it quite changed the position in which she would be regarded. Felin was not deceived by Penn’s words about Amer being useful with the dragonets and in the kitchens. An old family retainer arriving with Selendra would be seen as Selendra’s servant, whatever other work she did. Worst of all, her husband expected her to break the news to Exalt Benandi.
In the invisible court in her head Felin arraigned, tried, and convicted her absent husband of cowardice, extravagance, and folly. But even as she set the letter down she knew she would never reveal this judgment to anyone, least of all to Penn himself. Nor, as he had suggested she should, would she side with Exalt Benandi against him. Had she wanted to do so, she would not have waited for his permission, but she would never do anything of the kind. She knew what a wife owed to a husband, even if he did not. She sent a servant at once to order the drafters for the next day, checked that the nanny had the children well in hand, and, not putting off the unpleasant task for a moment longer than was necessary, stepped out to visit Exalt Benandi.
Benandi was a great place, much bigger than all of Undertor, and it was all the demesne of the Exalted Benandi. The name of Benandi was used for the whole demesne, stretching for several hours flight in all directions. In the center of the domain lay the mountain establishment that was the chief home of the Exalt, and of her son when he was home, which generally meant only those months of spring and autumn when the hunting was good. This establishment was known as Benandi Place.
Benandi Place was a complicated honeycomb of caves at the top of a cliff. Benandi Parsonage lay almost at the foot of this cliff. The parson (whoever he might be, for the parsonage, as usual, went with the position), had easy access to the ground, and a passage upwithin the rock connecting his dwelling with that of his patrons. There was a splendid chapel a little in the old style within Benandi Place, where the Exalt generally heard a Firstday evening service. In the morning she preferred to attend the church (which was dedicated to Sainted Gerin, but known to all as Benandi Church) conveniently located downwind in the valley. With many of our gentry who have chapels of their own but who prefer to attend divine service in public, the impulse springs from a desire to be seen, or to be seen to do one’s duty, or sometimes simply from a dislike of the early rising required to have a service in the chapel, which must necessarily occur before the one in the church. With the Exalt, however, everyone knew it was rather that she desired to see everyone else doing their duty in church. If she did not see any of her farmers, or indeed her neighbors, in church on a Firstday morning, she regarded it as part of her duty to visit them within a day or two and inquire into the matter. The dragons in the neighborhood of Benandi Place were thus much given to admirably regular and punctual churchgoing.
Felin could have used this Parson’s Passage and walked up through half a mile of tunnels, past the chapel, and into the upper caves of Benandi Place. As she was not a parson, she could choose to fly instead. She never walked up except on Firstdays, and on the rare occasions, generally when the Exalted Sher Benandi was in residence, when she was taking her dragonets to visit the Place. Sher liked children. The Exalt did not care for the disorder they could cause. On almost all other occasions when Felin visited the Place, even when Penn was walking up, she caught an updraught from the parsonage ledge and simply glided up the cliff. Felin loved to fly, loved it, that is, when she had the excuse for it. She never neglected any of her duties in favor of flying. But there was no joy to her like that of feeling the wind in her wings. She banked gently and rose ina lazy spiral, hardly moving out from the cliff at all, for she knew the winds very well, and landed on the ledge of the
In the invisible court in her head Felin arraigned, tried, and convicted her absent husband of cowardice, extravagance, and folly. But even as she set the letter down she knew she would never reveal this judgment to anyone, least of all to Penn himself. Nor, as he had suggested she should, would she side with Exalt Benandi against him. Had she wanted to do so, she would not have waited for his permission, but she would never do anything of the kind. She knew what a wife owed to a husband, even if he did not. She sent a servant at once to order the drafters for the next day, checked that the nanny had the children well in hand, and, not putting off the unpleasant task for a moment longer than was necessary, stepped out to visit Exalt Benandi.
Benandi was a great place, much bigger than all of Undertor, and it was all the demesne of the Exalted Benandi. The name of Benandi was used for the whole demesne, stretching for several hours flight in all directions. In the center of the domain lay the mountain establishment that was the chief home of the Exalt, and of her son when he was home, which generally meant only those months of spring and autumn when the hunting was good. This establishment was known as Benandi Place.
Benandi Place was a complicated honeycomb of caves at the top of a cliff. Benandi Parsonage lay almost at the foot of this cliff. The parson (whoever he might be, for the parsonage, as usual, went with the position), had easy access to the ground, and a passage upwithin the rock connecting his dwelling with that of his patrons. There was a splendid chapel a little in the old style within Benandi Place, where the Exalt generally heard a Firstday evening service. In the morning she preferred to attend the church (which was dedicated to Sainted Gerin, but known to all as Benandi Church) conveniently located downwind in the valley. With many of our gentry who have chapels of their own but who prefer to attend divine service in public, the impulse springs from a desire to be seen, or to be seen to do one’s duty, or sometimes simply from a dislike of the early rising required to have a service in the chapel, which must necessarily occur before the one in the church. With the Exalt, however, everyone knew it was rather that she desired to see everyone else doing their duty in church. If she did not see any of her farmers, or indeed her neighbors, in church on a Firstday morning, she regarded it as part of her duty to visit them within a day or two and inquire into the matter. The dragons in the neighborhood of Benandi Place were thus much given to admirably regular and punctual churchgoing.
Felin could have used this Parson’s Passage and walked up through half a mile of tunnels, past the chapel, and into the upper caves of Benandi Place. As she was not a parson, she could choose to fly instead. She never walked up except on Firstdays, and on the rare occasions, generally when the Exalted Sher Benandi was in residence, when she was taking her dragonets to visit the Place. Sher liked children. The Exalt did not care for the disorder they could cause. On almost all other occasions when Felin visited the Place, even when Penn was walking up, she caught an updraught from the parsonage ledge and simply glided up the cliff. Felin loved to fly, loved it, that is, when she had the excuse for it. She never neglected any of her duties in favor of flying. But there was no joy to her like that of feeling the wind in her wings. She banked gently and rose ina lazy spiral, hardly moving out from the cliff at all, for she knew the winds very well, and landed on the ledge of the
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