It was late afternoon when Duke Shanley woke. He emerged from the guest room in the clothes he'd worn to the party and though everyone was thinking it, not a single servant dared comment on his pale and unkempt appearance. Luvina kept a small staff of mostly elderly people whom had known the young Duke since he was about knee-height. They knew not to talk about the man's condition. They were silent out of respect for Lady Delgrin's wishes.
"Conall! Oh, dearie. You're awake! How are you feeling this afternoon?"
Conall shielded his eyes as he passed a window. The sun was so bright. "It's that late already?"
Luvina nodded and walked beside him. Already, her estate was clean with everything back in place and the decor back to the usual floral arrangements and color scheme of pinks and lavenders. She touched his arm lightly, " You had quite a night last night, didn't you? So, which one catches your fancy?"
Conall's head was pulsing. Damn that Klaust. He somewhat wished he could have killed the man for causing such damage to his head like that. "What?"
"You seemed quite taken with Lady Turgall , but I dare say you may have spent a considerably LONGER time with Kahtahnia, was that her name? Oh yes, yes. I do believe it was. "
"Oh God..." Conall groaned. Would she just give it a rest? "It was nothing. "
"It didn't look like nothing to me! "
"Leave me alone, "Conall said sourly, irritable and regretting that he hadn't been in the condition to follow Katahnia after ....
"Luvina, what happened last night? After I retired. "
"Well, I suppose your sudden disappearance might have upset Lady Turgall or her cousin , perhaps? They left less than an hour after you went to bed. "
Conall's heart sunk, "I see."
Luvina nudged him playfully in the side, " Don't be so glum, child! You'll see her again. "
No, I don't really think that I will.
But he could always visit the Turgalls, perhaps. After he dealt with the Obsidian Mantle, of course.
He had a quiet lunch with the Delgrins and Conall was quiet. He wasn't feeling well enough to maintain an engaging conversation and was content to listen to husband and wife discuss the party. When the conversation went political though, Conall wandered away to dancing...
He left with his three guardsmen whom had - well, he had NO idea where they'd wandered off during the party . He had no doubt two of them had likely gotten frisky with some of pretty servant girls....they were always up to such things. They had insisted on following him around but he'd made them disperse. He didn't want soldiers following him around all the time. It made him seem paranoid and weak and he was confident that he'd be safe at the Delgrin's home...
The ride back to Ardal was long , but Conall was happy to be back home. Sort of. He thought of her at first, but then came the negotiations which took weeks, almost a month but he'd finally reached a solution and things calmed down. Ardal was quiet, peaceful for a time. And things were certainly looking great.
It was a perfect time to take some personal time and make good on his promise to visit Turgall. He looked forward to it, but when he got there his presence was met with such cold reception. In fact, Blaith seemed agitated by his arrival and he made excuses. Kella wasn't feeling well enough to see him and his cousin, Katahnia , didn't want to see him. Ever again.
Conall argued with the man which hadn't been wise. At all. It only made him angrier and it escalated to a point that Duke Shanley was told, very coldly, to leave.
He did.
Time passed. Weeks, months. And something happened in Ardal. The leader of the Obsidian Mantle was dead and the Mantle blamed him, the Order of the Shield believed it too and applauded him for taking action against the "mage terrorists" . And the Mantle was PISSED. He was their enemy now and he was targeted for several assassination attempts. He couldn't travel. His guard, his ad visors...they wouldn't allow it.
The Order of the Shield retaliated...and Conall tried to pull them apart even though some of his men had advised him to use military force. It was coming to a point where he was beginning to realize that he might not have much choice....
Then, suddenly things went quiet. The Mantle just stopped. Vanished. And peace returned. For months. He heard there was trouble up North but he had his own concerns to worry about.
And he tried sending a letter to Blaith, but there was no reply. He sent others after. And he'd make another visit only to be turned away....
And he took the hint. He wasn't welcome in Turgall.
Eventually , he just forgot about it. It was for the best.
ooc: AND that concludes this thread, I guess.
