Page 106: Not-Quite-Family Dinner
Not-Quite-Family Dinner
Summary: Lady Evangeline Terrick and Ser Jarod Rivers share an otherwise-empty dinner table.
Date: 29/10/2011
Related Logs: Career Advancement and Snacks is touched on
Players:
Evangeline Jarod 
Throne Room — Four Eagles Tower
Great pillars rise above the occupants of the room, the ceiling arching across the structural supports in a lovely feat of construction. The north and south walls have expansive windows that filter in sunshine during the day while ornately designed torches provide light at night. The room is large enough to host a great feast for quite a number of people but the tables are typically kept elsewhere. The Lord's Throne is at the west end of the room on a dais with a high, circular window that brings in the setting sun with the late afternoons.
Sat Oct 29, 288

A dinner without Lord Ser Jerold Terrick is an informal one, food arranged in the sideboard for those who wish to arrange their own plates in place of ringing for a servant for any certain dish. Lady Evangeline is already seated, the hightable not so high without other tables arranged below. A guard is posted behind her, against the wall and at-ease, but no other is currently with her in her dinner, barely touched as she pushes it about her plate. This, however, is not an unfamiliar habit, seeing as she is all skin and bones and has never been one to eat much.

Ser Jarod Rivers makes his way down to dinner, stride easy and bounding as he enters. He pauses a beat before he reaches the table, though. Perhaps he didn't realize how early he was, as it seems to surprise him just a touch that only Evangeline is seated there presently. Any trace of visible discomfort only lasts a moment, however. Blink and you miss it. "M'Lady Terrick," he says, all of knightly respect, offering her a bow that is somewhat formal. Informal dining tonight or no.

Dark eyes lift from her dinner, taking in Jarod briefly, assessingly and then offering a delayed but polite welcome of "Ser Jarod." She waves briefly to the food arranged at the sideboard, a simple invitation. "You must be hungry. Help yourself to a plate."

Jarod gets himself some food and sits at his usual place, which puts him across from Lord Jacsen generally, when more specialized arrangements aren't called for. He exchanges a quick grin and hello with the guard stationed behind Evangeline, though he doesn't distract the man much from his 'Lurk Over the Lady of the House' duty. Jarod's also acquired a cup of wine for himself, which he takes a sip of before diving into the food itself. "Looks good," is his attempt at smalltalk, despite the hardly-touched quality of Evangeline's plate.

"The cooks are very skilled, even though we have taxed our stores with this wedding," Lady Evangeline answers briefly, her chin tipping in a slight nod as she lifts her own wine glass to her lips and takes a delicate sip. She watches Jarod steadily over the rim of her glass, however, only looking away as she lowers it back to the table. "How do the guards fare? There must be many adjustments to be made with the addition to the household."

"They are well, m'lady, at least in terms of manpower," Jarod replies, relaxing as the conversation falls into professional household matters. "It's how we're deploying them that'll like need adjustment. The border riders we've had on the outskirts - or what're the outskirts now - since the Naylands took Stonebridge're taxing our resources. And given how things stand, I think we'll need to train our existing men to man the war galley we received from the Baneforts rather than hiring on new sailors."

"I wonder at that gift, a war galley where Lady Anais speaks of trade. Would not a trade galley be a better gift, in that case?" is mused quietly as Evangeline pushes her fork through a pile of roots once more, not the most polite she could be at playing with food. "Is the war not over?"

"Lady Anais and the others from Banefort are used to fighting something other than Targaryens, m'lady, from what they've told me," Jarod says, wolfing some of his own vegetables before continuing. "I gather raiders from the Iron Islands aren't infrequent, even in these days of peace. Perhaps just Ironborn pirates out for a bit of profit, but it still seems that it troubles them. It could be of use to us for the same reasons, I figure, though we don't see pirates near the Roost itself too often. The Cape of Eagles is spread out long along the coast, and having a galley that can go out on patrols'd be a boon. Might see dangers that it takes too much time for the watchtower gongs to warn us of here."

"But more of a tax on our resources than a boon to it. Equipping it, stocking it, providing men for it," Lady Evangeline remarks idly, though she nods once as a bare gesture of agreement to the young knight.

"In the short term, m'lady, aye, it could be," Jarod can't help but agree to that. "I doubt we'll get much real use of it until our own men are trained to crew it, which'll be the biggest hurdle at first, to my mind. Still, we'll manage. Might also be able to use it to provide protection to merchant ships making the trip through waters in the West, or down toward Seagrd, which could bring us in a bit of coin. And it's a symbol. A show of strength. In some eyes, that might help us as much as anything. Short-term, at least."

Whatever thoughts hide behind those dark eyes that study her plate, Evangeline is in no rush to share them with Jarod where she simply says politely, "Of course. You would know more about this matter than I, Ser Jarod." She finally spears a piece of fruit on the end of her fork, lifting it to her lips to chew slowly.

Jarod frowns a touch, his own green eyes simply puzzled. He has, and never has, had any gift for hiding what he's thinking or feeling at a given moment. But he just shrugs. "All a matter of how Lord Jerold and Lord Jacsen wish it to be deployed, I figure. I'll speak to them on it in the coming days."

"I wish you luck of it," Lady Evangeline wishes, though her words cool considerably where the names are brought into the conversation. She lifts her cup and rises in a smooth movement, graceful despite her height, and moves to refill it from the sideboard.

Jarod looks abashed at the cooling of Evangeline's manner, looking half on point of apologizing. He doesn't, however, and just sort of changes the subject. "Have the Baneforts brought many of their people to the household, m'lady? I can't quite figure out which're to be here permanently and which only came for the wedding."

With a fresh glass, the lady steps back to the table to reclaim her seat, shaking her head with a spill of curls. "I must needs speak with the Lady Anais about such, but at a time when she feels more settled," she answers. "I am not quite sure how to put my gooddaughter at ease yet, in my presence."

Jarod lets a little "Heh" chuckle out of that, though he tries to snort it into his wine cup rather than chuckle openly. He clears his throat, taking another drink before saying, "I figure she just needs time, m'Lady. This isn't home to her yet. She'll get used to the place in time."

"Perhaps by then we will already know which retainers they plan on keeping in the Roost, hm?" Lady Evangeline questions, though her gaze rakes sharply over Jarod at the sound he makes in response. Don't laugh at her. She politely ignores it, otherwise.

Jarod sits up straighter, as straight as he possibly can, at that look from Evangeline. As if it was an actual rebuke rather than a mere raking gaze with no actual comment attached. He clears his throat, then drinks more wine, contritely. That keeps him quiet for a moment, though he's not really much on quiet and eventually has to make more conversation. "I was wondering if I could ask if she, or you, or…anyone required another handmaiden, come to it."

Head tilting only slightly, Evangeline inquires of Jarod, "Do you plan on switching professions?"

Jarod crooks a grin at that, though he stops himself from laughing. Like he's not quite sure if it's a joke or not. He shakes his head. "No, m'Lady. No. That's not what I meant. But there is a new girl in the kitchens who was wanting to see if any of the ladies required another maid. She figures she's got the skills for it."

It was a joke, but nothing of her expression gives it away as Evangeline instead questions, "What is the name of this kitchen helper?" She pauses, her fingers trailing briefly around the rim of her glass. "And is she actually a maid, to be one? I am sure you could attest to that, one way or another."

"Alise Callystan, m'lady. As I said, new girl. Blonde. Nice…" But whatever attribute Jarod was going to describe that he thinks is 'nice,' he stops himself from actually naming. Ahem. "She was hired to the household itself on the maester's recommendation, so I figure that's a sign she truly does have some finer skills she could offer."

"I will see to her and assess if she is fit," is all Evangeline offers, leaning back in her chair though the tension from her shoulders does not disappear. "If she is, I will place her as my own maid. No need to give any further to Lucienne."

Jarod smiles at that, offering Evangeline a slight inclination of his head. "She'll be grateful for the chance if nothing more, I think. Thank you, m'Lady." He runs out of things to say again after that, but he covers the silence with a lot of wolfing and chewing.

It seems that she is not adverse to silence, either, making no further effort at conversation. Evangeline only picks a while longer at her dinner as Jarod eats before finally excusing herself with two brief words and leaving with her guard.