The Return of Fairwind

A while back devoted listener Snickersnax pointed out that Fairwind denied herself and her daughter the accompaniment of ladies-in-waiting and personal maids; nice catch! I totally missed that.

As the text reads, Fairwind denies herself and Andrella the accompaniment of both Ladies-in-waiting and personal maids. One might assume that this is out of an ascetic religious view--she is a cleric after all. Yet she maintains lavish furnishings in her ridiculously small living quarters, so this seems unlikely. Perhaps the baron is too cheap to pay for maids; that's in keeping with his penurious character and yet another reason that his wife spends her free time bonding with Rasputin while his daughter plots her ascension to the throne of the barony. 

But the text says that it's Fairwind that insists they have no servants or ladies in waiting. A lady in waiting is more like a companion who provides assistance and advice. They're drawn from the aristocratic classes themselves and may be the daughters of other barons or spouses of important ministers or other such aristocratic horseshit. These are the clique of gossiping ladies you see hanging out with the royals in shows like The Great or Olivia Colman's cronies/pool of potential lovers in The Favorite. Why would she deny herself and her daughter such company?  

This is likely an effort on the part of Fairwind to isolate herself and her daughter from outside influences. This may get back to the issue of F'wind being lawful in a chaotic town--she trusts no one. Or it could be  parental control; she wants to ensure that she is the only voice advising her daughter a la Queen Victoria's mum and probably 10,000 other controlling monarchical matrons. This need not be a malicious relationship--though in that direction lies the greater drama. She could be a well-intentioned and loving--if over-protective--mother if that better suits your view of Restenford nobility.