The note outside the Green Man Pub read in a rather fine cursive script:
Celtic Pagan priestess needed for hand fasting in Oberon’s Wood on Summer Solstice. Sky-clad obviously and able to tolerate drunken, off-key bards and terrible sword jokes a desired trait. Leave note with Jack. Pay in currency of your choice or trade if desired.
So there are very few rules governing the rule of behaviour of the Several Annies which are no drugs or smoking (which is an Estate rule for everyone), don’t abuse alcohol, and please don’t get pregnant. Torrid love affairs are ok, almost expected. Bad break-ups are common too.
Unless something doesn’t work out, each of them is here for two years and sometimes longer. Certainly long enough to get deeply into a relationship. There’s only six to eight Several Annies here at any time, each of whom is at least sixteen and speaks English. And usually several others well, a strong consideration in Iain choosing them.
They’re here for two and sometimes three years, certainly long enough for relationships to fully play themselves out in whatever manner that entails. And that brings us to the impending handfasting of Breanna and Teresa, a Several Annie from Ireland and a staffer for Gus, our Estate Gardener. They’ve been together for two years come the date of their handfasting, living together in the staff yurt Teresa was given after her probationary period was over. (The staff yurts are something we added several decades back when we needed more workers as a result of hosting conferences and such year round.) they announced their attention to handfasting a few weeks back.
However they failed to find a suitable Celtic Pagan priestess, so they enlisted the services of Iain Nicholas Mackenzie who’s a full invested clergy of the Church of Oak, Ash, And Thorn. And he suggested that since their parents had accepted their handfasting and were attending that the skyclad aspect be dropped.
It should an interesting ceremony…
