Special Christmas 2020
Two Chapters this week...
Merry Christmas
I
-°-oOo-°-
Chapter Ten: Home sweet Home
I
-°-oOo-°-
Pemberley
I
-°-oOo-°-
October 1823
I
-°-oOo-°-
- Home sweet Home, whispered Jane as soon as she entered the Great Entry Hall of Pemberley.
- We feel the same with you back with us, Madame d'Arcy, said Mrs. Reynolds while trying to do her most regular curtsey.
Jane stopped her before she could even begin by embracing her.
- Don't be silly, Mrs. Reynolds, you are part of the family and way too precious to act like an ordinary servant.
- If I don't curtsey when seeing a Duchess who's also a very lovely Human Being, who am I going to greet in the future?
- Napoleon likes it to be greeted with pomp and formalism. Do it for him and let us just show our shared pleasure to be, once more, together.
Mrs. Reynolds nodded but still looked Jane in the eyes. The Mistress was back in Hyderabad with the Vice Roy and would arrive later. Probably not before the second week of November.
Jane d'Arcy had come to prepare everything for the next arrivals.
- Are you better, your Grace?
- I am, indeed. I was so enthralled with my duties that I really forgot to take care of myself.
- It's the Housekeeper's duty to see such things, Mrs. Jane. And I must admit that I didn't see anything at all.
- We've been out of Pemberley for more than nine months, Mrs. Reynolds! And even if I know now that I was already tired last winter, the real exhaustion came over me when I was in India.
Jane couldn't help but sigh.
- Don't take me wrong, I love the people there, but I will admit that the Climate is not a favorite of mine. Everything there is out of proportion. The heat is scorching, and the rain is more of a perpetual deluge than anything else. We got a rainy day when in Longbourn and I will admit that I rediscovered the happiness of feeling a drizzle moistening my face and hands… Monsoon in India is a never-ending downpour that makes you believe that it would be faster to swim along the roads. We did, Lizzy and I, mostly succeed in our endeavor but it was a lot more difficult than I would have thought.
She shook her head.
- I was too optimistic on many levels before accompanying Lizzy oversea. India is another world with other customs, and I do really fear that it will take more than a few decades to get our Indian sisters out of the worst conditions they currently live in. I just hope that we won't need centuries…
Mrs. Reynolds smiled at the woman who was, if clearly not Pemberley's Mistress, which was a role she would never usurp while under her sister's roof, more or less Pemberley's heart.
- Since when have you began to measure progress like a bookkeeper, your Grace? We are no accountants here. Remember that it's the journey that is the most pleasant part of a trip, not the reaching of the goal. Just do as you've done here on the British Islands. Do what you feel you need to do and sail with the wind. And one day, as it had happened here, you'll note that you've reached your goal and that the people have changed for the best.
- You really believe it could be so easy?
- I never said it would be easy, your Grace. Just that, if you begin to focus on the target you'll lose faith. Just add little changes one at a time and forget the ultimate result you want to reach. There are goals that are too far away to even consider monitoring one's progress. Embrace it like the Spring Cleaning in Pemberley. One room after the other and one day you'll have reached the cellar and know that you are done…
- Until the following Spring…
- Indeed, until the following Spring, but that's why there are Housekeepers, maids and cleaning staffs. And even if it gives you the impression that it is each year a perpetual start over, from my perspective it isn't the case at all. Because each year we not only clean the rooms, but for quite a few of them, we refurbish and for half a dozen of them we restore them. Which means that when comes the Summer, Pemberley is not only cleaned up but transformed and upgraded. And with the myriad of new inventions Sir Charles comes up each year, Pemberley is even upgraded year after year. Happily for everybody here the family is rich enough to finance the perpetual upheaval that seems to be this House's current fate.
- Regretting the quiet times before the Bennet tsunami invaded your ancestral home, Mrs. Reynolds?
- Not even for a second, your Grace, I was hoping that the next Mrs. Darcy would be better suited to have children and would have the strength to reassure the Master that one could bear children without dying but never would I have imagined what we got. Who would have bet that not only would the new mistress would look at giving birth in such a favorable way but give birth to such a satisfying new generation of Darcys!
- We Bennets do, indeed, tend to love our offspring in a very un-aristocratic manner. The Countess of Pembroke is always very shocked by the bad habits we Bennets have brought into the ton! It seems that we've given bad examples from the very beginning.
- Don't let you impress by the Countess' official behavior, your Grace. I have it from Pembroke Manor's Housekeeper that when alone with her children she's a lot less… Aristocratic that she would want the world to believe. And since the Earl is very much in love with Charles Augustus' fine mind they are a lot less aloof with their Heirs than what the Countess likes to show.
Jane couldn't help but laugh at the discovery of a Housekeepers' secret network.
- So, you Housekeepers have secret means to communicate?
- We have telephones and we know how to use them, your Grace. And we like to be informed about what's coming up in the other Households.
She let a small, satisfied smile appear on her lips.
- I will confess that since that thing has been invented by your brother's scientists I do spend quite a lot of hours a week listening to colleagues or giving advice to some new comer in the business.
Her smile grew into a real existence.
- And I will admit that we, here, were at the very center of the spread of toilets all over Britain's Manors. Having all the different models already installed my advice was very welcome in all the other Households about what model was the best.
She shook her head.
- I still hate the ones in the third level, your Grace. Those things are awful to clean and tend to overflow the toilet's surroundings.
- I'm quite sure that Charles has even forgotten about their existence, Mrs. Reynolds. We should perhaps use the coming Spring to upgrade the third level with the more recent and less… Splashy models of toilets. I believe that there has been a new generation of seats that no longer need to be placed on supports but can be fixed within the wall -they call them sillily floating toilets- but they do facilitate the cleaning of the floors in the toilets. I'm quite sure the servants will love to no longer be obliged to kneel to get behind the supporting tower.
- Would you have the manufacturer's address?
Jane couldn't help but laugh out aloud.
- Gardiner and Bingley & family?
Mrs. Reynolds looked at her hands while shaking her head.
- Sorry to have asked, I should have known… I'm just not really capable of accepting that the family is meddling in trade and manufacturing. It seems that we old retainers are even more class bent than the ton.
- Don't be sorry, even if it is more and more the case, we still are the one family whose real fortune is based on trade. The others meddle a lot less…
Jane took Mrs. Reynold's arm and began to whisper.
- So, you have news about the Pembrokes'?
- I do and, like here, most of the gossip turns around the kids. Young Gwennhifar is a lot less…
She took a second to find a word that wouldn't look condescending.
- Proud than her mother. She's interested in the Household's affairs and is very able to listen to the advice of the staff…
Jane had no problem to hear the "unlike her mother" comment…
- But the Pembroke staff is quite proud with young Charles Augustus. He seems to have the Biorna ability with science and technology and quite a few rooms in the cellar have been dedicated to the young Lord's fascination for science. He's smart and wants to become a scientist. And since scientists are, nowadays, viewed a lot more favorably than ten years ago, it could even happen that he gets what he wants.
- Those news are quite fascinating, my dear. How could we have ignored for so long such a tremendous gossip network? Does Lizzy know?
- I have no idea, your Grace. I think not. We do not gloat with it…
- You should, really you should. We'll have to inform Aunt de Bourgh about it. I'm quite sure that she will immediately see all the advantages such a network is able to provide?
- Able to provide, your Grace?
- You won't forget that we are political beasts in the family, will you? Having feelers in every British Household will give us a tremendous advantage when it comes to further our cause, Mrs. Reynolds.
- We don't spy upon our Masters, protested the Housekeeper.
- And we won't ask details of singled-out families, my dear. But we will use your network to get a feeling about how the ton will react before we launch another risky string of reforms. It will help us to avoid wasting time and resources trying things that won't ever get through the Parliament.
She sighed heavily.
- As I have felt it for the last months, our time and energy is clearly finite. We can't do everything at the same time without breaking down. And if we have means to avoid making mistakes it will help us a lot.
Mrs. Reynolds nodded while being pulled to the second floor that was, more even than the Master's apartment, the heart of Pemberley.
She had to admit that never, even in her weirdest dreams would she have imagined such a special Nursery built within the main House. The fact that said Nursery had been in non-stop use for the last twenty years was something that, day after day, filled her with pride and satisfaction.
I
-°-oOo-°-
- Of course, I know about it, said her Aunt. My daughter informed me of its existence two years ago.
Jane could feel a tingle on the line. As if the Dragon was oozing satisfaction.
- I suspect her to have initiated the whole thing but I have no proof. It's the sort of things she comes up with from time to time. Gathering information is like a second nature for her and the Housekeepers do know quite a lot about their families.
- Does she spy on the phones of those Manors?
- I have no idea and I have no intention to ask. What do you believe?
Jane didn't answer but she did suspect that listening to phone calls would be a major part of Anne's information gathering ring.
- You are probably right not to ask, said Jane. It is never pleasant to be lied to.
- Indeed, acknowledged Countess de Bourgh. I've heard that you had a break down?
- I wasn't that far yet but it would have happened sooner or later. Luckily my mates have been attentive and have taken measures to stop the fall. And how are you, my dear?
- Old and painful and a pain in everyone's ass in London. I'm alive and everyday I'm feeling very good about myself and my new role. The only thing I mildly regret is that since I'm a member of the King's family I will forever be barred from becoming Prime Minister. It is frustrating since I'm sure that I would have been the best Prime Minister for decades.
- And I agree with you on that point, acknowledged Jane. You have the perseverance of a fox terrier and the ruthlessness of a rattle snake. The absolute best combo to defend the Commonwealth.
- I should frown at your comparisons, Niece, but since that's exactly how I like to see myself, I will forgive you the lack of politeness you are showing to the family's alpha female.
- Thank you very much, Aunt…
- No problem, as you know I quite like you.
- Still under my mother's dietary spell?
- And prospering because of it, dear. That and the bug have given me the health of a pair of warhorses. I look like a frail old woman but it is only a clever disguise. Within there's a hungry she-wolf pouncing towards the fool who hasn't made his research about me.
Jane felt the smile on her Aunt's face.
- Politics are the ultimate fun for a schemer of my proportions, Niece. And since I do see that my actions and bills do have favorable issues, I'm not yet ready to give up even a small part of the power I've grabbed during these last decades.
- Sorry about the Darcy Law, Aunt. We didn't see it coming.
- You played no role in its happenstance, dear. It's all because of my dear son-in-law whose political multi-leveled scheming exploded in our faces. We should all have seen it coming. I remember that I, myself, have warned Anne about the reactions his candidacy could provoke. And we got exactly that…
Jane could only silently agree.
The Darcy Law had been a plan concocted by the Monarchists -Aunt de Bourgh's own Party- to shatter any possibility for George Darcy to ever become Prime Minister. He had failed with his first attempt by only three ballots and that tiny outcome had scared shitless a great majority of the Monarchists who loathed George with an ardor even Fitzwilliam couldn't match. The fact that said attempt wasn't a real attempt at all, but a family plot to get Reginald Ploughton, the Liberal Party's Leader, in the Prime Minister's seat had never been revealed by anyone. But nobody had had any doubt that, next time, George would win. Hence the Darcy Law that prevented any member of the King's family to become Prime Minister.
Of course, knowing George's fighting spirit, it hadn't surprised any of his enemies that he had decided to fight back. He hadn't taken the whole plot with coolness and there was currently an Appeal before the Royal High Court to determine in exact words who was really excluded from the possibility to become Prime Minister. George was arguing that if he was, without a doubt, blood related with the Vice-Roy there was nothing of the sort between him and the current Monarch's Dynasty. There were indeed legal strings between said Monarch and him, but those strings couldn't be held against him. A lot of Attorneys in Law were currently making a lot of money battling around that case, but the end of the Appeal was not anticipated for quite a few more years. Especially because Anne herself was doing everything in her power to have her husband's appeal being rejected.
Countess de Bourgh was, to her dismay, a collateral damage of the Darcy Law.
- But I won't abandon my dream to see a woman become Prime Minister, said the Countess. And since I can't push Ann to follow in my footsteps, I'll do it for one of my followers. I'm currently teaching a score of very promising young women the strings of successful politicking. One of them will blossom into the scheming rattle snake we need at the helm of the Commonwealth. It's fun to see them hesitating between backstabbing each other or cooperating.
- Isn't it harsh on them?
- They are ambitious and reckless, dear. Like every candidate to the highest office should be. I don't give a damn if they trace their way to the top by killing out the competitors. I want them to be able to stand proudly and efficiently against men like Napoleon, Yongling Emperor or Selim the Third. Facing those men down will not be an easy task and I will do my utmost to get the best of them at the top.
- She'll have William at her side…
- I want to be sure that she doesn't need William at her side to be successful. We are going towards new political realities where the Prime Minister will be at the center of the political play. That's why we need those who want to reach the top to be the best and the most loyal people around. But being good and loyal isn't enough to survive in the Political arena. You need good instincts and the will to kill on sight any enemy who's about to strike against you.
Jane could feel that another smile was on Aunt de Bourgh's lips.
- You are one the best and you are loyal to a fault but should you ever fall into the political pit you wouldn't survive a second.
- Don't be so sure about that, countered Jane. I've developed a ruthlessness that, from time to time, surprises even me. I would probably survive an hour or two… But you are right I'm not cut to be a politician. But there are quite a few around me who have not my fallibilities.
- I don't want to shatter your illusions, but none of the men in the family, outside of George, is a political animal. Your husband would, of course, survive if dumped into the political arena but nobody else but him would come out of that grinder alive. And to make good politics you need to be at least a score or two. Without competitors and rivals, it's a lot less fun, dear.
Jane could hear Aunt de Bourgh famous sarcastic laugh.
- But you really need nobody else since you have me and George to defend the family's interests. We are good at our job and we will, as we did with Ploughton, bring the right man to the front even if we look as we are trying to get him out of the game. Getting your enemies to choose the man, or the woman, whom you believe would be best for the circumstances, is the optimum of the game and I'm quite proud of George and myself to have been able to manipulate our enemies into choosing him.
There was a silence.
- Thompson would have been a lot more difficult to steer. He's a Socialist to the core and he would have fought to disrupt what they call the Company's monopolistic schemes.
- We are present everywhere on the world's surface, the Company's losses would have been minimalistic.
- It's not about the Company, dear, it's about the Commonwealth. Those socialists have no idea -apart from spending other people's money- how to maintain a country's wealth at the highest. They tend to share the wealth that does only exist in their minds. They are the Commonwealth's true enemies and we have been incredibly happy to thwart their first attempts at taking over the Liberals. Fortunately for us those so-called friends of the people have, all of them, a real fascination for personal wealth and discreet money. They are the Champions of Greed and Embezzling. And we've got quite a few interesting facts about every one of them. Should they try to play the 'take the rich's money game' we'll come out with a few stories they won't survive politically.
- Are they really deserving your wrath?
- Of course, they do and then some more. Falsehood is their middle name, dear. They play the virtuous friend of the poor while doing everything in their power to get money from every possible outside source. They are nasty, false and manipulative creeps. Would I not take such pleasure in crushing them when they believe that they are about to get what they lust for, I would have asked Fluffy to dehydrate them alive a long tie ago…
- You know about Fluffy?
- I'm an old woman who's specialized in gossip for more than half a century and a shrewd politician who's had access to a lot of weird stuff along the years, don't you think that a pet like Fluffy will, over the years, have generated some odd rumors? And once you've heard the rumors you just have to make your investigations or, like I did, ask Anne. I wasn't, in the beginning, sure about how to feel about that family involvement but I will admit that since you were able to cope with that association, I'd just accept that it is alright and not a soul-selling bargain with the Devil.
- It's not, said Jane. Not because it is not wrong to use her to do some unpalatable things, but that, if you can believe the men around me, comes with the turf, but because there is no Devil. There is only God and the balance of your actions during your life. In the end, when you, at last, face Him, it will be your own actions that will earn you your next crucible.
- So, you've joined the Indian Theologues' point of view…
- I have joined what looks as being compatible with a God of Love and Compassion. Hell isn't something he would have created so I no longer believe in another hell but the one we create around us while we live in contradiction with His laws.
- Someday when I am a little more depressed than I'm currently, I'll come to you and let you explain to me how you see our interactions with God. For now, I'll just go on doing what I like to do and enjoy every second of it. It did come late in my life but I'm quite sure that it came at the same time you and your husband decided to disturb my bitter excuse of a life.
There was a silence.
- Did I ever thank you for that?
- You did and you even asked for forgiveness for what you considered harsh words.
- Good, said finally the Countess. It needed to be done and I would have regretted not to have done it. In the now and here and even more in the then and above. Thanks for your call and don't hesitate to call as often as you need it. It's always a pleasure…
I
-°-oOo-°-
- Is that a bevy of deer on the lawn?
Mrs. Reynolds looked up and sighed.
- It is and since we no longer hunt them they are quite bold in their behavior.
Jane frowned in the Housekeeper's direction.
- Why have we stopped hunting them? They do tend to eat and destroy my preferred flower beds.
- No, they don't, said Mrs. Reynolds. They never go near the flower beds and they no longer destroy the trees' bark. It's part of the deal…
- The deal? What deal?
Mrs. Reynolds made a funny face.
- You should perhaps speak about that with young Lionel. He's probably able to explain it in coherent and understandable words.
Jane frowned at what looked like embarrassment in the trusted Housekeeper's attitude.
- I certainly will, said she. But meanwhile could you try to explain in simple and basic words what sort of deal exist that didn't exist a few months ago?
- Well it began with the appearance of the Dolphins in the Lake last summer.
- Dolphins? I was aware of Wave having been brought over by Speedy but she was alone last time I saw her in the lake.
- Well, the kids wanted to invite the pod. And the witches did something with the lake in order to give the pod the possibility to move between their Island in the South Sea and here. Last time I saw them it was in September. They don't like the Climate here in Winter…
Jane took a long breath.
- Alright, there is pod of Dolphins that comes and goes between here and the South Sea in Summer. I'd say it is surprising but not too much…
She looked at Mrs. Reynolds.
- How does the presence of a pod of Dolphins explain the deal with the deer?
- Well, your Grace, the deal isn't with the deer. It is with the extended Grove.
- The Extended Grove? Is that different form the Grove that doesn't exist over there?
- It is the same but… Extended. It now covers the whole of the Estate and a few thousand acres more. There's more or less a circle of land that the Grove has taken over…
- Taken over?
- Well, it is mostly beneficial, you should look at the Garden's yield these last months. We still have tomatoes growing in the covered gardens.
- Mostly? There are things that are not as usual?
- Some, said Mrs. Reynolds. There's no snow, for instance… We've had the first snow falls this autumn, but the Estate reacts differently than the surrounding country.
Jane couldn't help but frown.
- Differently?
- Well, all around here there was a few inches of snow, but here the temperature was too warm to let it hold on the ground… It lasted only a few days but with the airships always flying over the Estate's borders, it has been noted. There are quite a lot of weird rumors running amok all over Great Britain.
She snickered.
- The last rumors is, and it is not surprising, about Sir Charles' and a new force shield he and his scientist had been testing in Pemberley. Some magnetic field that has been created to protect the Estate.
- And people do believe such rumors?
- Not all the people but, if you judge on what some newspapers have printed, most journalists are persuaded that it is the explanation.
- Well, since it clearly isn't a Bingley Force-field, what is the explanation?
- I'm not sure, your Grace. I believe it has links with the children. I don't know exactly what they have done, but it has happened before they departed to Spalatro. It could be that the Circle knows more but I was reluctant to show too much curiosity. I know that they are friends of the family, but they still are witches…
She made a face.
- One does not bother witches without reason.
Jane nodded before taking a long breath.
- I'll have to investigate. Do you know where I will be able to find Tilana?
- I'd say between the lake and the Grove, your Grace. That's were they are usually doing what witches do.
I
-°-oOo-°-
- What happened with the Grove?
Tilana looked up from what she was doing with the rest of the circle and pouted.
- Good Morning, Enlighted One, said she finally. Let's say that it has grown… And we missed I for quite a long time. We should have thought about it before but we didn't and even if I believe that we wouldn't have been able to restrain it, we at least could have taken measures to better hide the consequences.
- What happened in particular?
- Well, we happened first, and the Grove began to be able to store the excess energy we do produce while weaving. Of course, the Grove grew with its energy storage and began to reacquire old skills it had renounced to because of its lack in energy.
She took a long breath.
- At first, we have been able to restrict the Grove's interference to things that wouldn't be visible. Things like healing trees and providing animals with better food sources. Last Seasons the lands of the Estate and probably twice as many in the surroundings have yielded almost twice as much fodder or grain than any former year. The farmers and the Retainers haven't complained and would have gone on not complaining had we not recently had the problem with the first snow…
Tilana shrugged and sighed lengthily.
- We did note that around the Grove the temperatures were changing. The same thing had existed for centuries around the Gandara nodes giving us a milder Climate than the surrounding valleys. The weather here has become milder in Summer and warmer in winter. Even the rain has been adapted to fall in the night and very seldom falls during the day. The Grove does what is in its power to adapt the Climate to increase the livability of its surroundings.
- Which is a good thing, said Jane. But…
- But we've just forgotten that if people don't really feel the differences in temperature, snow is just a physical phenomenon that needs certain temperatures to appear. One or two degrees more and snow becomes immediately rain. And a week ago we've got a cold wave that was just at the limit of producing snow. But only outside the Estate, not inside…
Tilana made no effort to look apologetic.
- And, under normal circumstance in any other place in the world, nobody would have thought about the why of a weird limit between the snow-covered country and the uncovered Estate.
Jane nodded her understanding.
Of course, with Pemberley an inescapable part of any flight from Scotland to England and reverse, Pemberley was overflown by at least a score of passenger airships every day. And there would be more during the Season.
- But for the airships that fly over Pemberley on a regular basis.
- But, indeed for the Airships and the amateur photographers who are always aboard. I'm quite sure that the phenomenon has been shown on every British and non-British broadcasting agency screen around the world.
- Hence the rumors about Charles' Force-shield.
- It is no rumor; your brother was interviewed in relation to the unsnow-circle and his commentaries -and his absence of denials when the journalists asked him about the reality of such force-fields- have stirred up a lot of speculations all around the world.
Jane shook her head once more before her smile was back. Charles was, deep down a real Irish prankster, and she could literally see him bask in the light of a scheme constructed to deceive the always too curious journalists.
- Well, I suppose Charles will use what happened to urge his scientists to find a way to produce just what the journalists believed to be at the center of the mystery. But…
And here she pointed at the bevy of deer grazing lazily a few hundred meters away.
- And they are there because of the Grove too?
- Only in part, answered Tilana. Now that the Estate is surveyed by the Grove, it has adapted the physical circumstances to be easier on Nature and the grass around here is richer than normal grass at this season. As are the apples, the turnips or the pears.
- But why aren't those animals afraid of us?
- That will probably be because the little ones have begun to confer with the Grove's Spirits.
Jane wasn't normally a worrier, at least not more than any normal mom having giving birth to upgraded smart and curious kids whose negotiation skills seemed to have been borrowed from the most wicked London Attorneys, but when informed that the little ones had been conferring with the Grove she couldn't help but feel a cold hand running down her spine.
- Conferring?
- I wasn't part of the conference, so, I'm unable to say what they conferred about, but we've seen the results all around us.
- As in seeing a bevy of deer grazing the lawns in bright day light?
- And foxes no longer trying to pilfer the henhouses, or mice having stopped to invade the main building to stay in the sheds and the stables.
- And the cats no longer chasing them?
- That is not possible, Enlighted One. Cats don't obey to Spirits when it comes to hunting preys. Cats are, you've probably noted, all in all, bad at obedience. But since the Spirits are now surveying the Estate's wildlife, the cats have quite a few problems to surprise their prey. It still happens since some mice are silly, but smart mice do survive a lot easier these last months.
- So, when all is said and told, life had become easier for everyone in and around the Estate?
- But for the temperature problem that has made the temperature limit a lot easier to observe.
- But we still will have snow here, won't we?
- Of course, there will be snow later in the year when the temperature falls really under the freezing point. It just happened because the temperature was exactly around the freezing point which was just unfortunate. And there are solutions to avoid it in the future. We've discussed with the Spirits and they do have the means to control the temperature in either direction. In a couple of weeks, the deer and the other herbivores will have enough fat reserves to survive more easily to the rigors of the incoming winter. At that moment, the Grove will cease to interfere with the weather by increasing the temperature. In fact, the Grove will do the reverse and lower it.
- It can lower the temperature?
- It does it every day in Summer, Enlighted One. And lowering the temperature is a way for the Spirits to store the energy of the sun to use it at other times. The Grove knows that a more viable earth is also the nest of a glut of harmful creatures like parasites and disease bearing bugs. The earth needs to be gotten rid of them and freezing cold is the perfect tool for that. So, no need to be worried, it will be cold and in the next weeks lots of snow will fall in and around the Estate…
Jane nodded and smiled at the little groups of women.
- I'll call Charles and we will build on that force-field rumor. It just seems the perfect explanation. I'm sure that Napoleon is, as we speak, howling in frustration at his spy master.
- You seemed to like him last time he came…
- I do like him, Tilana. He's funny, he's charming and he is the archetype of the bad guy we women easily fall for. And he is the man who makes my best friend a happy woman! Add to that that I really admire his brilliance and you would have the perfect friend. Were it not for his greed and his very childish need to always have better toys than his neighbors! One should think that a man who is amongst the smartest people Earth has ever produced should be able to fathom the silliness of those jealousy outbreaks.
- Nobody's perfect, your Grace. We have all our foibles. Be they within or around…
She snickered at Jane's meaningful expression.
- Mine seems to be the man I chose to have at my side. Bad guy one could indeed call him…
- That's probably because we love honesty, said Jane with a mischievous smile. And, perhaps because we love a challenge. Everybody has a dark side but choosing to wear that dark side like a badge of honor is awfully sexy, wouldn't you agree, dear?
- I do but they bring with them a lot of troubles and even more responsibilities…
- We are strong and mature females, Tilana, we know quite well how to bear that sort of burden. And, with luck they will change with the passing time.
I
-°-oOo-°-
Will there be a limit?
Jane was lying in the Grove's pond and a myriad of little fish was rolling over her skin nibbling away what was no longer attached to her…
The planet and, should we be continually active, the moon. There is no possibility to extend the Planet's aura over greater distances.
But the planet is a reachable goal?
A possible goal, yes! Reachable? I don't think so. We would need to be joined by a lot of people. As a gross evaluation I'd say that one righteous weaver is able to heal and rebuild what three sloppy ones are destabilizing.
So, you are saying that a quarter of the people living in and around the Estate are Righteous?
The Grove's vicinity is a powerful amplifying tool. I'd say that one in ten of those who live on and around the Estate are what we call Righteous. And it is the Righteousness of the Druids, not the Christians. What's important is to respect the Nature's needs and to avoid everything that causes the nature to be unhealthy. Loving your fellow man should be included in the package but it isn't a necessity. You still should be able to kill each other with the usual absence of discernment. If you do it without destroying large part of the nature, it won't substantially change said Nature's yield.
Battles on the sea and above the ground are better than ground-linked battles?
Much better. But since you've opened the way to the void battles up there would be even more satisfying from our point of view. This is the only easily reachable planet you'll get for quite a long time, the sane and wise thing to do should be to ensure that it stays as pristine as possible.
With millions of people – probably even billions- living on it I fear that you won't come out of the encounter with us unscathed.
Having smart sapient entities living on a Planet who are working to fix it and render it more efficient can be a boon for any planet. There are ways for the planet to nurture you while you do your utmost to nurture her. Civilization is a fiery oven that destroys but can also create. To live together in Harmony we just need to understand what we do and find ways to correct the unescapable changes Civilization will have wrought to the planet. The way you generate power- what you call electricity- by taping the Universal General Radiation Levels of the Universe is a lot more efficient than what we can do using leylines and nodes. Putting one of your devices at the exact center of a node would mightily improve said Node's efficiency and increase its range tenfold. For those who care there are ways to rebalance what has been unbalanced by civilization. But you need to listen to the planet's needs, not use it like it belongs to you.
Is there a node in Pemberley?
The Grove is the main Node around here but there are three others. Those others are, for now, minor Nodes who are active over a few dozen yards. But you could revitalize them by placing one of your Power Generator on them. That would, within a year or two, plants do not like to be pushed into untoward directions, increase our range between ten and twelve times. And by increasing our Range we would become aware of other nodes who could be equipped with more of those GURL things you possess.
What about the teleporting abilities your leylines seem to possess?
They wouldn't be suppressed by your constructs since reemerging within one of them would probably be unhealthy. The best would be to spare the most powerful natural nodes as waystations. The Grove and its outlier in the Lake should be preserved for that usage.
But every existing node can be targeted to reemerge?
Only those with enough energy storage to recreate the voyager's body.
What happens if the node hasn't enough energy?
You reemerge in the nearest fully stocked one. Or, if nothing is within range you are sent back to the entry node. I would avoid that as often as possible since while in the leylines you are using your own life energy to survive. Being forced to go back could cost you a few months of life expectancy.
How do you find nodes?
By following leylines until you feel the node underneath. Nodes are often where leylines cross into each other. There are people who have the gift of sniffing out leylines and nodes. If you have a few of those you won't have problems to find the nodes you need.
Can nodes be discovered by weavers?
It should be possible, but you'll have to ask them. Weaving is another form of magic we just discovered. We are learning how to use it as we speak.
Jane took a few seconds to sort her thoughts. The children would be arriving the next day and she would be busy introducing them to their new rooms. She had no hope that they would willingly leave the nursery, their elder siblings had all insisted to stay together in the nursery, but the fact that they would, finally, get their own room was an extraordinarily strong signal for them. Should they want to stop being supervised by adults they now had a place to go. And considering that they were already able to stay in contact with each other even if they were a thousand miles apart, put the room ceremony under a little weaker light. But it still was a necessary symbol. Now was the time where they could have the privacy of their own rooms.
She had visited the rooms as soon as she had arrived and had been impressed by the craftmanship Pemberley's masons and carpenters had shown. It was more of a maze than a normal suite of rooms but, if she remembered well, the kids loved it to have their very own Universe. They even had a central room where they could gather whenever they wanted to be together.
They would like it and they would like it even more that each room had been created with their very specific talents in mind.
I'll go talk to the weavers about that and meanwhile thank you for the kind sharing of information. I think that we will, as a preliminary step, work towards a net that will include the totality of Derby and the Lake District. The people there are very aware that pristine nature is what brings tourists into their houses. We won't have problems to convince them to adapt their lives to be more respectful with nature.
Please show us a map to place us relatively to the territories you envision to include in our net.
Jane did as asked for.
That Lake District is quite lovely with the mountains and the lakes. We remember the time when the great Ice Giants were at work there. They did a fine work of creating a lovely landscape. You are right it will be a fine adjunction to our current place.
You were there when the Glaciers covered the Islands?
We have been there when the great Lizards were still walking the Earth and we are happy that, at last, we will be able to work with Mankind and no longer have to fear to be murdered.
We will protect you…
You will try and we are grateful for your attempts but in the long term you will be with us for only the blink of an eye…
My children and theirs will take over the duty, have no fear. The time to work together is here and we will do what's necessary to make it last.
I
-°-oOo-°-
I do love you too, my angels…
The kids' arrival has been a housewide event. Every servant, maid and groom had been there to great them when they had left the Galathea that had brought them home.
As young children were, even odd children like the last batch, they had run around, kissed all those who wanted to be kissed and had transformed what, until that very morning, had been a very busy but quiet Manor, into the liveliest of all homes.
Mrs. Reynolds had been there at her side and they soon had disappeared under the multiple layers of enthusiastic kids.
Of course, after having greeted the Humans they had seen the deer and were now busy greeting those…
- Tranquility is no longer a possibility, now, whispered Mrs. Reynolds.
- Let's not complain, we have indeed exchanged tranquility for liveliness. But, as you well know, all that energy is holding us up! And if we are focused, we should be able to gather all the crumbs of enthusiastic youth those whirlwinds are throwing like mad around them.
- You mean they are our rejuvenation therapy?
- I do and it is exactly what I need to be perfectly happy.
She let out a long happy breath.
- Now that they are back, it's really Home!
I
-°-oOo-°-
Soon to come (two days from now I hope)… A Chapter build around Anne Darcy's eldest son. He'll play a huge role in the future and I really hope you'll like what he will become. For now he's ten years old and looking for solutions...
I
-°-oOo-°-