When the Captain got there he told him to gather six of their top guards for a covert long-distance mission and bring them here for a debriefing. And that while he talked to them he needed a dozen messenger birds gathered for travel by horseback and to prepare twelve of the fastest horses and pack a poison detection kit. The last one got him a curious look but the man asked no questions.
While he waited for his six men, he drafted a simple letter to Lady Kassidy and this time he sealed it with his official seal. When the men came in he closed the door behind them and explained their rather unorthodox and embarrassing mission that was to be kept quiet.
He knew just from the side glances a few shared that they would be talking about him and this mission between themselves once their Lord was out of earshot, which was annoying but he knew they would do as commanded and that was what was important.
He only accomplished a few more papers before he was called to Dinner, he thought about refusing and having dinner brought up to him in the office with the rather viable excuse of having a lot of work to catch up on. But then they would just talk about him behind his back and come up with all sorts of wild speculation, which he usually didn't care about but after they would all interrupt him separately for a conversation after dinner, so he might as well just get it over with once and see what other details there might be that he'd missed from his sister's second-hand report.
The dinner table seemed to have a lot more people around it than usual and he sighed. His mother, sister, and youngest uncle were there as expected but so was Gilbert and his oldest uncle, as well as several members of the family council and his grandmother.
They all stood as he entered, treating today as a formal affair, and then sat again as he took his seat. He let the silence stretch having no desire to make things easier for them by being the first to speak. After several bites of his dinner which few seemed to be touching as they glanced around between each other and him, his eldest uncle spoke.
"When were you going to inform us of this love affair with the Earl of Calloway's niece?"
"I believe you mean the late earl's daughter and heir, her uncle is just a stand-in as she's not legally of age. I arrived less than 12 hours ago and spent some of that time resting and the rest catching up on paperwork. Also, I'm not sure a single dance and a chat at an official function can be considered a love affair or you would all be guilty of infidelity. And was it not you who keeps going on about finding a wife and creating an heir? I can hardly begin doing any of that without courting first and I can't choose who to court if I don't talk to any girls as some of you have already informed me. So, tell me where I failed to properly carry out my responsibilities, or don't use such an accusatory tone with me." he warned. Silence stretched again and only he and his closest of allies ate comfortably.
Finally one of the older council members, his late grandfather's younger brother, and supporter of his eldest uncle, spoke. "I don't believe anyone has a problem with what happened but rather how you went about it. None of us were informed you'd be leaving the dukedom to participate in any high society social gatherings, and when you did it appears you were rude to all of your most prestigious potential partners snubbing them for a lower ranked noble yet didn't attempt to seek out any other potential candidates, how can you effectively look for a wife if you only speak to one girl?"
Ravi'en finished chewing before replying, "I did not warn anyone of my plans to attend the event, because I did not plan on going. However, due to circumstances out of my control, someone dared to reply to the invitation as me; stating that I would be in attendance. That kind of impersonation is illegal and potentially dangerous to our families' reputation. So I went to investigate and solve the problem.
"You will be happy to learn that that person has been dealt with and will be a threat no more. However I could not have this fictional me turn me into a lair in the eyes of the other noble families, so since I was already there with blood on my hands in the literal sense, it made more sense to drag a few animals out of the woods than a person, imagine the problems that would have caused…" was he being melodramatic? yes defiantly, but they were nobles that's what they responded to best, the truth would bore them and give them ammunition for a future attack.
"Anyway since I was already there and in need of a bath and change of clothes, I figured I'd try and listen to the advice of my esteemed council and socialize a bit. However, few would talk to me and even fewer would look me in the eye," he said staring the old man down until he looked away, he attempted to catch the gaze of his other opposition but none dared.
"A woman could get used to it after spending enough time with you."
"Hmm, call me a romantic, but I think it would be best if my wife actually liked me at least a little rather than be fearful or disgusted but able to get used to her constant state of discomfort. But on a practical note, I think it's more important for a Duchess to be of strong will and intellect, more so than have a high rank or come from money. As there is no female outside our family tree with as strong a name or as much wealth or power it seems pointless to settle for someone of mediocre pedigree but of useless skills. A wife won't bring with her all her family's wealth or power anyway, so what's the point? Would not a weak and useless wife be more likely to produce weak and useless offspring?"
He only got a few bites in this time before someone spoke "What is it about this Earls daughter that makes you think she'd make a good duchess?"
"Now that is the most intelligent question so far. I can't say for sure if she would make a good duchess after only a few short conversations at a social gathering where people often act outside the borders of their true character. However, I can say this: she caught my eye by being different, by being stronger and braver than the rest, honestly braver than some men as she could look me in the eye without flinching," he said pointedly eyeing some of the men at the table.
"So to fully answer your question, I believe that is what the courting process is for… So I guess in order to find out I'd have to court her… Not a bad idea Dale" he said giving his opposition the credit for the idea and some of the others gave Dale dirty looks as he tried to sink into the back of his chair.
"When will you ask her out for a formal outing?" his mother asked barely masking her excitement.
"I have not thought of that yet, but I don't think it needs to be decided on tonight," he said trying to hint that planning a date with half the family council present wasn't something he wanted to do.
"Is she pretty?" his sister asked.
"…Yes," he said honestly.
"What's she like?"
"Brave, funny, and unpredictable," he said. He heard a few sounds of displeasure at this comment and was smugly satisfied by it, she would be hard for them to control and manipulate, and would also annoy the people who annoyed him the most, it felt like Karma at its best.
His sister grinned "I can't wait to meet her."
He allowed a small smile happy that she was happy. He was also a little impatient to see Kassidy again, to make sure she was ok after the murder attempt, of course.
He soon finished eating, downed his water, and got up to leave. "I've still got a lot of paperwork to catch up on, so please don't disturb me unless it's time-sensitive." He specified rather than important; knowing only half the conversation was over for tonight and not wanting anyone using one of the million important matters he was responsible for as an excuse.
He only finished one document before Gilbert arrived and took a seat where his sister had sat before and grabbed one of the cookies she'd left behind. "Nice performance, if I hadn't seen you obsess over her first hand I might actually believe your cold and rational portrayal of events."
"So there was more to the story, I knew it." His mother said walking in followed by his little sister and youngest Uncle Larson and to his surprise his grandmother Arlyn. She showed up to nearly all council-related matters but never picked sides and only spoke to shame the rest of the council when they acted too childish for her liking.
He stood and bowed his head in respect then crossed over to see if anyone else had followed and shut the two doors leading to his office. Gilbert offered his seat to the elder and sat instead on the couch on the other side of the table. He sat beside his friend and faced the curious stares aimed his way.
"What?" he asked.
"Tell us everything that happened" his mother demanded excitedly.
"I thought you'd have something more pressing to discuss. Did you already mail the investigation request?"
"I did, I even requested they provide a guard detail and test all her food and drink until she arrived safely back home and that we would compensate them for the labor costs."
He nodded though he still worried that the missive would arrive too late She may have already left for her own territory, or be trapped surrounded by potential enemies until her aunt recovered enough to travel.
"They likely won't try again so soon after a failed attempt because they'd be more likely to get caught with everyone being on guard and all." Larson offered encouragingly.
"Don't worry dear, once it's known she's under our protection, a person would have to have a death wish to try and harm her."
"You may be right but would anyone be wishing her dead if I hadn't made her a target?" he asked fealing guilty.
"You really do like her don't you?" his mother asked beaming.
"It's not what you think," he said trying to think of how best to explain.
"No it's so much worse, he fell head over heels after his very first encounter." Gilbert egged elbowing him.
"That's not even remotely true" It was going to be a while before he could get back to his paperwork...