I find myself herded into the tub by these women. Despite my protests, I am scrubbed thoroughly, head-to-toe, and my hair is washed. As they’re washing my hair, the women ooh and ahh over my hair. One asks me what I use to get all of the different colors. This question dumbfounds me. It simply grows like this. My answer surprises her, and when I look around, all their hair is a single color. Most Fey have at least a streak or two of a second color. None of the women seems to, from what I can see of their hair, peeking out from under their lacy caps. Once I am out of the bath, I insist on a silk chemise going back on. I find their clothes itchy, and if I’m forced to have that against my skin all evening, I might lose my mind.
Next, I am stuffed into a torture device called a corset, which is cinched painfully tight. How do these women endure this? Had Kenric told me that I would have to wear this every day, I might have reconsidered coming here. This thing is horrible. The women pick through my dresses and put together something suitable for me. I am dressed, my hair is done up, and they pick out my jewelry and put it on me. Lastly, one of them paints my face. This stuff feels odd against my skin, and I am sure that nothing in it is beneficial. I am all but pushed out the door and handed off to another servant, who leads me to what is clearly a receiving room.
Ina is there with several other women. She sees me approaching and smiles, “Come, Lady Kenric, and join us. We were discussing your arrival."
These women are looking at me, and I can smell their contempt, mistrust, and fear. I force myself to walk forward and sit next to Ina.
“Let me introduce you to these ladies, Lady Kenric. This is Lady Ilse, wife of Lord De Hass." My stomach drops. The other lords from the trade delegation are here.
She looks down her nose at me, “Ryt, Lord De Hass to you, has had the most interesting things to say about you. I must say. You’re far less of a hoyden than he made you out to be.”
The subtle emphasis on “Lord De Hass to you” wasn’t missed by anyone.
Ina shrugs. “It seems to be a love match between Lord and Lady Kenric. You can retract your claws, Ilse.”
Before Ina can introduce anyone else, the youngest of the women jumps in. “I am Andrea De Geiter. I’m betrothed to Rolf Zondervan. Rolf had nice things to say about you and that you were quite helpful with the contract language.”
“Language is tricky when it's unfamiliar,” I murmur.
Ina then turns to the next lady, “This is Her Grace, Priscillia. Her husband is His Grace, Keimpe De Boer.”
Ah, the one who tracked me most relentlessly and reeked of arousal every time I was in the room. That’s one duke I won’t be friendly with. His wife, instead, perhaps?
Priscilla puts on a smile. “Keimpe didn’t even mention you.”
Without thinking, I respond, “I’m sure that’s because he sees all women as beneath his notice and only slightly smarter than this sofa, Your Grace.”
A twitch of a smile appears at the corner of Priscilla’s mouth, and Ina nods. “I told you she was delightful.”
Gods help her. I don’t understand how she lives with that man. She earns some respect from me just for the self-control it takes not to stab him in his sleep.
Priscilla relaxes a bit. “He is quite convinced of male superiority. To him, we are just things to be used and thrown away. You’d be wise to remember that with him. With most of them, really.”
We sit chatting for a while before the formal dinner. The men come to escort us to dinner, and it’s the first time I’ve seen Kenric since we arrived here. The whole situation feels quite tense for me. Duke Keimpe and a few of the lords couldn’t have followed my every move any more closely if they thought I was about to leap over the table and stab them in the eye with my salad fork.
These fools may believe they’re being subtle or that their wives are too clueless to notice, but none of this escapes their wives’ attention. I see the looks from them, wondering if I’m to be the next ‘court mistress’. I can’t wait to leave this place and get far away from these men. None of the usual ways I deal with overly intrusive men are allowed here. Kenric tells me to be patient. We’ll be in the capital in a few days and away from these men.
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Ina advises being very cautious around them and making sure I’m never alone with them. Why do you think we came on a different ship? We ladies played cards after dinner, and I went to bed. Luckily, I have one of Kenric’s shirts with me. I don’t want to wake everyone up or wander around this place all night and sleep all day. I thought I was uncomfortable before, smelling fear in everyone.
The language is unusual, with harsh consonants that make it hard to pronounce correctly, and I don’t always trust my understanding of it. Words are a bit more fluid than Kenric has indicated. The customs are strange, and the dress even more so. The dress here is tight and restrictive. I could barely eat with that damned corset on, much less get a full breath. No wonder these men think their women are so fragile. Finally, I curl up, face pressed into one of Kenric’s shirts, and fall asleep.
The next two days follow a similar routine. Get up, dress for breakfast, and lounge around with Ina in some approved ladylike activity. Then dress for lunch and avoid the male guests. After that, lounge again in another approved ladylike activity, followed by dressing for dinner and avoiding the male guests once more. The highlight of this period was the conversation I had with Axelle, Ina’s chief maid, about hiring some maids of my own. Axelle recommended I speak with Melina, her cousin. It turns out Melina was let go without a reference because she refused her former employer’s husband. After talking with Ina, she agrees that Melina might be a good choice and is very loyal.
Axelle and Ina arranged for her to come here so I could speak with her. It seems that being let go without a reference is a sure way to never get another job. Having spoken with Melina, I quite like her. Ina and Axelle approve, so I have hired her. Her first task is to hire some assistants of her own. Melina has suggested that I continue to rely on Ina’s good graces to provide some extra staff and that we should employ most of the help we need from Lord Kenric’s holdings. Hiring local people will encourage loyalty to Lord Kenric. Lord Kenric approves of this. I’m willing to be guided by her in this and in choosing suitable people since this isn’t an area where I have much experience.
Melina is upstairs repacking almost everything with some help from Ina’s staff. Left to my own devices, a bit of magic could fix it all, but I can’t use magic here. I need to blend in with the locals, which means hiring people. I briefly discussed it with Kenric, and he said that whatever I want is fine with him. Ina mentions that most husbands aren’t so permissive. Most are more worried about how much the staff will cost and are as tight-fisted as possible. I don’t understand this. These people are in your house. They prepare your food. They know your secrets. It seems wiser to me to treat and pay them well, rather than treat them like just another candlestick or side table. Then again, many of the things these humans do seem strange to me.
The wages for servants here are already quite low. Most of the “pay” consists of room and board, along with some inexpensive clothing items and a small amount of silver paid out a few times a year. Given what these women are expected to do, this seems incredibly cheap. This frustrates me and feels almost as abusive as Ellisar’s schemes. I’ve asked about the costs here for a modest family home. It’s still not much, so they will have the usual room, board, clothing, and two-thirds of the rent for a small steading on Lord Kenric’s land. My hope, since Kenric wants more of his holdings under cultivation, is that they’ll bring their husbands to help farm. Melina is over the moon about this since she will get paid a little more. She has recommended that we hire at least one dressmaker while we are in the capital. This will involve visiting dress shops to find someone suitable.
Melina has suggested that I try to avoid going to the capital. Still, since Kenric and I are to be married again to satisfy some legal requirements both here and as part of the trade agreement, that is unavoidable. Melina has explained this debauched king’s way of operating, since she has observed it before. He uses secret passages and doors to pop out of odd places in an attempt to catch a woman alone so he can order her into his bed. If she disobeys, it is treason, and if she obeys, she breaks her marriage vows. Only rarely has he used his royal authority to order everyone else out of his presence. If I choose ladies of quality, as these humans perceive such things, as my primary ladies, they can accompany me when Lord Kenric is called away to matters I will not be allowed to attend.
Individually, they won't be able to stand against the king, but together, they'll serve as a deterrent as long as I keep them close. Melinda assures me that the king will find reasons to trick Kenric away from me. She observed this when her former employer was called to court, but Lord Geil was quite harsh with Lady Isiline. Since she didn't care much for her husband or his actions, Lady Isiline began to seek the king's favor. Lord Geil received special treatment from the king for a time until the king sent Lady Isiline away from the court. Rumors suggest that Lord Geil’s eldest son might actually be a royal bastard, though no one dares say it openly. Melina believes it to be true, even if it cannot be proven.
Lord Geil, having observed the king’s antics, tried the same thing with Lady Isiline’s ladies, which is why Melina is now in my employ. When Melina rejected him, Lady Isiline let her go without a reference, thereby preventing her from getting another job as a lady. Melina says that Lord Geil is not very kind to the boy either. I feel badly for Lady Isiline, married to a man who trades your very body for royal favor while despising you and seeking revenge because you allowed it, even when it leads to the most natural outcome. There is no clear winner in that particular contest for either side. How sad to be trapped in a marriage with such spiteful bitterness on both sides. The boy, the one true innocent, is all of this, blamed and berated by Lord Geil constantly, and I feel the worst for him. I’ve suggested to Ina that maybe arranging for the boy to be fostered elsewhere might be helpful.
- Which character made the boldest move and which made the dumbest?