Then she noticed that there was something *different* about the desk. The pretty pitcher she'd bought at the marketplace a few days ago, no longer held just the trio of roses she'd left there. Now there were nine! And there was a bottle of unfamiliar sweet wine beside it.
Kay stared at the pitcher in puzzlement. Nobody should have been able to get into her room while she was gone -- except for the superintendant of the building. But why would the little old man leave her a gift ? She barely even knew him.
[OOC: Remember, she's been off-base for a whole day, a night and most of the previous night --- so she wouldn't have seen the gift yet. I'm assuming that it was delivered while she was gone, which means that it was NOT delivered immediately after it was ordered]
When she lifted up the wine bottle, she noticed that there was a card tied to the neck. Curiousity welled up within her as she reached for the card. Inside was a shote note of apology.
Oh yes. Now she remembered about the accident at the Elhalyn Ball, and that silly article she'd read in the Darkovan Inquirer. According to what was written on the card, the Inquirer had only gotten their facts partially right.
Kay sighed with relief. "So the Inquirer was wrong about him afterall", she said thoughtfully, looking down at her companions. An inquisitive meow and chirp came in reply.
With a soft giggle, Kay told them "Maybe the stories about him being a violent tomcat are ALL just malicious gossip with no grain of truth to them. Though I've never officially met Lord Auster Elhalyn, I don't see how such tales could possibly fit someone who would apologize like this, for an accident that was partially my own fault. And I saw how lovingly he looked at his wife; there was no room for unfaithfulness".
[OOC: For those who don't remember, Kay got overwhelmed by Dolo's grief when Auster was telling Dolo about how the Sargeant got murdered on the night of the Ball. Since Kay knows only his name, she wouldn't refer to him as "Lord StoneHaven" instead]
Then another thought occurred to her. *Perhaps Mama was wrong about ALL the Comyn lords being vile and corrupt. What if things have changed over the years ?*
This was a somewhat disturbing thought. For one thing, it would make it even more difficult for her to tell one type from the other, instead of simply avoiding the whole lot of them. If SOME of them were decent, then she'd be needlessly spurning useful allies by tarring them with the same brush as the foul ones.
THAT reminded her of her dinner plans for that day. She'd almost forgotten that Danette was a Comyn lady, as well as being a fellow worshipper of the Lady. Now another thought suddenly occurred to her. If Dannette's mate turned out to be Comyn as well, that would make things rather awkward as Kay tried to figure out his nature.
Softly, Kay muttered a few cuss words. Her life was complicated enough already. She didn't NEED more complications. Yet here they were, staring her right in the face.