"I won't force you to go," Hazel replied. She paused for a moment. "Although it may not be a bad idea to get to know a few of the lords. It never hurts to make connections."

Kaladin nodded. "I was just thinking the same thing. So I'll go with you to those three events." He smiled at her. "And maybe we can fit in one or two of our own, hmm?"

"I'm sure I can have the manor made presentable," Hazel said, smiling a bit. It had been a long time since her family had hosted anything, and it was about time she did again, anyways.

Kaladin grinned briefly. "Well. Do you want to go get some dinner or just stay here for a little while longer?"

"Actually, Kaladin," Hazel said hesitantly, "I don't think I really want to go out tonight." Especially not after the incident that afternoon. She just wanted to stay in a familiar place for the moment, be it the ranch or the manor.

Kaladin nodded. "I thought that might be the case today." He smiled faintly. "I can stay in here, if you'd like. All my work is done for the day."

Hazel smiled slightly and nodded.

"I'd like that," she said. "Go push your brother at Brit, and then make yourself comfortable in here."

Kaladin laughed quietly at that. "I'll be just a minute," he agreed, leaving the office and going to go find Seamus.

Seamus, to his credit, was trying to figure out exactly why Brit was upset and how to fix it. He'd seen the nobles arrive, but he hadn't seen the fiasco after that; he'd been working on keeping the rest of the animals from getting restless.

Kaladin jogged over to go fill him in.

"Hey, you might want to go see if Brit needs anything," he said, looking at Seamus. "She just found out she's part of a noble family, and I think she's kind of freaked out."

Seamus blinked. And blinked again.

"What?" he asked. None of those pieces of information seemed to want to make sense.

"Yup. She's from a noble family." He shot Seamus a sympathetic look. "Turns out she's from the DeWinter family."

Seamus nodded a bit. Hell, that would freak anyone out... Well, anyone except Kaladin, really. He'd gone after noble status and wrestled it into submission with both hands.

"I'll go see how she's doing, then," he said.

"You do that." Kaladin paused. "And I'm sure no one will mind if the two of you need to take the rest of the day off." He shooed Seamus towards Brit's room.

Seamus nodded and went to see Brit. When he got to her room, he knocked softly on the door.

Brit opened the door slowly, looking at Seamus and blinking. She still looked upset, but she moved aside to let him in anyway.

"You doing alright?" Seamus asked softly, going in and letting her close the door again.

Brit nodded and shut the door after him, going to the couch and sinking down. She wasn't doing so well, actually, but she figured she could probably get away with lying.

Seamus just raised an eyebrow and sat down next to her. He put an arm around her gently and pulled her close.

"I don't think you're telling me the truth," he said softly. "If you were okay, you'd be out on the grounds."

Brit smiled shakily. Okay, that was true. Both phoenixes were perched on the back of the couch, and one of them chirped, cooed, and nestled in again Brit.

Just still kind of shocked, I think.

"I totally understand," Seamus replied. "It would be a shock to anyone." He paused for a moment and grinned slightly. "Well, except Kaladin, maybe, but then again he actually went after lordship and managed to get it."

Brit smiled a little. Yeah. He's a unique person. She stroked the female phoenix's head gently, just trying to relax.

"That's one way of putting it," Seamus snorted. He slid his arm around her waist and pulled her closer. "Think you can tell me what happened earlier? Kal didn't say much, and I'm not about to ask Hazel about it."

Two people arrived earlier, a Lord and a Lady. They talked to Hazel for a bit, and then they walked over to me, called me 'Britannia' and said I needed to go back with them. They said they're my relatives, and they'd convinced Hazel so I guess it's true. Brit still looked troubled.

"So what are you going to do?" Seamus asked. "I mean... I know a lot of people would would jump at this kind of chance. Noble life probably isn't all it's cracked up to be, though, so I guess it's up to you, but still."