Women's Work

Writers: Cali, Paula
Date Posted: 7th January 2010

Characters: Zelanka, Benani
Description: The two women go over matters of the Hold.
Location: Amber Hills Hold
Date: month 6, day 19 of Turn 5

Benani

"My Lady?" Zelanka asked before entering the Lady Holder's office. It still felt odd to call her Lady. She had helped to changes Benani's nappies when she had been baby!

"Morning Zelanka" Benani replied warmly as she sipped a mug of klah.

"Good morning, Benani. I have some reports, accounts and next sevendays menu for approval," the Headwoman replied with a warm smile.

Benani took the stack that Zelanka head and set them down on the desk in front of her. "Did that girl from High End get settled in all right?"

"She did. I placed her to a same room with two reliable, friendly girls, who will help her to settle in," Zelanka replied.

"Good," Benani nodded as she looked at the first sheet listing their available stores. "Do you think we'll have any of the last fruits left after this week? I'd rather turn them to jam instead of having them go to rot on the off chance we might use them."

"Not too many. We still have some redfruits and apricots," Zelanka said. "Most of the fresh fruits have been already eaten."

Benani made a note. "Why don't we plan on setting aside some time before the next restday to get those done then. We can always look to send some to the cotholds if we get too many in stores. A small gift like that would be appreciated near the end of winter."

"All right, sounds good to me," Zelanka replied and made a note for herself. Her apron pocket was full of little pieces of hide, each filled with neat, precise notes.

"Oh, and before we go any farther, I wanted to let you know that we will be taking in a few fosterlings in the next month or two." Benani said, seeing the note she'd made on her desk.

"Boys or girls?" Zelanka asked, noticing the plural. "Where we place them? Among the Family or elsewhere?"

"They'll be Lord Corowal's boys so with the family. They're older from what I understand so they won't need much looking out for. I believe Zathris will be pairing them up with some of the stewards to learn Hold Management." Benani explained. The details weren't set yet of course, but most fosterlings ran along the same lines.

"Ah, yes, naturally. Shall we send someone there in exchange?" Zelanka asked. It was common arrangement after all.

Benani nodded. "Zathris is looking into it. Asking my brothers if their children are interested I believe. Do you have any recommendations?"

"No, not in this matter," the headwoman flashed a smile.

But Benani was sure Zelanka had plenty of recommendations in other areas. "Well then, before we tackle the rest of this list, is there anything else pressing?"

"We need more staff to the laundry," Zelanka said. "It's understaffed right now. People getting sick or pregnant and not able to do the heavy work."

"What about getting a few of the groundsmen to pick up a few shifts?" Benani suggested after a moment. "It's not very manly work, but with all the snow on the ground, they're probably looking for things to occupy themselves."

Zelanka was bit hesitant to let the men do the women's work but she was seriously understaffed. "Well, guess it could work if they don't do the actual washing," she said slowly and thoughtfully. "There's plenty of heavy lifting and such for them to do."

Benani chuckled. "Oh come now Zelanka, they won't break the tubs. If you're worried, just stick them to the linens, they can't ruin the sheets any."

"No, I'm more worried about them ruining the clothes, turning whole vats of whites to pink," Zelanka said. "Linens should be safe." She really didn't have very high opinion of men's abilities when it came to domestic work.

"Linen's then." Benani said with a smile, humoured by the hidebound ways of the older woman. "Let's look at the rest of this list then, shall we?"

"Yes, my dear lady," Zelanka said, not really thinking of what she said.

Last updated on the January 7th 2010

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