The sad disaster on 21 April that brought my cousin Hermione Fussbudget to the head of House Heidrun, as well as the Barony of Wyre, and made me Jarl of Orcadia, has finally resulted in my assumption of responsibility for the Duchy of Murdann in the Firth of Caledon. My parents, Johan Augustus Paderborn, Jarl of Orcadia, and Gudrun Ragnbjorg Heidrun Paderborn, Viscountess of Little West Sniggery and Giggleford, and my aunt, Miss Fussbudget’s mother, Ingeborg Signe Heidrun Fussbudget, Baroness Wyre, died as a result of injuries sustained when Heidrun Meadery’s experimental molasses tanks exploded, flooding production facilities on Wyre. The tanks were the brain-child of my Great-uncle Oskrr Sigurdr Heidrun (a confirmed bachelor), who died immediately in the flood. He was, all too briefly, the 5th Duke of Murdann. It is by a twisted route that I have become the 6th Duke of Murdann.
My great-great-grandmother Lydia Ormsby Aagard was the half-sister of His Grace, James John Ormsby, 4th Duke of Murdann. Because of the several lateral transmissions, including female lines, it has taken this time for the genealogists and researchers at Begonia’s Peepage to certify that I am the male heir. I have now taken possession of Ormsby Hall in Caledon Murdann, which has been somewhat neglected for several years. There is a fine old stone and half-timbered manor house, albeit in some disrepair and unfurnished, but the island itself is densely covered with trees and brush. Access is through a decrepit wooden pier.
Next Sunday, the ninth of September, I will open Caledon Murdann for a tree-felling from 9 a.m. to 6 p.m. SLT. A variety of species, suitable for transplantation, will be marked for removal in order to create a more livable space. Guests are requested to take no more than two trees each.
All are welcome to visit Ormsby Hall, and know that I intend it to become once again a place of graciousness and hospitality.
Otenth Haakon Paderborn, Jarl of Orcadia, Duke of Murdann, Viscount Ormsby of Little West Sniggery and Giggleford, Thegn of Aa
I most certainly look forward to a visit and tea at Ormsby Hall! I do believe we were to talk about the business of publishing and literature…