Book the Second, Chapter the Tenth: An Introduction to Soci

[Mr. Handy]

"And one goddess may very well be able to reach out to another," says Henry. "I know not if there is a temple to her here, but we can certainly find out."

[SunlessNick]

Eliza suspects the dress covers far less of her body than it is intended to, although some of the paintings around the house suggest to her that this may not be a concern when it comes to art. She dons it as best she can and finds a seat for herself, trying to place one foot higher than the other, so the skirt falls from one thigh to the other. She chooses to hold the spear upright in one hand, lean the shield against her leg, cradle the owl in the crook of her other arm, and place the olive branch in her lap. She then calls Harold back to see if he is satisfied with the result.

[VictoriaSilverwolf]

Discrete inquiry of Lord Highdark elicits the information that, indeed, there is a structure, built to the specifications of an ancestor of that gentleman, the draughtman's sketches for which bears the title A Temple, Dedicated To Cotytto. Lord Highdark not being cognizant of the name, does not display much interest in this subject.

"A mere folly, I confess, simple in structure and bereft of any decoration, consisting merely of a number of Doric columns surmounted by a dome. I am afraid it has fallen into disrepair over the years. No one here has visited for many a year, the place being devoid of interest. If it excites your curiosity, it is located not far from the tennis court -- a more entertaining place, by far! -- and the rose garden. A spiral path, winding up a gentle slope, leads from the floral display to the temple. I suppose the walk might function as a constitutional, even if the destination be not worth the journey."

[VictoriaSilverwolf]

"Perfect!" exclaims Harold. "Do not move! I must capture this pose."

With sketchbook and pencils he begins work on a preliminary design for the painting. The process is a slow and lengthy one, requiring much patience on the part of the model, whose limbs grow weary with the effort of remaining motionless. (It is a paradox of Nature that inactivity may demand as high a price as effort.)

After much time has passed, Harold puts down his work.

"Enough for today. Shall we say again, this same time, on the morrow? With good luck, the work may completed with, say, a fortnight. Or two."

[jp1885]

"I shall take a walk to yon temple then," announces Lepus. "And see what's to be seen, yesno?"

[SunlessNick]

"Enough for today. Shall we say again, this same time, on the morrow? With good luck, the work may completed with, say, a fortnight. Or two."

"So long?" Eliza said before catching herself. "Forgive me. No one has painted me before. I should be happy to resume tomorrow."

[Mr. Handy]

"I would like to accompany you," Henry says to Lepus.

[VictoriaSilverwolf]

The initial session with Harold done for the day, Eliza is free to accompany her companions in their journey to the temple if she so desires. It is notable that divesting herself of all the objects with which she was posing requires a fair amount of time, not to mention changing her raiment, and that this procedure, repeated day after day, is likely to prove tedious.

The path from the manor home passes by the tennis court, where Julia and Juno are engaged in a game that does not appear to obey any of the rules of that royal sport, but rather consists of throwing the ball back and forth, hurling it to great distances with the racquets, and so forth. Upon seeing the adventurers walk by, they giggle and whisper together. One of them -- who can say which one? -- hurls the ball, a solid object composed of heavy strips of wool surrounding a tightly wrapped core of the same material, the whole surrounded by lighter cloth, tied upon the sphere with many strings, at the approaching trio.

Spoiler:

[dice]0[/dice]target: Lepus, North, Eliza[dice]1[/dice] No real damage, but . . .

The ball strikes Lepus upon the forehead, resulting in sudden pain, if no actual harm. Having been successful in this artillery attack, the twins laugh and dance about merrily.

[jp1885]

Lepus yowls in surprise as the ball bounces off his head. Snarling, he turns to unleash a torrent of abuse on the assailant, but, seeing that the young twins are responsible, his expression softens.

“Little rapscallions!” he chuckles. “Throwing away a perfectly good apple!”

He pretends to take a bite out of the ball, palming it into his pocket and substituting it for a somewhat bruised apple.

[SunlessNick]

Eliza looks between Lepus and the twins, puzzled by Lepus's seeming equanimity in the face of this assault, and unsure how to act.

[Mr. Handy]

"Your grasp of physics is excellent!" calls Henry to the twins. "That was a fine trajectory."

[VictoriaSilverwolf]

Evidently pleased that their prank has not elicited the expected scolding, the two girls approach with wide smiles.

"Do another trick, funny man," one says to Lepus.

"Yes, and we want the ogre lady to play with us," the other remarks. This one -- is it Juno or Julia? -- directing her attention to Doctor North, continues "Mother makes us take physics when we are wicked, but what is jec-tor-ree?"

To this remark, the first one -- is it Julia or Juno? -- makes a face of disgust and says "We hate nasty physics."

"Yes, so we must not tell you of our wicked dream." Realizing that her tongue has acted ahead of her brain, this one covers her mouth with her hands, while the other one pokes her and makes shushing sounds.

[SunlessNick]

"Ogres are supposed to like wicked things," says Eliza, "so it must be all right to tell me."

[jp1885]

“Bad dreams are made better when shared, yesno?” says Lepus. “Mayhap an exchange: a trick for a dream?”

If the twins agree to tell the assembled party about their dreams, he will perform some feats of legerdemain for their entertainment.

[Mr. Handy]

"By physics I don't mean medicine," says Henry. "I mean the good kind of physics: the science of how the world and the things in it work. Trajectory means the course that a projectile, such as the object you threw, takes as it moves through the air. You hit your mark, so you were effectively using physics whether you were conscious of it or not."

[VictoriaSilverwolf]

Having thus been tempted to share their secret through the promise of a bribe, the twins narrate their dream, which seems to have been experienced by both in exactly the same way.

"There were ever so many people," one begins.

"Yes, and they were dancing, thus," continues the other, demonstrating by jumping wildly about, in a feigned state of extreme agitation. She is soon joined by her sister. The two cease after a moment, out of breath.

After recovering from this exertion, one of them -- they have been moving about so rapidly, in such complicated patterns, that one cannot be sure if this is the first one or the second one -- goes on.

"And they had their arms wrapped around each other tightly, as if they would squeeze each other to death."

"And they were kissing," adds the other, sending the pair into a fit of giggles.

Whilst still laughing hysterically, red-faced and gasping, they are able to go on, speaking together, one word at a time, the interval between each filled with heavy breaths, "And. They. Had. No. Clothes."

This is so funny that they both fall to the ground and roll about, staining their dresses on the grass, as no doubt often occurs.

[jp1885]

Raising a crusty eyebrow, Lepus exchanges glances with his companions.

“Pssht! Mayhap Cotytto is calling to those from the lady of the house’s bloodline, yesno? ‘tis odd that this should happen now... coincidence that yon hermit wishes us ill?”

[SunlessNick]

Despite having earlier shown semblance of familiarity with the concept of lovers, Eliza seems more perplexed by this account than anything else. "If this is some sort of attack, it is a very strange one, yesno? If it affects those of Lady Highdark's blood, should one of us as Georgia about it?"

[Mr. Handy]

"That is a thought," says Henry. "If any of us is to do it, it should be you, my dear. She would be more likely to speak of such dreams to another lady. I'm not sure that our enemy is behind the dreams, yet neither do I think it a coincidence. Perhaps Cotytto is causing the dreams herself, in order to make contact."

[SunlessNick]

"I think she is afraid of me," replies Eliza to the suggestion that she be the one to speak to Georgia.