Chapter Nine, Visit with Dot; pp 231-2
October 8, 2011, Devokan Trust Office, Touchstone House, Winterfell
It was so nice to meet with Dot last week and talk about things. I was so surprised that both my employer and mentor separately asked me for research drafts and healers’ articles that I was concerned they were thinking about something other than publications. At Dot’s suggestion, I asked them what the situation was. Surprise again! The horrid great-aunt Baroness D’Landria had made it known that my work was of interest to her, and though it would be to my advantage to increase my “sphere of influence” as she put it. That my drafts were mostly drafts seemed not to matter. That the articles published were short and included images of my meditation artwork seemed also not to matter. The point was that I was publishing. I still cannot imaging that she has my best interests in mind.
Then again, she is very old, and rather bitter about life. I would feel more settled about it if she urged me to publish in order to spite someone she didn’t like. Well. No matter. It did give me a reason to put my notes in order.
My conversation with Dot also yielded the answer to another difficult situation. Byron has decided to remodel the shoppe completely. He has asked me to continue preparing artwork for display, to be ready as soon as it reopens. I’ve used the upper floor, which now is torn up again. Dot very kindly allowed me to make use of the upper floor at the Devokan Trust Office in Touchstone House. I am glad there are several windows and that the weather is not yet so cold I can’t keep them open while I paint.
Something else interesting…
Dot wrote:
During a recent conversation, a maintainer friend expressed concern that one of her guild colleagues is missing, and has been for some time. We discussed all sorts of reasons for this, of course, but the idea that they might be on some private, undercover project seemed to me to be the most likely.
I didn’t get the impression she was convinced, however.
Interesting. I had no idea. I suppose with all the new experimental ages being written, the poor maintainers are likely to find themselves in all sorts of odd places.
I realized my letter to Dot had caused something of a stir among my acquaintances, for which I am apologetic. But what can I really say to them? Of course there is more to it, but I don’t know what they know, those two. And her — what is her true motivation? Not Dot, of course, but…. her….
Back to silence and obscurity, I suppose. I am rather tired of being unable to say much, especially because what I know is not much. The Professor has asked me to begin working at a new office, too, and that rather adds to my worries. Still, she is so affable that I can’t see any reason to refuse. She did say there was a large garden plot that I could use for the herb garden. That alone will be wonderful!