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Twirsday, 2 Deichen, 1893 C.E.
Jimool, 20 Sajibu, 2157 T.M.L.
13 Tlanoluaoy, 7 Coatl, 6.11.2.1.8.3.8

Dear Journal,

I woke early for some reason this morning, so after doing as much as I could without Nais and warm water to get ready for the day, I took the opportunity to read the next chapter of my Aunty Ssang novel. I believe I am developing an ambition to mature and age into one of these ladies - if not Aunty Ssang herself, perhaps Mak Nur-rang who seems to have perfected the art of managing a difficult set of close relations while managing to raise perfectly nice children of her own. (Of course it was her mother-in-law who arranged her eldest son's marriage to that dreadful young woman!)

After Nais helped me get ready for the day, I went down to breakfast, exchanging greetings with Miztli in the foyer as he went out to his exercise session. My company at breakfast was reduced to Cousin Ghrus and Axolin, so a return to normal. The ironed paper that Matlal laid beside my place setting featured an article about the Empress Mhaihild incident, which was much easier to read because I knew the subject matter. The Northern Stars Line has issued a number of statements from the highest level of the company assuring their esteemed clientele that Mr dh'Lhong has been removed from the Board, and even if he is released from custody will not be allowed to travel on their vessels or take part in the running of the company. They believe he has been a singular blot on their escutcheon/honour/virtuous aspect (the Coac-htl and Imperial words don't translate exactly) and they believe that it has been excised.

It seems that I have missed a great deal of reportage in the Imperial newspapers.

I took the opportunity to ask my cousins about the word that the newspaper used to translate honour or escutcheon. The explanation of that word, and the other possible words for honour, took up most of our breakfast time, and included the specific legal term for what is damaged by libel and slander. It was very interesting, and I told my cousins so. I think that Cousin Ghrus thought that I was being polite - he had just finished a long anecdote about a Confederation political argument that had turned impolite. When I assured him that I meant what I said, he narrowed his eyes at me and asked if I was interested in politics. I replied that I appreciated the opportunity to stay abreast of current affairs and that often included the actions of politicians. He laughed and agreed with me, before returning to his hot drink.

Work in the parlor office went quickly this morning. The clerks had found several, well six, Ghaistonyc passages yesterday. Because I only see portions of Great-uncle's diary spread across several years, I lack context on these pieces but I think several of the poetical sections found close together suggest that he had suffered a personal, possibly romantic, disappointment. One, which I drew to the attention of Mr Chicmacyeimetetlitectotl, was a scathing assessment of the personality and motivations of Lord Alphai dh'Ghaifhaign whose trial for many crimes of fraud and corruption occurred shortly before my father's death. Given that Great-uncle's assessment must have been written at the beginning of Lord Alphai's career it is a pity he did not or could not act on what evidence he had. To be perfectly fair to all concerned, Lord Alphai might not have done anything criminal at that stage - Great-uncle just judged that he was not to be trusted.

Great-aunt was not at lunch - resting in her room while trying to recover from a megrim, according to Cousin Poktlilui. Cousin Poktlilui told me apologetically that Great-aunt wouldn't be able to attend tonight's dinner, and that she had to, in all good conscience, stay home to look after her. After apologising to me, she said that she had sent a note to the consul's wife saying that they were unable to attend and apologising for unbalancing her seating arrangements.

I spent the afternoon in the downstairs parlor. We received no visitors out of concern for Great-aunt's health. Halfway through the afternoon, Cousin Ghrus appeared to tell me that he too was unable to attend tonight's dinner due to the press of his official duties. He assured me that he had sent an apology for his non-attendance to our hosts, and that Axolin and Miztli would accompany me.

This is what I expected, and I must say that they handled it very well.

Nais and I had decided that I would wear the newer of the two evening gowns that I brought with me from home. With my hair up in a variation on a local style with both hair combs and pins, and the addition of a toning shawl borrowed from Cousin Poktlilui, I think that I looked very well. Cousin Poktlilui and Tehaneume came to cast an eye over me before we set out and they agreed that I had chosen the right dress and that I was well turned out. We agreed that I looked an Imperial lady.

Axolin and Miztli, on the other hand, had dressed to show that they are gentlemen, but not Imperial gentlemen. Their clothes for the evening showed less Imperial influence than usual. Miztli, I might add, has very fine calves and they were on display.

We drove to the consulate in the enclosed coach, the four of us in the body of my vehicle being my cousins, Nais, and myself. The consulate has a very superior butler, Rhaim by name, who undertook to see Nais comfortably established in the servants' hall (more a parlor I suspect from the size of the building) for the duration of the evening. Lord Elnaith came over to us as soon as the butler announced us and kissed my hand before introducing the three of us to the rest of the company. The consul and his lady wife, Lord and Lady Mhaiplaicidh dh'Arhaign, are old enough to be my parents while not being as old as my parents. Also present were Mr Dh'Bhraigh, Miss (Ghainhor) dh'Arhaign the consul's cousin and Lady Mhaiplaicidh's companion, Mr and Mrs dh'Fhogain (the consul's deputy and his wife), and their daughter, Miss Surasaina dh'Fhogain. Miss dh'Arhaign is a lady of my mother's generation who has, I think, settled comfortably into the sort of life I believe that my mother intends for me - except I don't think Mother envisages me being on a first name basis with ambassadors, admirals, generals, and dukes while travelling to far flung locations. It seems that Miss dh'Arhaign is a fourth cousin of Lord Elnaith's through his mother and hers. It would have been rude of me to ask why such a personable lady of good connections and talents has not married, so I did not.

Miss Surasaina, she has an older unmarried sister who is staying with their grandparents, is a very young lady - almost but not quite out. This evening she was invited to even up the numbers and to gain a little experience in adult social situations with a small number of attendees where she is not the focus.

Everyone asked after Great-aunt's health and I let Axolin take the lead in answering those questions. [Apparently the Right Reverend dh'Ghruaign was to have been her dinner partner, and I imagine that he spent the evening somewhere with his feet up and a good book, or playing cards with someone.]

I did wonder who Mr dh'Bhraigh was going to be paired with at dinner when a final lady, Mrs Mhumaign, joined us just before dinner was announced. I was told that she is a widow whose husband was part of the embassy staff who is currently staged here on her way home. However, given her ink-stained fingers, I would easily believe her to be a consulate staff member in her own right. I noticed through the rest of the evening that although Axolin tried to engage her in conversation several times, he was thwarted each time by Lady Mhaiplaicidh, Miss dh'Arhaign, or Mrs dh'Fhogain. Miztli was paired with Miss Surasaina at dinner and put his habitual(?) prickliness aside to make her feel comfortable. She seems a pleasant young lady and by the second course seemed comfortable in her place between Miztli and Mr dh'Bhraign.

Most of the conversation at dinner was about Lord Elnaith's family and mine. I frankly admitted that no-one else at the table, other than my cousins and Lord Elnaith, would have heard of my family - as I explained, my father was a gentleman but a provincial one who occasionally went to the provincial capital, so why would they have heard of us? Lord Elnaith, on the other hand, has a large family and extensive connections throughout the aristocracy, the Imperial kinsmen, and the Imperial family. Fortunately, no-one was trying to suggest that I am an Unsuitable Match. No doubt as a result of this trust fund I am told that I have.

In the course of our conversation I mentioned Sura's studies at Our Father of Divine Sorrows and discovered that the dh'Fhogains have a nephew who is also studying Natural Sciences there. He has mentioned her in his letters to his mother and grandmother as a "ferocious and intimidating intellect," which they have passed on to the rest of the family because she is the only young lady he has ever mentioned to them that they did not already know. I have to admit that although she is very clever, I have never thought of my younger sister as having a ferocious and intimidating intellect. Perhaps she is more competitive with other students of her own calibre around her? Or it could be that university, with its competitive examinations, is more rewarding of a competitive approach to her studies and fellow students.

After dinner the ladies withdrew to a parlor that overlooks the street and enjoyed a very good fortified wine. In among discussions comparing fortified wine, spiced tea, and kasoolht as an after dinner drink, the ladies asked me about the details of my family relationship to the Forbaigns. They also asked about my visit here and were sympathetic to the need to go through Great-uncle's personal papers and Great-aunt's physical inability to do so. I did not go into any detail on the actual process or staffing in place. Mrs Mhumaign lamented that I have been unable, so far at least, to see any of the interior of the country and recommended the althepetl of Cacahoatla if I had a choice of destinations. That led into a discussion of where the rest of the Forbaigns live and I had to admit to a vagueness of details on my part. That was when the gentlemen arrived to rescue me.

Lord Elnaith's opening conversational gambit was to ask me about my father's great-uncle, after whom I am apparently named. I can vaguely recall visiting a tall house in town when I was very small and surrounded by knees and an old man associated with the house who might have been my great-great-uncle. I can also remember wearing black clothes when I was small - which would have made sense if I was my great-great-uncle's principal heir. The older ladies agreed with me - with any of my grandparents it would have been one of my parents (given their lack of siblings) and one of my older siblings in black. Miztli confessed himself fascinated in our exercise in deciphering the accuracy and relevance of a memory fragment based on cultural norms. There then followed an interesting discussion on what constitutes evidence and the differences in the rules of evidence admissible in court within the two jurisdictions.

My only contribution was to ask for clarification on the meanings of certain words and Miss Surasasaina just listened, although she told me quietly over the tea tray later that she hadn't realised that grownups could be so excited about such things. I gave her a few hints about conversations with experts, and passionate enthusiasts, and the sort of people who think they've had a good conversation if the other person listens and makes appropriate noises or asks intelligent questions at the right point. Her mother heard the end of my advice and agreed with most of it, and added that if you remember even one or two points of their discussion, or the general thrust of their discussion and its conclusion, most people will remember you favourably when they meet you again. Miss Surasaina asked why you would want unpleasant people or enemies of the Empire to remember you favourably and my response was that gossip about real or imagined flaws and slights can do you real social and reputational harm - and people are slightly less inclined to be malicious to or about people they view favourably. "Tend to be?" asked Miss Surasaina. To which I replied that some people thrive on unkindness or spreading news, or anything of that nature that makes them feel important or creates, well, drama that they can enjoy. Mrs dh'Fhogain remarked that she had heard that my background was in a genteel provincial society, and I agreed that it was - and pointed out that in such constrained circles you could get a very clear view, over time, of who did what, when, to whom, and how often. Mrs dh'Fhogain agreed that a constrained social circle did ease the identification of the source of troubling rumours and other social irritants. She then asked me if I knew Lord and Lady dh'Abheil and their family which leads me to believe that she had consulted some reference book to the nobility that is indexed by location.

The tea tray arrived then, and as Lady Mhaiplaicidh poured out while Miss Surasaina assisted her, I explained that although I know them by sight, I have not been introduced to them, although I believe my brother may be acquainted with several of the younger sons and nephews. I added that aside from Lord dh'Abheil being the principal nobleman in our part of the province, the most interesting thing I know about him was that he had seeded his lands with edible mushrooms and employed gamekeepers specifically to protect his mushrooms. That led into why this was notable in our district, land management issues (primarily among the gentlemen), foods in various parts of the Empire, and, finally, what mushrooms we do have in my home district. No-one thought that toadbacks, bloody seizes, or corpse candles sounded appetizing at all, and I agreed with them.

We made our farewells a quarter of an hour after the tea tray was cleared. Lord Elnaith saw us to our carriage and said that he hopes to call upon me tomorrow afternoon. I said that would be very agreeable, and he kissed my hand good night. On the way home Axolin and Miztli both allowed that it had been a very interesting evening. I commented that I should let Cousin Ghrus know to expect Lord Elnaith. Axolin asked if expecting a proposal of marriage wasn't a little precipitous, given that Lord Elnaith and I first became acquainted less than two Imperial months ago. I agreed that it is a short acquaintance, but that he has obviously done extensive research into my family and circumstances, or had it done and read the results. (That observation made Miztli laugh.) Marrying an heiress of any description would make any landless younger son's future easier, while I have always found him to be a kind and pleasant gentleman who thinks as he ought and seems to have friends of a similar ilk and to be well regarded in his profession - noting the suggestion that he might have been appointed to assist the Empress Mhaihild Inquiry. Additionally, his social position and connections make him a more desirable marital party than I would normally ever have expected to meet. In short, both of us have reason to move quickly.

Axolin, it turns out, expects a courtship to take months before moving to the stage of entertaining an engagement. Miztli asked whether it was the lady or her family that he expected to need that amount of time to convince? A mild brotherly squabble ensued. Nais and I exchanged looks and remained silent.

On our return to the house, we found Great-aunt, Cousin Ghrus, and Cousin Poktlilui waiting for us in the parlor. Great-aunt looked well for someone who had been laid up with a megrim. They wanted to hear about our evening. Cousin Ghrus, I noted, was interested to hear that Axolin had met and conversed with Mrs Mhumaign. On learning that Lord Elnaith was to call tomorrow, he asked me if I know what answer I would give to a proposal of marriage from him. My answer, with only a pause to take a breath before speaking, was that I would say yes. if asked. All of our elders nodded, and Cousin Ghrus recommended that I telegraph my brother with this information in the morning, as he intended to, in case Lord Elnaith contacts Tallaig by telegraph or personal representative. I agreed that was a good idea, and then excused myself to come up to get ready for bed.

I have just finished writing today's journal entry and I almost want to pinch myself to see if this is all a dream. Reality is preferable, always, to the alternative but it must be acknowledged that this would be an enormous change in my circumstances.

Anadrasata Nearabhigan