again with—we may as well say his name—Khaavren, who would conduct him to the Hall of Windows for dinner, which began promptly at 3:30. Dinner was the largest and the most
varied of the meals, and was often attended by guests of state. It was frequently lavish, always well prepared, measured at least six courses, and consumed two and a half hours. Lately, His Majesty had developed the affectation of wanting meals from every area of his realm. On one day the dinner might feature a kethna, roasted in the spicy style of the Eastern Mountains. On another, perhaps there would be anise-jelled winneasaurus steak from the North. On yet another day, perhaps a fish stew from the South.
At 5:45 began the evening recreation, which might involve cards, or visiting a theater or a concert hall, or even quietly reading in his chambers. Depending on the activity, the Consort might be present; if so, this would be the first time they saw each other that day; if not, they would see each other at 9:15, which was when they had their supper together. Supper was the lightest meal of the day, and would often consist only of delicacies, perhaps preceded by a broth.
At 10:45 he would retire to his baths, often with the Consort. Khaavren, on those occasions when our Tiassa remained late at the Palace, would meet with His Majesty again at 11:55 and conduct him on his evening rounds of closing the doors as he had opened them—more often, Khaavren would delegate this duty to whichever guardsman had performed exceptionally well in some capacity or another. The Consort would sometimes accompany His Majesty on these rounds which, in any case, would end at His Majesty’s apartments at 12:55, which was the time scheduled for his Majesty’s evening toilet, which would be completed by 13:10, which was the hour at which His Majesty would retire for the evening.
It is certainly the case that, on some occasions, Her Majesty the Consort, Noima, would accompany His Majesty into his bedchamber, and it is also the case that it is only Khaavren who would know how often this was done. Yet this is one subject upon which the Tiassa has never breathed a word, and so we are left to engage in unseemly speculation, or not. The fact that the Consort was delivered of a child must be held sufficient for our purposes. But we ought to add that, while court gossip was certainly divided about Their Majesties’ domestic lives, most of those who held that moments of passion between them were rare and mutually unsatisfying were those who wished to pay court to Her Majesty, and were very likely engaging in the time-honored practice of confusing desire with truth. There were few, we should add, who desired to pay court to Tortaalik, for he furiously objected to any such familiarity, and his flirtations with mistresses were few and short-lived.
The astute reader will, no doubt, notice that, excepting only the briefest of remarks while discussing His Majesty’s morning toilet, we have entirely neglected the subject of dress. Our reasons for doing so are twofold: We do not wish to tire the reader with needlessly lengthy descriptions; and the matter has
been extensively elaborated upon in numerous scholarly and several popular volumes, not the least of which are Traanier’s Court Dress Before the Interregnum, belonging to the former category, and the unfortunately named Baron Vile’s The Clothes Unmake the Emperor belonging to the latter.
For those unfamiliar with these or similar works, we will mention that His Majesty changed his dress no fewer than six nor more than eleven times during the day, but rarely returned to his apartments to do so, rather instructing the chief servant of his household, Dimma, to procure what he wished so that he could duck into any unused room and effect a change in costume. The scandal
Similar Books
