8



Long gone are the deadening days of your youth on the family estate, fondling foxglove and manhandling mandrake.

The pace of life in His Grace's employ is wholly different, more like surviving the fickle monsoons of a tropic clime, where torrential typhoons are interspersed by long periods of rebuilding and retrenching for the next storm. There is ever another performance on the horizon, for a grand audience or an intimate one, and the time betwixt them is always dedicated to soothing Malodoro's disapproval, self-improvement, and, from time to time, enjoying the Court's explicit favor for a job well done.

As Weeks Turn To Months