Mon cher Leon,
Thank you so much for getting the recent shipment to us so expeditiously! Your man Guy had a rough drive, so he told me, and certainly both his oxen and his wagon were mud-stained from about shoulder-height on down. How they achieved that while leaving the goods pristine I am sure I don't know; I suppose it is a well-kept secret of the brotherhood of wagoneers.
Guy also told us of the arrival of Lord Doncaster in Mont-Havre with his claims of Cumbrian sovereignty. Indeed, he was most informative in his pungent fashion; and yet I find that there is more I would like to know, and so I turn to you.
I have many questions, and yet being unfamiliar with the political situation in Mont-Havre I am not even sure what I should ask. How did the Grand Parlement take Lord Doncaster's address? What are your customers saying? I know there were Maréchalists in Mont-Havre; what has become of them? And what of the other factions? I am morally certain that at the very least there are those who favor a return to the Provençese crown, should such a thing be re-established; those who favor Cumbrian rule; and those who wish for the Great Lands to go away and leave Armorica to herself.
I've been sitting and pondering that for a bit, and am now of the opinion that that last group probably includes most in Mont-Havre regardless of faction.
But you are in a position to attend to these matters, and I know well that you do so. What can you tell me? And, speaking as a friend rather than as a Cumbrian: I shall quite understand should you find you need to send me only a terse, business-like note in response.
As for us here in Bois-de-Bas, there is a guarded optimism among my fellow citizens. We have all rejoiced greatly at the news of Le Maréchal bad fortunes; and I, being the only Cumbrian in the village, am well-enough regarded. A few wish for the return of the Provençese crown, but for most, it seems, it matters little. I suppose you might think of Bois-de-Bas as having a purer, stronger form of the attitude I described above: just as Mont-Havre wants to be left alone by the Great Lands, Bois-de-Bas wants to be left alone by Mont-Havre (except, of course, for matters of trade). We have much to do here, and we just wish to get on with it. If Cumbria reigns with a light hand, I think they will have no trouble from us.
Finally, I should like to commend to your attention a member of Lord Doncaster's staff, a young fellow named Jack Montjoy. (Jack is my cousin, and my closest friend from boyhood.) He might be a useful contact for you—unless of course you feel you must avoid all overt contact with Lord Doncaster's people. For his part, I should like him to have reason to stay here in Armorica permanently, and so it would do him good to become acquainted with those outside the circle of government. And besides, I think you would like him.
If it pleases you to meet him, write me so, and I shall send him a letter of introduction.
Your friend,
Armand Tuppenny
____
Zymurgia House 