Ah.. Hello, Aunty!

Evening comes on apace, and once more Tathar slips out of the Bragollach manor, where she has been staying at the insistence of Gweneth the younger. And quite likely others of the household as well. The lady has changed her gown this time she is wearing a dark green dress as plainly styled as the others, and of as fine material and workmanship. She seems to have no errand, but wanders among the trees that line the street, with a small vertical frown between her eyebrows. There are a few others walking here also, but most seem to have somewhere to go, and none linger or pause to talk.

There are two women who stride with purpose along the Maiden Street, their skirts fluttering about their ankles. The one at the fore is most clearly in charge, for she is an older woman, dark hair pulled back into a tight bun and shot through with slivers of gray. She is also most richly dressed, class in a deep purple dress with gold at the sleeves, waist and throat, and yet further glints of gold and silver from the jewelry upon her fingers and about her neck. The second woman is plain by comparison, and much younger - a lady\'s maid, no doubt - and she carries with her a basket of wrapped goods.

With such command of authority does the older woman and her servant pass along the street that almost they do not notice the plainly-dressed girl in green who wanders amidst the trees. Yet seen she is at last, and the older woman stops abruptly, lifting her chin to look at Tathar down her patrician nose. A look halfway between surprise and indignation jumps to the face of Celanewen Nimothan. \"Tathar Nimothan?\" says Celanewen. Her maid backs a step away.

A Blue Squire of the Order of the Swan is here as well, stepping to one side and nodding slightly as the older woman and her maid pass, then turning to continue on his way. Menelglir stops, though, catching sight of the woman in green, and she too gets a nod from him. \"Lady Draudagnir.\"

Tathar\'s head jerks up in surprise, and she actually *gasp* /stares/ at Celanewen and her maid for a moment, before swallowing and dropping a curtsey. \"Lady Celanewen,\" she says faintly.

Someone else calls her name just then, and she glances over, and tries to smile. \"Squire.\"

Lady Celanewen draws herself up to her fullest height when the young woman does nothing at first but stare, then belatedly drop a curtsey. The Blue Squire receives not even a glance from the older woman until he gives a brief greeting to Tathar, and then Celanewen turns to him and regards him with a thoroughly offended expression. \"She is a Lady of House Nimothan, boy. See that you address as such.\" And back then to Tathar do the older woman\'s gray eyes go, and the offended expression remains.

\"Tathar, what on earth are you dressed like a common maid for? And doing here! In Minas Tirith and you have failed even to inform the family of your esteemed husband? And to make no mention of the horrible rumors.\" All of this rolls off of Lady Celanewen\'s tongue quickly, giving the stark impression that the old lady is well accustomed to ordering her lessers about.

\"M\'lady, of course,\" Menelglir colors, a proper bow given to the older woman. \"But forgive me..she is Lady Tathar Nimothan? I ...I did not know. As for the rumors, well things are settled out nicely, m\'lady. I trust...\" he looks to Tathar, that you are not terribly wounded?

Tathar swallows again. This elderly lady has the ability to reduce her to a teenager, being scolded by her father. Her gaze darts to Menelglir, then back to Celanewen - what to answer first? \"I am terribly sorry you were distressed by any rumors,\" she manages at last. \"I came to Minas Tirith only a few days ago I ... I could not bear to stay at home.\"

Another glance at Menelglir and she says in a subdued voice, \"Thank you, I am well.\" She gives her aunt-in-law an agonized glance, then lifts her chin a little and says, \"And yourself? How is your hand?\"

\"I\'m glad to hear it, m\'lady,\" Menelglir answers the younger woman, looking relieved at her news. \"My arm had a nasty cut on it, but I put some salve that I had on it. I should perhaps see my cousin, Lady Laeraelin. Or the healers, to see how the Lieutenant is. You wield a wicked sword,\" He grins.

Tathar looks alarmed, and makes a motion with her hand, hopefully out of sight of Celanewen, trying to hush the Squire up.

Young, innocent, and only too happy to find a familiar face in Minas Tirith, Menelglir looks puzzled at the hand gesture. His head tilts, and he blinks, then....\"Oh!\" He blushes.

\"A...wicked sword?\" says Lady Calenewen at last, tipping her brow forward and raising her brows as if having just received a confession from the Stealer of the Cookies. She has watched the brief exchange between the two younger people with an expression both indignant and disbelieving. \"Young Squire, who are you to speak so?\" she says, turning her hawk-like gaze on the boy just as he seems to realise Tathar is shushing him. \"A Lady of House Nimothan does -not- wield a sword--\"

Suddenly the older woman sucks in a sharp breath and her gaze goes straight to Tathar, her mouth hanging open in disbelief for a fraction of a second. \"Oh dear Eru, Tathar. These rumors are not true, it cannot be. Speak now, young lady. I would hear you speak the truth, say you have not drawn sword against an Ambassador of the Haradrim, against a man under the -Steward\'s protection-.\" Her tone is not angry, but it verges on horror.

\"Forgive me, m\'lady, Menelglir Telpekhor at your service,\" the Squire bows quickly. \"Cousin of Lady Laeraelin. Perhaps you know her? She is a healer..\" The Blue Squire\'s attempt to diffuse the situation fizzle under the older woman\'s hawkish gaze. \"I ...uh...it was perfectly proper, m\'lady! And...and..I am at fault! Entirely my fault!\"

Tathar takes a deep breath, and then she straightens her shoulders and says, gently, \"I\'m sorry, Aunt. I did. I regret it deeply, it was not the action of a Lady of honor. Beren...\" She stops, her face filled with grief. It is then that Menelglir speaks up, and Tathar is shaken out of her sorrow. \"He seeks only to protect me,\" she says, her voice dull. \"He was in no way at fault.\"

\"Oh!\" Lady Calenewen exclaims as if her worst fears have been confirmed and she claps a bony hand to her mouth. She holds it there until both Tathar and Menelglir are finished speaking. Then she closes her eyes, as if stealing herself to confront a most terrible sight. \"In no way at fault? And where then did you find a sword?\" says Calenewen, giving Menelglir a dirty look, regardless of whoever his cousin is. \"And what in Eru\'s name were you doing wielding it?\"

Back to Menelglir. \"And how could you let a respectable woman do such a thing, Squire?\" And back to Tathar again. \"It is not -proper-, Tathar. You are a Lady of noble birth. Is it not enough that you do not even honor your husband\'s family by calling upon them when you come to Minas Tirith, that you must attack one of the Steward\'s own protected?\"

\"Sirs Gwendion and Findon both would disagree with you, m\'lady,\" Menelglir quietly reminds Tathar. Then, to Calenwen, he turns, lips pressed together as she angrily berates him.

\"You are,\" he says quietly, \"correct. Though m\'lady, the Knight Findon is in charge of making certain that I am thoroughly corrected. If you believe that I have not been, then he is the one to speak with. I defer to his judgement.\"

Tathar bows her head beneath the outrage and horror of the Lady. \"I am sorry, Aunt. I - \" She closes her eyes, but keeps speaking. \" - intended to come. I could not, just yet. I pray you will forgive me.\"

\"Oh of course I forgive you,\" says the older woman impatiently as if it were obvious. \"I simply do not understand--\" she sniffs pointedly \"--why you would avoid those you supposedly call family. And avoid using even the name that you have supposedly taken.\" She pauses, looking down her nose at Menelglir for a second, as if deciding whether it is worth personally speaking with a mere squire\'s superior. In the end, she says nothing at all in response to his offer.

Another pointed sniff. \"Well, the least that you might do is explain why you attack the Ambassador. And why you insist on dressing in such ill-befitting attire.\" The last, a reference to Tathar\'s plain green dress, seems almost as grievous an offense as the first for the Lady Celanewen.

Menelglir stands stoically under the woman\'s scrutiny, though he exhales quietly once she turns her attention back to Tathar. \"Very well, m\'lady. Sir Findon. I do recommend you consult with him on these matters.\" He bows stiffly, first to one woman, then the next. \"Good day to you both.\"

Tathar answers the last question first, as if it is perhaps the easiest though by the pain in her voice, it is clear that it is not. \"I wear this dress because it is not one that my husband got for me.\" A pause. \"I - I cannot explain why I drew the Squire\'s sword on an unarmed man. He was insulting and crude, but I ... \" For a brief second, her eyes lift to meet Celanewen\'s. \"I do not know, My Lady. I am very sorry.\"

For his repeated offer to Celanewen to check about his punishment with his commander, Menelglir receives an actual nod of gratitude from the older lady as he bids them farewell. Then Tathar replies and Celanewen\'s lips purse, but she turns instead to her maid, who has stood quietly by. \"Go onto the house, Lirinam,\" she orders quietly. Immediately the maid leaves Celanewen and Tathar.

Before Celanewen replies, she takes a deep breath through her nose and closes her eyes as if she would pinch the bridge of her nose, if it were respectable to do so in public. \"Insulting and crude is no reason to strike a man with a blade, Tathar, -especially- for a young woman. Better behavior cannot be expected of a people like the Haradrim, but we are people of Gondor, and noble blood runs through our veins. Thus must we always present ourselves.\" Although Calenewen is clearly lecturing, her voice is not unsympathetic, simply correcting.

Then her tone becomes slightly clipped, as if touchy-feely subjects are not her strong suit. \"As for your clothing, that is no excuse. Our appearance speaks as much about us as our actions. It is not -proper-. If you were so concerned for the origin of your attire, then you ought to have to come to your family and newer clothes could have been purchased. There is no excuse for a young woman of noble birth to dress like a -servant-.\"

\"Yes, Aunt,\" Tathar says. And again, \"Yes, Aunt.\"

Celanewen sniffs, clearly pleased. She does not immediately say anything further, instead looking up and down the road. \"Yes, well. Where do you stay? Will you come home now? You are not--\" a fraction\'s pause \"--the only one who mourns for Berenar. His family would most certainly welcome you, now you have returned to Minas Tirith.\"

\"Thank you, Aunt,\" Tathar says. \"I have been staying with Gweneth Bragollach, since the Draudagnir family manor is shut up. I - \" She hesitates only a moment before continuing. \" - would be glad to come home.\"

\"Yes, the Draudagnirs are not in the city at the moment,\" Lady Celanewen states obviously. \"Yes, it would be best for you to come home.\" She begins walking up the street again, clearly expecting Tathar to follow. \"And do you know if you shall face consequences for your actions?\"

Obediently, Tathar falls in step with the Nimothan lady. \"I must tell Gweneth that I am leaving,\" she says. \"Perhaps, as it is late, it would be best if I came tomorrow?\" Shadows lie long under the trees. \"No one has said anything like - like that,\" she answers at last. \"I have not yet had the opportunity to apologize in person to the ambassador, but I intend to do so as soon as I may.\"

\"Good,\" says Celanewen. \"I do not imagine you shall have much civility from him, being a man of the far south, but it must be done. I shall see what can be done on the part of House Nimothan to ensure you are protected.\" She pauses in her purposeful stride and looks up at the manor of the Bragollach family. \"Yes, perhaps it is best to wait until tomorrow. I will see that you things are fetched in the morning.\"

\"Yes, Aunt,\" says Tathar for the forty-hundredth time, just as meekly as all the prior repetitions. But there is a glint of humor in her dark grey eyes now. \"Thank you, Aunt.\" She smiles affectionately at the elderly lady.

Lady Celanewen sighs impatiently as if having just dealt with a most trying situation and her chin is thrust proudly out. \"Yes, well, do not attack any more ambassadors until then, if you please.\" She snatches up a small purse from her belt and holds it out to Tathar. It clinks and jingles. \"And find yourself a new dress until you can be fitted for some more worthy of your station. What your poor mother-in-law would think to see you thus, I shouldn\'t imagine.\" She sniffs, gives Tathar a last appraising look, then nods as if satisfied all business is finished. \"Farewell, dear girl.\"

\"Thank you, Aunt,\" Tathar repeats, smiling. And demurely, \"I shall try not to.\" She lets her eyes twinkle, and then accepts the purse, protesting only a little. \"I have enough, truly...\" But the lady is determined, and Tathar gives way. She watches as the older lady marches away, and says under her breath, \"I think she would only be sad that such dresses are so limiting on horseback!\" Grinning, she turns and goes into the house she left such a little time ago.