The fickle art of Pouncery

“But we must stop and think,” Bertram said, collecting the scraps like a grave-robber, “If Pouncing is the same as making loud sorts of noises.”

“Great snakes—what do you mean by that?” Adelaide squirted a spray of orange-peel oil onto her hand and painted a face on the polished table-top with it.  “Father said most specifically not to make loud noises. Is Pouncing a noise? No, of course it isn’t. So we aren’t disobeying. Anyway, ten o’clock is too late for any nanny to sleep, no matter how new she is.”

-The Scarlet Gypsy Song

In sitting down in earnest to begin editing The Scarlet Gypsy Song I am discovering things about this book and these characters that I'd forgotten about since I finished the book back in the spring. For one thing, I gave myself a pain in the neck with POV problems...attempting the all-seeing-eye and then abandoning it in favor of something less confusing. Argh. 
But the Macefields are a group with talent, class, and some good old Victorian swag. In one of the earlier chapters I happened upon a dissertation on the fickle art of Pouncery by none other than the imps of the family: Adelaide and Darby.

Darby slammed the window shut and wandered to the mantle-piece, hands balled up inside his trousers pockets. He eyed the clock—ten-fifteen. That was it. “Are you lot coming or not?”

Adelaide bounced to her feet and grabbed Charlotte’s arm so she couldn’t protest. “We’re coming!”

Bertram grinned and raked the last of the toast-scraps into his pocket, then picked the littlest twins up like two sacks of potatoes and carted them out of the nursery with the others. They tip-toed down the hall and gathered at Miss Woodruff’s door.

“Shall we give her the Bully Scamper, or the Gollywhumper?” Adelaide asked. Pure delight sparkled on her face at captaining a rumpus again.

Darby felt the way she looked: they had been too good since running Miss Perdue off, and he felt like an old saint. “The Gollywhumper.” He wriggled with anticipation. “Creeping in and then jumping scares ‘em a whole lot more than busting through the door.”

“Right. Well then, here’s how it’ll be. We’ll creep in, and—Fergus and ‘Genie? You two remember to keep quiet. We’re not hurting Miss Woodruff, only Pouncing her, so don’t go and wail over it, huh?”

There it was that we got a lesson in How to Pounce. Let's review the steps and rules of this mysterious childhood art--you might just want to try this at home sometime.

1. Don't hurt your victim

2. If you want to perform the Gollywhumper you must creep then Pounce.

3. If you want to perform the Bully Scamper eliminate the creeping and go straight from nothing to Pounce--the quicker the better with this one.

4. A Pounce is not a noun, it's a verb. Therefore "pouncing" cannot be classified as a noise, and we are safe from Mr. Macefield taking us by our shirt collars and locking us in the Conservatory for the afternoon to Think About What We've Done.

Well, there you have it. Many thanks to Darby and Adelaide for coming up with the League of Pouncers. May we all live to a ripe old age and never have trouble with our knees.

Beautiful People: Diccon Quarry and Adelaide Macefield

Slightly nabbed from Jenny. :P

In linking up with Beautiful People this month, I am a bit sad to say that this will probably be the last month dealing with my family from The Scarlet-Gypsy Song. The book is over 69,000 words as of today, the big battle has been fought, and all that is left is to wind up all my loose ends and get everyone back where they ought to be. This month's challenge has to do with two characters. They can be any two characters, only they must have a relationship with each other. The two people that immediately came to mind are Diccon Quarry and Adelaide Macefield. I had not known they would end up being with each other so much, but there you have it. Enjoy. 


1. Do they believe in anything that most people think is impossible?

Nothing impossible--Diccon is a very capable man, and he tends to think he  can handle everything, therefore nothing is impossible. Adelaide is an optimist, therefore she never thinks anything impossible either.

2. Are they strong, or the "damsel/knight in distress" sort?

A strange expression lit his eyes—half fierce, half curious, entirely determined.
“What? Why are you looking at me so?” Adelaide asked. She tossed the feather aside and watched it drift into the grass.
“I was only wondering,” Diccon said. He toyed with his knife, tossing and catching it as some children play with an India-rubber ball.
“Wondering what?”
“What you’d do if I captured you.”

Diccon does rescue Adelaide at one point, however Adelaide was in distress without being too...distressed over it. Diccon and Adelaide are both what are commonly called "strong spirits." Diccon is rough and clumsy with relationships, and yet he is good at heart. He doesn't know where is loyalty lies and it confuses him. Adelaide, however, is loyal to many people--she feels things passoinately. If she hates you, she hates you. If she loves you, she'd die for you.


3. Do they have a special place? (e.g. a corner in his/her bedroom, under a tree...)

Diccon's special place is in the fray of battle. He is in his element there, every fiber alive, every talent taxed and stretched and used to their height. I think he loses himself in the excitement and forgets his troubles--it is almost a drug with him.

Adelaide has no particularly special place at all--anywhere she is admired, I should think.

 4. What occupation do they have, or plan on having?


Adelaide's ambitions follow her whims. She has thought of being an actress, once upon a time, but she would be a house-maid if it would bring her the sort of admiration she craves.

Diccon wants to be an honorable man. That is all he covets.

5. Describe their current place of residence.


Diccon has no home at present. Adelaide is staying in the royal palace of Scarlettania...

Below lay a valley and in the valley a castle—turreted and towered, glistening in the wash of moonbeams as if it were made of sugar cubes.

6. Explain their last crisis. How had they changed when they came out of it?


Oy. Well, this is rather an interesting question, as Diccon and Adelaide are only together because of a crisis. You see, Adelaide and Dear-Heart had been kidnapped by a defector of the Scarlettanian army. He was going to sell them to Fitz-Hughes in exchange for protection for Scarlettania. Diccon happened upon the scene and rescued the girls. It is too late to return to the castle, so they spend the night at Diccon's camp--during the night, however, he begins to question how he ought to act...

        The warrior-blood of Diccon would not be at ease in the company of a Scarlettanian. True, for an hour that evening, he had thrown aside his tangled heritage—any thought of faithfulness to Gildnoir. But as the night deepened, so did the labyrinth of his mind and strange thoughts and stranger loyalties cavorted there in a ghoulish ring.
      Perhaps he owed it, not to Fitz-Hughes, but to his father, to be faithful to the Gildnoir. True, he had defected, but he could remedy that and do one last service. What would that service be?
       Diccon once again scooped a glance of Adelaide’s sleeping form and held it up to his mind’s eye: A daughter of Macefield—a pretty bird to keep in a pretty cage.

Diccon says as much to Adelaide--she confronts him, rebukes him, turns vixen, and bites him with her wit. In the end, the two are closer than ever--sibling-souls parted by two worlds.

 7. If they could drive any kind of car they wanted, what would it be?

Car? Come now--that's not fair. There are no cars in either London or Scarlettania at this point. The Authoress takes the liberty of deleting this question.

8. How do they deal with change?

They revel in it. Both Diccon and Adelaide crave adventure--the more change the better. They thrive on the unexpected.

9. If they had to amputate one body part, which one would they choose?


I will take Jenny's answer and say their left-hands. That would leave the right hand for proper sword-play.

10. What would their favorite be at the local coffee shop? 

Diccon would drink his brew black. Adelaide pours an embarrassing amount of sugar in her cup, then licks it clean for good measure.

11.  How did they meet?

In that first crisis:

“Thank you, kind sir.” The merry, sweet voice behind Diccon startled him—he’d nearly forgot about the women-folk.
He turned about and smiled. “No trouble at all, my lady. I was merely passing this way. And may I have the honor of knowing whom I rescued?”
The girl curtsied, and he saw that she was very young. “Adelaide Macefield, and my companion, Dear-Heart.”
Diccon drew a deep breath through his teeth. A daughter of Macefield! By all the blood of Clan Fitz-Hughes, it was unexpected. So she was one of those whom Growlbeard had told him of. Diccon felt a strange sense of fear, as if he looked upon a goddess in the form of this tall, comely girl with the bluff voice. He crossed his left arm over his chest and extended his first two fingers, then bowed in the style of his country.
Adelaide laughed and clapped her hands. “It was rather brilliant of you—saving us like that. Rather like watching the plays Darby and Bertram used to put on. Hamlet was our favorite, you know. It had the most smashing duel.” 

12. How do these two deal with conflict?

The same way they deal with any other crisis: Expertly. They are not ones to be worked upon my surprise--dull, everyday monotony is what would affect them most.

13. Do they have a special song, phrase, item, or place? 

Not particularly. Unless you count the Scarlet-Gypsy Song which was rather important in Adelaide's life, at least.

14. What kind of things do they like to do together?

Haha! Escape...rescue...ride like the devil toward battle... :)

5. Describe their relationship as a whole in 3 words or less.



Loyal. Fraternal. Clumsy-tender.

Beautiful People: Adelaide Macefield

Adelaide Macefield. What is there to say about this girl? She is one of my most difficult and at the same time most beloved characters. First off, she is Bertram's twin, and the eldest of all the Macefield children...by thirteen minutes. She is wild, passionate, beautiful, clever, and has a sharp tongue in her head. She is not noted for her kindness, nor gentleness, and yet she is good at heart. Ever-blundering, yet ever-true, Adelaide is one of my People...she is, in fact, rather built off of one of my own sisters, so I know her well. Dear Addie...I hope you love her too. :)

1. If your character could be played by an actor, who would it be? 

Could this question be any easier? Lucy Boynton of Sense and Sensibility and Miss Potter fame.

(also shown in picture at top of page)

Lucy Boynton has the wild, careless sort of beauty that is beautiful for its very unconsciousness. I also think both characters Lucy has played have Adelaide's resilient, stubborn streak...a young Beatrix and Margaret Dashwood? Oho, yes.


2. Does your character have a specific theme-song?


Will poetry do? Hmmm? Then I shall quote Robert Burns:

"My love she's but a lassie yet

My love she's but a lassie yet

We'll let her stand a year or twa'--

She'll noo be half sae saucy yet."

3. What's his [her] worst childhood memory?

Oh. Miss Perdue, definitely. Adelaide loved Nannykins but Miss Perdue was a tartar in comparison...I do think Adelaide called her that once...shocking, no?

4. If your character had a super-power, what would it be?

Oh mercy. Adelaide would face you squarely and tell you that one doesn't need a super-power when one is already fabulous. If you are not fabulous, then you'd better go home and leave the fabulous-ness to someone with more capacity for it.


5. If your character [wrecked] on an island with a bunch of other people, how could your character help the group survive? 

Interesting question, this, for it seems to pull at the most ungenerous pieces of a character's makeup and throw them into glaring spotlights...Well, for starters, Adelaide is not cruel...she is just not very generous. However, given the proper incentive (as in, if her family were the bunch we speak of) she is a perfect Tigeress and you would not wish to cross her. I imagine she'd eat a parrot or...or let her family eat her if that would do any good. Which it wouldn't. And she'd be the first to discount the idea on those terms.

6. Is he married? If not, does he someday wish to be?  

Of course she is not married yet--she has hardly thought that far ahead, preferring to live in the moment, however I think Adelaide would enjoy the triumph of having a fellow desperately in love with her...yes...I think marriage will be in her future. :D

7. What is a cause he would die for?  

Adelaide is not accustomed to thinking dying for anything truly necessary...there is almost always an easier way out. Isn't there? However, the answer to Question 5 could aptly fit her sentiments on the subject.

8. Would he rather die fighting valiantly, or quietly at home? 

Oh, valiantly of course. Adelaide is nothing if she is not valiant. There is not a spider's nose-hair of fear about this lass.

9. If a stranger walked up to him and told him he is the child of the prophesy, would he believe them?  

I daresay Adelaide would be rather rude and laugh in the person's face and wonder when the punch-line was coming. A child of destiny? Of course. A child of prophesy? What rot.

10. Do they prefer the country, or the city?  

By all means, the City. Unless she was on holiday in which case she'd prefer the seaside with plenty of coves for secret Psammead-like adventures. :)


So there you have it. World, meet Adelaide Macefield...she thinks you ought to know her.