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Morning at Bahlmis: A Visit from Greywood

Within a few minutes of the appointed hour of eleven, the Greywood carriage drew into the yard, and to a halt. Almost before it had halted, Olivia Greywood sprang lightly down, reverting from the young doctor and mother she was to the impetuous girl she had been when she arrived at Bahlmis House.

"Petrie!" she greeted the butler. "How are you? I don't see you nearly enough - and these days you never have those peppermint sugar sticks to give me! Do you know, to this day I can never open a volume of Gray's Galactic Anatomy without tasting peppermint, and remembering those long hours reading in the study with the sugar sticks to cheer me up?"

Petrie unbent enough to accord Olivia a faint smile and to say, "It's good to see you as well, Lady Olivia -- Lady Greywood, I should say."

"Aunt Gloria - Vivien - Liev ... let me make you known to Petrie, one of my oldest allies!

Petrie bowed to the new arrivals.

"Hello," said Vivien, smiling and nodding.

"Where is my aunt, Petrie?"

"Her ladyship is in the green parlour. If you would come with me?"

Petrie led the way to the front parlour where Rosalor had first received her great-niece twenty-five years ago. The Lady of Bahlmis rose and came forward to greet her guests. The white in her hair had gained steadily over the auburn in the intervening years, the lines had deepened in her angular face, but her grey eyes were as clear and keen as ever.

"My dear Olivia," she said, holding out her hands. "How good it is to see you! You look worn to a thread -- this wretched influenza, I have no doubt! And these are your Greywood cousins?"

Vivien nodded, but allowed Olivia to respond, since the question had been phrased to her. She was a lovely girl with thick brown hair and pale Nordic eyes. She was wearing a dress of unusual, even original cut, and her hair was pinned up with pearls.

Nearby in the house, Rosalor's most recently discovered nephew had been carrying on with his terribly busy morning. Busy, that is, writing and dispatching correspondence, pouring over books and newspapers, and asking any number of questions to anyone who would spare him a moment (save for Petrie who was something of a last resort).

It was this preoccupation that caused him to enter the parlor with nary a thought, until he realized his Aunt had company. He caught himself at the entrance and hesitated for a moment. He looked to Rosalor with a question in his eyes, but was unsure if he should be interrupting.

He was man of moderate height and athletically trim build, blondish brown hair and blue eyes. He was not unpleasant to look at, accented by a choice of clothing that was distinct, tasteful, and possibly expensive.

"My pardon," he said softly. "Excuse me," as he started to take a small half step back away in the direction he came from.

The sound attracted the attention of an older woman with wispy white hair. Her face wrinkled into a warm smile for the gentleman. Then with a rustle of her skirts, she returned her attention to Lady Greywood and her hostess.

Vivien, too, turned to regard the new arrival, smiled gently and nodded. Her eyes lingered for just a moment. It was difficult to tell if her approving expression was occasioned by his dress or his looks.

A smile given was a smile returned. He returned the kind looks of the two ladies with one of his own. Drew caught Vivien's glance and held it with a considering look that lasted no longer than a heartbeat.

Poised at the threshold, he also appeared poised at a decision.

"My apologies, Aunt Rosalor," he said smoothly. "I didn't mean to interrupt. I've been trying to hunt up a map to the city," he explained, "and I couldn't locate one in the library. I thought there might be one in one of the other studies. I have some appointments this afternoon and didn't want to rely on the directions of strangers, particularly since I'll be pressed for time."

He took a small half step forward.

"Ladies," he said in kind tones, "I hope you will pardon the interruption." He looked to Rosalor then, mildly wondering if she was going to introduce him or not.

Olivia, a tall and graceful woman in her early middle years, with smooth blonde hair gathered into a practical chignon, and wearing an olive green dress of quiet style but excellent cloth, regarded him with interest. Then she focused her attention back on her aunt.

"Aunt Rosalor, these are the relatives that I was telling you about. This is dear Gloria, who is my husband's aunt, and her grandchildren, Vivien and Liev. They have come to stay with us for a while - a nice extended family visit. And who knows? Perhaps they'll decide that they prefer city life permanently!"

Vivien's smile burst open at that and she nodded, almost as if she didn't realize she was doing so.

These introductions performed, Olivia cast another curious look at Drew.

"I am very pleased to meet you all," said Rosalor with a smile. "And this is my great-nephew, Lord Andrew Bahlmis -- another cousin of yours, Olivia! He arrived from offworld a few days ago, in search of his sister Treasa, and is staying in the House for a while.

"Please do sit down, all of you. The tea-tray will be in directly."

Almost as if summoned by the magical word "tea-tray," through another, inner doorway scampered a creature the size of a cat, but in conformation more like a Terrestrial lemur. It had russet fur, a cream-colored mane and tail-tuft like a miniature lion, and large, sky-blue eyes. It sat up on its haunches, its handlike forepaws folded in front of it, regarded the newcomers with its head cocked to one side, and trilled loudly.

"And this," Rosalor went on, a touch of amusement in her voice, "is Mercurio." She clicked her tongue twice, and the creature sprang into her lap.

"And what a charming little fellow he is," agreed Drew, finally entering the room. "If Treasa wasn't already of age and ready to settle down here, I'm quite sure she'd be after me to get her one- if I could." He offered them all an affable smile.

Drew entered the parlor properly, but didn't move to take a seat yet. He moved to Olivia as if to greet her properly.

Olivia took his hand and shook it, with a frank, open smile - unusually free, it seemed, of the social constrictions that governed women's behaviour on Aquila. She was watching Drew appraisingly - and then, as though becoming aware of it herself, smiled again.

Drew took her hand and offered her a friendly smile. "My pleasure to meet you Cousin Olivia, and to make the acquaintance of your extended family."

"I'm sorry if I seem to stare!" she said. "It is interesting to see a galactic - and one in such a superb state of health! You must forgive me - I'm a doctor, and - like all doctors on Aquila - fascinated by the prospects offered by galactic healthcare. I don't think we do as badly as some people complain - we have some interesting native cures that our cousin Dr Lucas Bahlmis has been to the forefront in developing - but even so, there's no arguing with the fact that genetic manipulation and nano-technology can do some wonderful things!"

She looked around at the rest of the company, and her expression became rueful. "I'm sorry! I should be confined to a corner with a cup of tea and a cucumber sandwich as penance for letting my enthusiasm for medicine carry me away!"

Drew smiled. "You're going to make me blush Olivia. But on the other hand, I feel completely hamstrung without technology. I'm running around this lovely house completely disorganized... mostly because I don't have a watch to tell me what time it is."

He cleared his throat. "In fact, before my first appointment, finding a spring powered pocket watch is one of my top priorities. I think I'm going to need one just to survive here."

"Oh my goodness!" said Olivia. "That won't do at all! Perhaps... Vivien... you could take Drew on one of your shopping expeditions. Vivien is just exploring the city, you see."

"Oh, I'd love to!" Vivien transferred her attention from the darling little creature in Lady Bahlmis' lap and flashed Drew another radiant smile. "I'm so fascinated by the city and city life... I'm a country cousin, and everything is so... active here... Of course, you'll laugh, being from offworld - somewhere fantastically exciting I suppose..."

"I wouldn't dream of laughing at you," Drew reassured her. "It's not our experiences that make us great dear lady," he chooses the term to suggest that he does not see Vivien as a young girl but as a woman, "but how we grow into them."

Vivien cocked her head to one side, nodding pleasantly, but seeming more to study Drew than actually to respond.

"But-" he changed the subject back to Olivia again, "I am delighted to get a chance to meet a relative that I never knew that I had. Aunt Rosalor introduced me to to Talaren earlier and we had no opportunity to speak. Perhaps we could go out to lunch sometime soon, and have a longer opportunity to chat? Before I have to leave Aquila." He gestures to Liev, Vivien, and Gloria. "Bring your family if they'd care to come. After all they're visitors just like me. Your husband too, if he's available. My treat." He looked optimistically for their reactions (and hoped that by being inclusive to Gloria and Olivia's husband that he hadn't repeated some of his earlier mistakes).

"Well, that would be lovely," said Olivia. "But why don't you come to us? And your sister. Our woods are a little too close to the city these days to have a successful hunt, as we used to when I was a girl, but we could certainly have a picnic ... and perhaps show you another side of Aquila. We are, after all, a largely rural planet, which one doesn't really get a sense of, here in the city - although I'm sure the city seems small enough to you!

"But perhaps you have somewhere in mind in the city for lunch?" She smiled at him and then at her aunt. "Do you know the latest fashionable places to eat? You know how little I pay heed to such things!"

"I'm afraid I'm rather behind the times in that regard, too," Rosalor commiserated.

"And you will still be here for our fashion show, I hope!" Olivia added to Drew.

"Oh, do," Vivien added.

Drew smiled at them both, but particularly Vivien. "Possibly, and if I am still here, I wouldn't miss it for the world."

"Yes, tell us more about your plans for this fashion show," Rosalor invited.

"Oh, well, we... um, we thought perhaps we'd have a night of good entertainment, perhaps food and socialization, to sort of make people aware of the situation with the hospital and the plague in a subtle way... not to make them feel they ought to give anything, but rather to make them want to... The fashion show seemed the best way to utilize our Greywood talents and resources... I was going to design some clothes, and I think Liev was going to help with the fabrics and the dyes. Were you, dear?" Vivien turned to look at her brother.

"As it is, if I'm required to stay here too long I'm going to have to find someone to act as a consultant when I need to have some suits tailored." He rubbed his chin ruefully. "As it is, I stick out as an offworlder at a glance." There was a vague hint there, but Drew was careful to make it sound subtle.

"I don't know about Aquila," Drew added delicately, "but where I come from I'd sooner trust the taste of a lady than some man. Begging you pardon if I offend."

"Offend?" Vivien laughed. "Not at all. I think... well, I'm not exactly an expert on city fashion, yet, but I do have some skill in that area, and I'd love to see what sort of tailors are here in the city..."

She was regarding Drew with a different kind of interest now, her lips pursed in concentration. She muttered something that sounded like "cools.."

"But the meal!" He changed the subject back as he looked to Olivia. "I meant to be your host for the meal, Olivia," Drew chided, but then smiled. "However if a picnic meal pleases you- I would be delighted to visit. I'm sure Treasa would as well."

Gloria’s response was a grunt. She had bent forward to get a closer look at the animal on Lady Bahlmis’ lap when the conversation caught her attention. She told her body to stand straight but her body ignored the command.

"Vivien," she whispered, one hand reaching, grasping for support. Her other hand picked at an imaginary thread on her skirt. She twisted her head to meet Drew’s eyes. With amusement in her voice, she replied, “Thank you, but as you can see, I would just be a burden to the party. You don’t need an old lady like me tagging along. I can't even think of sitting on the ground for a picnic!”

"Oh," Drew said, clearly disappointed and sounding very sincere and sympathetic.

"Nana, how silly," Vivien admonished lightly, holding her grandmother's light frame easily by placing Gloria's hand on her left wrist and taking her elbow with her right hand. "Of course we'll bring a chair for you... The fresh air will be lovely, and it wouldn't be a bit fun without you."

Drew nodded in agreement.

"Oh, House picnics are very civilised!" Olivia assured Gloria. Not just chairs - but tables too. And home before the evening dew gets into your bones ... " She was watching Gloria thoughtfully. "Have you tried wearing copper?" she asked suddenly.

Liev had felt a sudden yearning, almost a blow to the stomach, at Drew's passing desire for the lowest of tech. Unconciously, Liev rubbed his hands over the thick leather wrist braces he still wore to cover the tank scars. The jesuits could divide the slipperiest slopes into an endless series of flat planes, but the lanky economist knew himself well enough. Any decent tech would lead him to crave more, and soon enough back to the full throes of his addiction.

Clearing his throat, Liev interjected. "I'm afraid I will have to pass as well. Travel and my work schedule have scrambled my biological clock. I find I don't crave lunch until well past the evening meal. If the ladies don't mind, perhaps I can keep you company for a while? Our branch of the family hasn't really stayed in touch with Aquila and I'm eager to hear some of the history."

Vivien looked at her brother, and for a moment there was something almost like pain on her face. She knew him so little, could understand him even less.

"Why don't you and Lord Bahlmis chat now, Liev, and then you can both join us for the picnic later? Please?" There was just a hint of vulnerability in the soft voice.

"Please do, Liev," his grandmother nodded in agreement. "I've seen so little of you since you've been back." It was with love and concern that she made her statement lacking any intention of making her grandson feel guilty or less than perfect in her eyes.

While this was going on, Drew looked at Rosalor out of the corner of his eye but said nothing and drew no attention to himself. The look on his face suggested that he felt vaguely uncomfortable- as if witnessing Liev's distress and the concern of his fair female relations was somehow making Drew into a sort of voyeur. At least in terms of whatever ailed Liev.

"Well," said Olivia merrily, "a House picnic will take several days to organise, you know. So there will be no hurry now.

"However, if Lord Drew and Liev want to discuss other matters, we can turn our minds to the fashion show. Where, for example should we hold it? At the Greywood show rooms? Or some more public location? And who should we invite?"

"I have some appointments this afternoon, but as I mentioned, also a few errands beforehand. If you don't mind just tagging along while I put my schedule in order, you would be most welcome," Drew offered to Liev, leaving it neutral enough so that the man would feel welcome.. to accept or decline.. with no pressure from Drew.

Just then Petrie, the butler, appeared in the doorway. "Pardon me, my lady," he addressed Rosalor. "Master John Hoberty has called, with a question of a scholastic nature. Are you at liberty to see him at this time?"

Drew quirked one eyebrow, but the gesture was fast and was gone almost as soon as it was done.

Rosalor looked over at Olivia. "Would you mind having Drew and the tea-tray stand in for me for a little while, Olivia? I don't expect it's urgent, but if Master John took the trouble to ride out here, it seems a pity to send him away without an answer."

Since it wasn't to her that the question had been addressed, Vivien simply sat back and took a moment to breathe and to think about the conversation that had just occurred.

"I'll stay a few more minutes," Drew reassured Rosalor quietly.

"Not at all, Aunt," said Olivia readily. "But isn't Master John still employed by the Lagorans? Perhaps we could interest Lady Lagoran in the event." She turned to Vivien. "Lady Lagoran was the first Duchess, Lord Decuma's Mama. She's extremely fashionable - and famed for her devotion to good works." She shot a slightly defensive look at her aunt. "She has been very supportive of the work of the Women's Clinic, you know. The Lady Lagoran maternity wing - really, that was her entire donation."

Vivien smiled at her cousin and nodded. She sensed, due to Olivia's glance at Lady Rosalor, that this might be a somewhat touchy subject, so she decided not to get involved just yet.

"It certainly couldn't hurt to inquire," Rosalor allowed. "Lady Lagoran's support could undeniably be useful to your cause. I shall ask Master John about it, and perhaps bring him to talk to you if he doesn't mind."

With that she rose and followed Petrie out, just as the tea-tray was brought in. Mercutio, deprived of her lap, scampered over to Olivia and looked up at her appealingly.

Olivia laughed. "Oh, Mercutio, what a scamp!" She took a delicate fairy cake and crumbled it between her fingers, feeding him small pieces slowly.

Drew blinked once or twice while Olivia chatted about the fashion show and who to invite, but turned readily to the task of being entertaining.

"Please ladies," he motioned to them all. "Make yourselves comfortable." With a second of uncertainty he asked Gloria, "Would you care for some tea?" He smiled. "His 'Lordship' is pleased to serve," he said with a bit of self-effacing humor, but nonetheless was quite sincere.

"And I might persuaded to make a donation as well Olivia," he inserted into their conversation.

Olivia beamed. "That would be most delightful!" she said warmly.

He paused. "Perhaps you ladies could assist me in a matter of etiquette? I have this afternoon an appointment that I have to cut short, due to another appointment. The second appointment is rather difficult to reschedule. I'm on the horns of a dilemma without telecommunications. Can I arrive early so as not to cut the first appointment first? If so, how early? Since I'm meeting someone for tea, could I bring something to mitigate the circumstances? I crave your opinions.."

"But won't it - um... I mean, of course Aunt Olivia, Nana and Lady Bahlmis should answer, knowing more about etiquette than I... but won't it matter who you are meeting?" Vivien said, smiling faintly. She had a range of smiles that she tried out during any one conversation, and this one was vaguely amused.

"Tea?" Gloria asked. Her head shook slightly, wrinkles and wispy hair quivering. "No... no... you don't want to arrive early. If it's with a lady, you could catch her unprepared. Arrive on time, with flowers and apologies." Her face broke into a wistful smile. "Your charm could take you a long way."

"Oh.." Drew said. sounding surprised at the conclusion they'd reached, looking from Gloria to Vivien. "I'll take that as an idea." He looked amused as well. "I don't know what sort of reaction that will garner," he chuckled, "but I take your point about arriving early."

"I am not acquainted with them you see," he confided softly. "Either party for that matter."

"Oh?" said Olivia, a little surprised. "Who will you be visiting? It can make a difference, you know. Some people have ... well. Some people expect a greater degree of formality than others."

Drew took this opportunity to take a sip of his own tea. It gave him a second to think. In the end it came down to two guiding principals to which he tried to adhere. One, action is preferrable to inaction. Two, never play poker unless you're prepared for someone to call your bluff.

"The first appointment for tea is with Lady Morine Lagoran," he answered Olivia with no hesitation or inflection (except for cheerful nonchalance). "Since you happened to mention her in passing." He looked to Vivien like he would a confidente. "She might appreciate flowers I suppose- I'm not sure what impression that would give her, you see. But as a lady, I value your opinion in this regard."

Vivien looked a bit out of her depth, eyes widened and head shaking very slightly. "I don't know her either, and ladies do have different ideas about what flowers mean. If you were to be late to her appointment, I would say definitely bring them, but as you're simply rushing away... I say have a nice chat and see how things are going. If you don't like each other, a short time may be more than enough. If you do, you have an unavoidable engagement and you'll just have to schedule another meeting for the two of you - perhaps something that seems rather special, so she knows you aren't simply trying to get away."

He sipped his tea again. "I surmise that Lord Acciaio would just rather I be prompt. Hence my dilemma," he sighed mildly. "Sixty minutes isn't terribly long for tea."

He was of course awaiting their counsel now, (and their reactions).

Olivia appeared to be thinking. "The Acciaios are a formal and punctilious House," she said at last, "and Lord Acciaio is newly come to the title. The Dragon House, the House of Law. When you arrive, he may well keep you waiting. Not over-long but ... enough to make a point. To impress upon you his importance. And then he will be charm itself. Unless ... I would not recommend being late."

Drew was still while Olivia explained about the Acciaios. For a moment she had his complete attention as he was almost poised sitting there with his tea cup in hand. His behavior was not rude in any way- but thoughtful and serious. Not just an affable gadfly, but something more.

He nodded a little when she finished.

She hesitated and then said slowly, "Lady Morine Lagoran is ... unusual in Aquila. She is her brother's heir - he had announced that he favours her succession over that of a male cousin. In fact, I believe that there are no male cousins - She and her brother are the last of their line. And he has no children - not by his wife, anyway. In fact, people say ... "

Drew watched Olivia. Waiting... He would not break eye contact.

She broke off - this was not the time to prejudice Drew with idle gossip.

Drew sipped his tea once again, using the opportunity to dispel any tension.

"People say a great many foolish things, as they will in such cases."

"Of course," he reassured her agreeably. "I have never heard of a culture that didn't have an odd fixation with celebrity.

"It sounds as if Lady Morine is an anomaly in an otherwise patriarchial society?" He did not point out that so was Rosalor, and for what he surmised was for a different reason. He wondered about that difference.

Vivien simply listened. She found the insights into the character and politics of the important nobility of Aquila fascinating.

"Milady, please remember... gossip isn't worth the paper it's printed on." Gloria smiled at the group. As the conversation continued, she glanced toward Liev, making sure he was all right.

Olivia laughed. "And that's true enough!" she agreed cheerfully. Then her face grew more sombre. "Still ... I think Drew needs to realise that Morine Lagoran is ... not to be underestimated. She and Lady Lagoran - they hold great power in Aquila - not in terms that can be easily measured on a balance sheet. But ... in terms of hearts and minds."

Vivien cocked her head to one side, eyes lowered, thinking.

Drew merely nodded. "Your insight is appreciated Olivia. As well as your unwillingness to debase the reputation of another without cause. My cousin is, indeed, a 'lady' in every respect."

Olivia laughed. "Well, that is somewhat doubtful in certain sections of Aquilan society, because of the profession I pursue. Or, indeed, to be honest, because I follow a profession at all. As Lady Greywoood, I am meant to give my undivided attention to my husband and children. Fortunately, my Lord understands that I am not someone who could sit by while there are grievious ills that need to be attended to."

What Drew thought of all of the business about Morine was a mystery. If any of them were students of human behavior they would be able to tell that he was keeping his reaction, if any, in check. Except, perhaps that Olivia's note of caution did not seem to faze him.

"Well-" he said, "I had hoped that Aunt Rosalor would have persuaded Mr. Hoberty to join us by now." He pushed up his right jacket sleeve with a single finger, in order to glance at his wrist, which was still bare and unadorned by any timepiece. This prompted a mild sigh of irritation. "However," he said, smoothing it over and giving the ladies a quick smile, "I have to be getting to town now."

"Please don't let us detain you," said Olivia. "You seem to have a somewhat fraught afternoon ahead of you!"

He rose to his feet, every bit the urbane traveller. "It's been a delight to meet all of you though, and I'll look forward to this picnic." He favored Vivien with a last look. "May I call upon you at Lady Olivia's home..? Just in case this particular tourist does have need of a fashion consultant?"

"Of course," Vivien said, her eyes sparkling. "Please do. It's been so lovely to meet you."

Drew smiled. "And you as well, Vivien." He looks up towards all the guests. "All of you- my pleasure."

With a brief nod, he excused himself.

Liev had noticed the quick glances from his family, and was unsure how to react. Time had passed quickly during his time with the zaibatsu, to him far too quickly to bother with anything as seemingly mundane as correspondence with his family. His time with the jesuits had given him a new appreciation for the simple pleasures, including quiet time with family. But still Liev knew he was a virtual stranger to his closest living relatives.

As the conversation progressed around him, Liev turned his mind to a calculation that had been niggling at the back of his mind since he first learned of the fashion show. As the House Greywood had a monopoly in the planetary textile business it did not seem feasible to increase market share.

Profitability was a different matter. There were a few innovations that could yield increased productivity, but a savings of a few percentage points here or there would not assist his uncle as much as Liev had hoped.

The show would provide an audience of aristocrats, an excellent opportunity to introduce a new product. Raw materiel would take too long to produce, but Liev had studied the history of the textile industry on first learning that he would be travelling to Aquilla. There were a number of dyeing methods that could yield novel colours and intensities. Volume would be low, but something truly novel could generate a high sale price with perhaps an additional fee to insure exclusive delivery to a particular house.

Of course the downside of the show was that it could engender a negative reaction among the workers, the aristocrats in their finery while the peasants suffered an epidemic.

Liev smiled as he continued his calculations, and joined in the general farewells and well wishing as Drew absented himself.

Since things were easing down a bit, Vivien took her sketchbook out of her bag and found a blank page. The book was large, and closed with a lock, and often there were scraps of fabric or color cards taped to the pages next to her drawings, which were as often in plain pencil as in color. She began to draw something that had been on her mind.

Just in case Drew Bahlmis really did want a new suit...

"Would you like to see the gardens?" Olivia suggested to Gloria and Liev, seeing that Vivien was occupied. "I grew up here in Bahlmis House, and my cousin Lucas and I maintained a green house of native Aquilan plants which we studied for medicinal uses, which the gardeners still keep up. It's fascinating - at least, I find it so. But living out on the frontier, you may recognise many of the plants!"

Gloria figuratively jumped at the opportunity. She had been watching Vivien work and regretted leaving her bag of handwork in the carriage. "That sounds lovely, and I really should get up and walk about after sitting this long."

"May I accompany you as well?" asked Liev. "Gardening is a bit of a hobby of mine." Liev made a mental note to make a record of any plants that might prove useful either in the clinic or the textile business.

Vivien looked up absently. "Do you think Lady Bahlmis would mind if I sat here and sketched for a moment?" she asked. "I would like to get a few ideas on paper..."

"I'm sure that Aunt Rosalor won't mind in the slightest!" Olivia assured her.

...

Rosalor returned to the drawing room to find Vivien sitting by herself with her sketchbook.

"Hello, Vivien," she said. "I apologize for leaving you all to fend for yourselves, but my meeting with Master John took longer than I expected. Where have Olivia and the others wandered off to?"

Vivien rose, putting her sketches away. "Lady Bahlmis. I hope you had a nice visit. I've been enjoying myself very much putting a few ideas down on paper. I think Aunt Olivia took the family to see your gardens. Shall we join them?"

"That sounds like an excellent idea," said Rosalor, her expression relaxing into a smile.

"Drew headed off to his appointment, I take it?" she asked Vivien.

"Yes, he did have to leave," Vivien agreed, standing up and smoothing her skirts. "To see Lady Morine Lagoran... forgive me if I seem forward, Lady Bahlmis, but is there something about the Lagorans that worries you?"

Rosalor sighed as she led the way out the door. "The Houses have stood on opposite sides of several conflicts over the years, I'm afraid. Moreover, the current holder of the title is a man whom I cannot bring myself to trust. That's the root of it."

"Oh," Vivien said. She felt that perhaps Rosalor had said as much on the subject as she would like, so Vivien added, "I was hoping that perhaps you might help me with a guest list for the fashion show, Lady Bahlmis. Aunt Olivia said that you host salons, you must know the people who would most likely be interested in such a thing."

"Are you planning to show only ladies' clothing, or fashions for gentlemen also?" asked Rosalor.

"We are constrained by which models we are able to get, but I had hoped to show both ladies' and gentlemen's wardrobes," Vivien said. She was still moving gracefully beside Lady Bahlmis, but there was something settled and adult about her conversation and the set of her face now that was unlike her usual manner.

"That should broaden your base of interested people," Rosalor noted with approval. "Many of the lords are just as interested in dressing well as their ladies."

The way out took them down a little stone corridor towards the back of the house, and then through a small wooden door that led into the back gardens. A long sloping lawn stretched in front of them, extending perhaps two hundred yards before it encountered a high stone wall, and to the right there was a stout box hedge. A gap in this led to the formal gardens and the greenhouses, firstly into a lovely walled knot garden with herbs growing in the borders. There was a high red wall opposite, and through an opening in that, Gloria, Olivia and Liev could be seen talking in the garden beyond.

"How lovely," Vivien breathed, taking in the scene of the garden before she seemed to register the presence of her relatives. "Oh, there they are."

She flashed a brilliant smile and moved in the direction of the other Greywoods.

"Yes, let's go join them," said Rosalor.

Olivia showed Liev and Gloria where some gloves and mask were hanging on hooks in the entrance to the greenhouse - and then waved vigorously.

"There's Aunt Rosalor and Vivien," she told them. "We can all go in together ... it will be less disturbing for the plants."

Coming up to them, Rosalor said, "Are you giving them the grand tour, Olivia? You'll need a filter mask and gloves for the exotic greenhouse," she explained to Vivien, indicating a row of them hanging on pegs outside the heavy door. "I'm not sure why we call it that," she added in an aside to the rest. "They're not 'exotic' plants properly so called -- they're native to the planet. But there doesn't seem to be a better name for it."

She proceeded to don her own mask and gloves.

Vivien nodded and took a mask and gloves. "I see," she said. "I can hardly wait to see what is inside."

Once they were all adequately prepared, Olivia opened the door and led them into the greenhouse. It seemed that the original structure had been built on the lines of a conventional hothouse, designed to grow items for the House table at points of the year, or in a climate where they might be unavailable otherwise. Here it seemed seedlings or specially cultivated plants were grown in regimented rows, ready to be tended and harvested. A gardener was at work here, partiently watering the seedlings with a rose coloured water - the native colour of Aquilan mountain water.

Over everything was the peculiar scent of native Aquila, so intoxicatingly powerful that - if once smelled - it could never be forgotten - intensely piney, so strong it almost made your eyes water - and then with an undernote of citrus.

This, hoever, was merely the precursor, it seemed. The hothouse now had been connected to another structure on the far side of the next wall - which had clearly been a palm house, and an impressive one.

It was tall enough to accommodate trees - and held a wealth of native Aquilan plants arranged in an almost naturalistic setting, with a small stream of water running through it.

"Oh," Vivien said, taken for a moment by the beauty of it. "It's absolutely stunning... it's almost like being back in the country."

"How wonderful!" Gloria's voice was muffled slightly by the mask. She looked up, squinting at the light coming through the windows. "Are all of these grown for medicine?"

Olivia shook her head. "Not in here," she said. "Here we've made of an effort to create a natural environment. It's more a botanical experiment than a medicinal one - although, of course, we have done some research into the plants that are grown here - and we've gone on to cultivate some for medicine later." She indicated a fern with vast sky-blue fronds.

"This, for example, we believe is quite rare in the wild. But it responds well to cultivation - and brews into an excellent tea that seems to act as a decongestant, rather like eucalptus." She sighed. "Now we are discussing, Lucas and I, whether we should market it or whether we should make it freely available - just the cost of cultivation, you know."

Vivien listened rather absently to the talk of medicine, moving among the plants, smelling flowers and enjoying the sound of the water.

Gloria stroked the fern, exploring the feel of its fronds. Almost reluctantly she tore a small piece, bringing it up to her face to inspect.

"Why not do both?" she asked, scrunching her face suddenly at the scent of the plant. "Yikes!" She let the piece drop, quickly fanning the air in front of her nose.

"Imagine - all of this could make it fashionable to be from the country!"

Vivien laughed merrily at that. "Just think," she said, still giggling.

Olivia smiled. "Well," she said, "we could take on the production of native medicines on a commercial scale. But neither Lucas or I have the time - it is as much as we can do to make up the small quantities that we currently need."

"It sounds as if you could use more help," Vivien said. "Surely there are eager young people at the University who are interested in that sort of thing."

Olivia sighed. "To be honest, I don't really have time to look."

She looked thoughtfully at Vivien and Gloria. "Would you be interested? Not in doing the work yourselves, of course, but in helping me find some appropriate assistants?"

"Well, of course," said Vivien. "It would be lovely to be useful to you."

"Finding assistants?" Gloria mused over the idea. "Would I really be a help?"

Olivia looked at her with the cool, clinical thoughtfulness that was a disconcerting feature of Lady Greywood. "Yes," she said at last. "You know people, and you know the outlands. You will have more of an idea of the work that's involved than most people - and you'll be able to judge if the students you see are up to it, don't you think?"

"Well, I'm not really an expert, but I suppose we've got a bit more of an idea of... well... country things," Vivien said.

"Exactly," said Olivia. "And - you know - it would be tremendously helpful if you could take on the greenhouse. Ever since the coup, gardening has not been a priority for Bahlmis ... well, not special projects like this, don't you agree, Aunt Rosalor? We just were never able to afford it. But even if we'd had gardeners ... I'm not sure that they would have wanted to work with native plants. Most gardeners seem to me to be dedicated to eradicating them."

"Well, I'm not exactly the woodsy type, even though I am from the country," Vivien said, looking around and suddenly feeling a bit out of her depth. "On the other hand, I would happy to help out a bit... Couple of hours a day would be all right."

"Good," said Olivia. "But we mustn't let it distract you drom the fashion show. Where do you think we should hold it? Here, perhaps, Aunt Rosalor? Greywood Manor is a little too remote. The clinic ... well, some of my juniors might looking disapproving - they might think it too frivolous a way of raising money! But really, we have no space for such an event."

She was frowning, considering - and then suddenly smiled. "What about the Nest? We could speak to Lord Tremontaine ... "

Vivien nodded, smiling back. "Of course, you know better than I about locations! I'm still in the process of exploring. But anywhere with enough space and a little panache... Here would be lovely - or I'm sure... wherever..."

"I would suggest somewhere indoors, or at least under cover. I would hate to have bad weather ruin the event," Gloria suggested, glad to be distracted from the gardening conversation. She was torn between the fun of playing in the dirt again and the ache from a daily carriage ride and hours spent bent over, though she didn't know how to voice that kindly to her hostess.

"Then the Nest would be the best place," said Olivia positively. "Aunt Rosalor - will you approach Lord Tremontaine - or should I?"

Vivien remained silent, smiling quietly. Absent-mindedly, she took her grandmother's arm.

"I think your asking on behalf of the hospital would carry more weight, Olivia," said Rosalor.

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