brand new colony

It's later than usual when Divdan lets himself into their small apartment -- small by the standards they were used to on New Britain; for Arden's towering cities it's comfortable enough. Outside there's a warm, drizzling rain; his hair and clothes are wet, his face heavy and tired. He changes his shoes quietly by the door, and slips through the archway into the sitting room.

"Nomie?"

Of the things the average married woman has to discuss with her husband, Lenomie is willing to bet that 'while you were away the Queen decided I should overhaul the fleet maintenance crew and make sure everything is in good working order, and while I was by myself in town I met a horribly charming single writer who swept me off my feet and made me adore him and I want to know if I can sleep with him while you're away' is not near the top of the list. But she's fiercely of the opinion that there should be plenty of communication in her marriage, and the unhappiness she's been unable to define for the last year or so eases off when she's with Divdan.

So she makes him promise to come around in an hour or so, and meanwhile waits for Medraut's meeting in the Hall to be over. She's wearing the shapeless grey dress that constitutes dressing up for her, and her hair is pulled back and up in an uncharacteristically complicated style. Also she is biting off her nails. She's very practical and usually not nervous at all with Medraut, but this is different, honestly, and she's not sure how it's going to go.

Divdan has spent the morning writing, longhand in the featureless black book he's never without (bought in bulk whenever he has the excess funds to spare, and stashed under his bed, as he's fond of telling people, to keep it from falling down). He's not making very much progress. For one thing it's just not coming together; and for another he's been working on it for a week now, and at this point he's more than a little stir-crazy.

Finally he shuts the book with a bang, stands up, and goes to call Lenomie.