The Kingdom of Avonela

Chapter 13: Scrubb Family (Main Branch)

Rillian relaxed on one of the spare beds upstairs engrossed in the newest tome written by Thane Shahan. The man was an excellent

writer to be sure.

Outside his wife Charis was saying farewell to Lady Brandi. The two women had gone to one of a few

market days held each year and had quite enjoyed themselves. The entertainers had been most

excellent this year!

Alberta had even found some nice new wears in Lady Hamilton’s dress shop. The younger women

had not been able to conceal their laughter at Adrianna’s shock to be receiving a compliment from

Alberta.

Even Lady Nimue Alberta’s closest friend found Alberta’s constant complaining difficult to bear…

After saying good-bye to Brandi Charis had made a line straight for

the nursery to look after her daughter Lucy.

Alberta had given her fits about giving birth to a girl, at least until Rillian stepped in and put a stop to it all. Rillian absolutely adored Lucy! He’d hardly put

her down at all since she’d been born.

Rillian’s other passion in life still involved breeding and raising hounds

for various hunting trips.

A few of his most prized hounds were in Charis’ mind quite odd looking, but all the lords seemed to compliment their hunting ability so she supposed

looks weren’t everything. Honestly, Charis understood very little about the dogs.

Of course Rillian’s professional duties as a law consultant for the various men of the district took first priority. Rillian’s partner Master Long came

home each evening after work and joined the family for supper.

Of course her husband did have a few other interests besides his dogs and daughter. He also quite enjoyed

tickling the ivories of their piano, though honestly Rillian was not very accomplished a musician. Still

Charis didn’t mind his tickling too much.

Before the Scrubb’s knew it little Lucy had grown into a toddler. She continued to

have her father wrapped around her tiny little fingers.

But with another child on the way, Charis couldn’t really complain that her husband spent so much time with Lucy. It certainly made managing her

other duties easier.

The Scrubb’s for instance though quite well off, were not nearly as flush as the Roth’s had been. While the family did have a few hands to help care for the vast

property, Charis was the one who directly oversaw and assisted with the work.

Rillian naturally was quite excited to be having another little one. Oddly he kept telling her he hoped it was another girl. To think a Lord who

wanted daughters!

Charis was starting to worry about Alberta’s sanity. More and more she was finding the old woman playing in the dogs’ washing tubs. Perhaps her

brother Erec could provide suggestions?

She should invite the entire family over for dinner this weekend. Her mother would certainly enjoy spending time with Lucy. She’d invite her older

sister Gani of course, but the other woman hardly spoke to her anymore.

Naturally no sooner had her mother, brother, and wife arrived Charis had gone into labor! Well

she supposed at lest her brother was a healer and on hand.

This time Charis had given birth to a healthy baby boy that they named Edmund. Her mother had cooked a celebratory dinner so that she’d

been able to rest.

On the last day of winter, Brandi had stopped by to meet the newest Scrubb addition and to

congratulate her. The two women had enjoyed a nice chat along with some freshly baked biscuits

and tea.

And Charis had snuck off and gotten herself a good swig of the newly imported ale straight from the

tab. Not very ladylike, but this was the best way to open a new barrel of ale.

After returning from another successful hunt with Lord Hamilton and Lord Long, Rillian took time to bathe DLF. He was happy they’d had Edmund, but with everything that had come to light about Sharla, Rillian had started to

question whether he was the rightful heir to their line. His disgraced brother Eustace was older, and perhaps they’d jumped the gun with shipping him off in disgrace. Unfortunately, Rillian had no idea where Eustace was or even if he should try to locate him. He didn’t want to upset

Charis or the Roth’s in general. Decisions, decisions….