#baronyofthesilverwolf

No sooner does Kerri arrive, dogs give greeting, barks of announcement from the big ones, and.. a flurry of odd terriers what don't make as much noise but insist on checking her out

And a satyress greets her, Dame Lavender D'Lorean "Dame Kerri, I'm supposed to escort you"

"Thank you, Dame Lavender. Have you been well?"

The sound of hooves, and a large black destrier is visible further down the path - Linnea, troll thane, is mounted on guard, and as D'lorean guides Dame Kerri, the thane takes her place and sets up to watch over.

"I have been great," She smiles then gives a thumbs up to the thane "Thanks, Linnea." SHe takes Kerri's package "Here, let me get those for you. Kitchen's about to swarm, and I was told to keep you out of it or ..and I quote 'We'll never uproot the woman and it will either lead to a fight with Marigold or a team up and coup attempt and I'm not sure which is worse' . The Baroness will meet you in the parlor"

A hand raised in recognition to Thane Linnea, then she follows D'Lorean. A laugh as she relinquishes her burden. "That's fine, Marigold and I shall plot another day," she says with a wink. "Just make sure that the Baroness gets some of those, please."

"I will" She says and guides her to the parlor, "In fact I'll be back with a small tray for you both, or Flo will"

"Thank you." Kerri takes the moment alone to observe the parlor. She's rarely really had a quiet moment to get a real sense of Silverwolf's decor.

it's full of elegance, a gentle blend of celtic and slavic touches, with symbols of the great hunts of noble lords with fine hounds chasing wily stags. The colors might be less obviously Ailil or Varich, more warm than the black and metals provide.

And yes, one of the chairs is quite servicable for trolls size wise, and yet still elegant

Thistle might be off in the kitchen, but there's usually a few stray nevers about the manor when she is present.

The Baroness looks up and rises "Dame Kerri" She moves to hug her gently "Save the bowing, nothing formal here, and it would just be weird for us both I think"

"Baroness Nadeen," she says fondly, more emphasis on the name than the title as she returns the hug. "And as you like, of course." Stepping back. "You look lovely!"

"Thank you, you look rather grand your.." A Never shoots by between them, doing the back stroke in the air. SHe sighs "Rather grand yourself. Do pardon the nevers. They seem in perpetual bloom lately"

"You do seem to have an abundance!" she notes as another swings from the tassels of a lampshade.

"Yes, well, any dignity to this meeting is temporarily shot," She says "Are you hear to see the puppies? I confess, I thought it would be the Chieftain.."

At this point, a lovely Kinain woman in a maid's outfit enters and DOES bow, a tray of pastries, and other snacks on top of it, and drinks, "Baroness? I tried to bring just the pastries but Marigold heard Dame Kerri was here and.." Hapless apology

"Dignity is, in some cases, overrated. And no...I'm here on another matter, and I really don't want to pre-empt the Chieftain's opportunity to see them."

A look over at the kinain and a nod hello.

Quite proper is Flo. A polite demure nod. After all, WHile not a sidhe, Kerri IS a knight, and Flo knows protocals

The Baroness sighs "I swear, Boggans are like Reverse locusts. Please set it down at that small table there" She gestures between them, "Thank you, Flo. That should be all"

Flo does so, curtseys, and departs

"Oh, don't blame Marigold. I'd have done the same."

"Must be something about people who love kitchens," Nadeen speculates, then says "Please, help yourself. It gives me an excuse to try one of your pastries without feeling piggish"

A slight laugh, and she helps herself to some of Marigold's treats.

"Oh " she enjoys the pastry gifted, "You know my weaknesses. I shall gain weight"

In truth, Nadeen looks a bit on the lean side, or perhaps a better word would be athletic. Horse riding regularly and sparring daily, she's clearly not let her position make her go lazy in athletics

"Well, I wasn't lying about how well you look. Life here suits you beautifully." She takes a taste of the food, then sighs. "Marigold does keep me on my toes. I wonder if she'll trade recipes."

"Given your resources, I imagine she'd have a hard time denying you at least a few trades. But, if I may?" She sips after another pastry bite, "What does bring you here? "

"Well..." She pauses a moment, choosing her words. "I was wondering if there had been any discussion up here about Connor and the holidays."

"Well, naturally, we would delight to have him" She says "But... I wasn't sure Rivervale would let him go. " Nadeen stops then sighs "No, I won't play politics over the boy's situation. It's akward. I would love to have Connor over. I think Aiden does too, but Aiden is... unsure how to.. offer a chance. I think he believes Connor has chosen Rivervale over him at some level, but at the same time, he knows Connor was for all intents and purposes exiled. It's... tricky. He's closed up about it, even to me" A frown "I don't like that. Color me selfish, but I don't like when the man I love blocks me. I'm not sure he's even aware he is doing it. "

"Give him time there, Nadeen," Kerri says as if the baroness were still a young teen sitting on a too-tall-for-her stool in the Rivervale kitchen. "He is still recovering from an awful violation. It's normal that opening up about some things will take more time." A deep breath and sigh. "Well, I certainly don't want to make any decisions for Connor on this, and I'd like to find out what he wants, but his pooka nature makes that difficult, too. So...we have a father and son, neither of whom are the clearest communicators...but I have an inkling that the Baron would be pleased to have Connor here for Christmas Day." I hope I'm right.

"Consider the invitation extended from Silverwolf. " She says with Authority, "As is mine to extend. If Connor refuses, that is fine, but Aiden is a grown man, and he must do the heavy liftinng in this repair rather than the boy. " She ponders "There's a statue of her mother out there, you know? A gift from the Dreaming. When the snow falls, she looks like an angel of white. Yule for the Barony, Christmas for the chlildlings"

"Oh, that's lovely, about the statue. Well then...please don't tell the baron yet. I don't want to get his hopes up if Connor decides not to. But I will let Connor know it's a possibility."

A nod, "I shall with hold it for now, and guide Aiden as needed- fear not, I learned Animal husbandry here, but I learned the OTHER Kind of Husbandry from you" her eyes twinkle just a bit wickedly

A surprised chuckle. "I hadn't quite framed it that way in my head, but I see what you mean."

"Well, then...good. I'm glad to know it's not a hard 'no.'"

"I hope very much for it, and I think Aiden does too, even if he's unsure how to admit it to himself" A sip of her drink "Now, how ARE your husband and daughter?"