Nathaniel Mordue
April 18, 2020 7:19 PM
I've got good news and I've got bad news (to Alexander, before the Ball). by Nathaniel Mordue
Nathaniel thought long and hard about how to communicate the intelligence he had acquired from Evelyn Stones. He had, after all, both good news of a sort (Alexander quite possibly had a sister, who wanted to meet him and seemed like quite a nice girl) and very bad news of another sort (that the father Alexander possibly shared with that sister was dangerous and should not be contacted).It could, he supposed, have been worse. Alexander had been ambivalent about the prospect of actually talking to his parents. He had not seemed unduly optimistic about the possibility of falling into a loving family which had been missing him for years or any romantic nonsense like that. Of course such thoughts had probably crossed his mind - it seemed a natural thing to want to believe; Nathaniel had managed to pretty successfully delude himself into believing his father loved him for nine years before accepting the truth, and that was frequent in-person (and worse, out-of-person) demonstrations of the fact that Nicholas Mordue had clearly not been much bothered if Nathaniel was even alive - but he didn't seem married to them, which was commendable. Had to be a blow, though, to hear that about your own father, even one you'd never met....
He finally decided to write it down, and so sat down, sharpened a quill, and began the process.
Alexander, he wrote. His handwriting was old-fashioned and a touch flowery, but clear. He'd had good instructors, he thought; his style was good, and he had learned to write mostly straight lines even without a ruled guide sheet underneath to help him. The old man had at least paid for an adequate primary education. Or had that been Mama, too? She was the one with the money, after all.
I spoke with Miss Stones, as I told you I would. She said she is related to a wizard named Mathias Stones - in fact, that he is her father. Her mother's name is Charity, though, not Claire, so it seems possible she is your half-sister. Her given name is Evelyn.
From what I can tell, Miss Stones seems like a very nice person. She also wishes to meet you, if you are willing. I told her nothing except that I was making inquiries for a friend who wanted to look into his genealogy, so the decision whether or not to disclose your identity to her is entirely yours.
She also told me something else about Mr. Stones. She says you should not attempt to contact him under any circumstances. She elaborated that it would be unsafe to do so. I did not ask her for details, though she may give them to you if you meet her, particularly if she believes you are her brother. She seemed frightened when I mentioned his name, so I suspect she is right that he might be better avoided.
I am sorry not to have more good news, or any more details at all. You may, of course, drop by to discuss this further if you wish.
Sincerely,
N. Mordue
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Nathaniel Mordue
I've got good news and I've got bad news (to Alexander, before the Ball).
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