74 — Chapter 74

I was trying to spend as much time as possible playing with my little brothers when Mary came to summon me.

“Milady, the Viscount requests your presence. He says you are to greet the Countess of Monterraced.”

I pouted. How dare they interrupt our fun? As I headed downstairs, I asked Mary about the Countess.

“The Countess of Monterraced is the Viscount’s eldest sister.”

A simple explanation. In other words, Mary doesn’t like her. Having come from my mother’s family home, Mary calls her the “sister-in-law from hell,” especially since she’s acted like a stranger ever since Father was dismissed from his post. There’s little reason for affection.

When I entered the drawing room, my father introduced the guest.

“Patience, this is Amalia, Countess of Monterraced—your aunt. Greet her.”

She had brown hair and grey eyes—clearly Father’s blood—but her appraising gaze, sweeping from my feet to my head, grated on me.

“It is a pleasure to meet you. I am Patience Granger. Thank you for visiting us.”

I offered the practiced manners of the original Patience; after a month and a half at the Summer Detached Palace, the Queen couldn’t fault my etiquette.

I sat beside Father with my back perfectly straight. Hmph. After that time with the Queen, there’s no way she could find fault with my manners.

She said it was the first time she’d met me and that, as my aunt, we’d be seeing much of each other. Meaningless chatter. Father looked flustered.

“Sister Amalia, I believe I clearly declined the marriage proposal earlier. It is far too early for Patience.”

So this woman brought the proposal. In that case, I can breathe easier that it was turned down. Good grief—I was worried it might have been someone we couldn’t afford to refuse. I can’t always trust Father’s judgment, after all.

Despite saying the matter was finished, she went on complaining for over ten minutes. This is why Father gets in such a foul mood whenever guests come over. I get it now.

When the Countess paused to catch her breath, Father cut in.

We endured another five minutes of her scolding him about how rude such a question is to a guest and how that attitude was precisely why he was dismissed, but finally she reached her point.

She claimed she’d simply been enjoying her lecture and forgotten to mention the business; middle-aged aunts like that are impossible to handle. Father clearly struggles with her.

“I heard a rumor that Patience was chosen as a lady-in-waiting for Princess Margaret.”

So that’s why she was here. What did she want?

“You are aware, I presume, that my daughter Racine married into the House of Viscount Satisfoard and gave birth to a granddaughter. That granddaughter, Angela, is the same age as Princess Jane.”

I was starting to see where this was going, but I wasn’t going to volunteer information. Oh—my school uniform is a hand-me-down from my cousin Racine. I suppose I should at least be grateful for that.

“Sister, is it quite right for you to be meddling in the affairs of the House of Satisfoard, where your daughter married?”

Father was right, but that only triggered her lecture mode again. He’s so bad at navigating social waters—the only reason the scolding lasted only a few minutes was because she had something she wanted to say.

“I have not come here on a whim. I was asked by Viscount Satisfoard and Racine. They wish for Angela to be chosen as a schoolmate for Princess Jane.”

Once again, Father stated the obvious.

“Princess Jane’s schoolmates will surely be chosen by the Queen.”

That’s true, but saying it only prolongs the conversation. We won’t make progress until we hear her out, which means I can’t go back to playing with my brothers.

“I am well aware of that. The schoolmates for Prince Richard, Princess Margaret, and Prince Keith were chosen from the families of Marquises and Earls. However, the Satisfoards are a Viscount family. Racine is worried that it will be difficult for her to be selected. But Patience was chosen as a lady-in-waiting despite being from a Viscount family. Therefore…”

I don’t know who Prince Richard’s schoolmates are, but Princess Margaret’s and Prince Keith’s are certainly the children of high rank. I don’t know the Queen’s exact criteria, but the current schoolmates are from noble families.

“Then, it cannot be helped, can it?”

Ah, Father’s sound logic. My aunt’s eyebrows were practically twitching with ire.

“You know perfectly well I didn’t come here to hear that. It’s because of that attitude that you incurred the wrath of the Marquis of Copperfield and were dismissed, and why you’ve spent your time since then shut away in your study like a hermit instead of finding a job. Ah, but you always did say you wanted to be a hermit, didn’t you? Then I suppose this life is exactly what you wished for. You have your pension, I assume, so you no longer require my assistance.”

Heh, so he was dismissed after a clash with the Marquis of Copperfield. I’ve gained one piece of information. My aunt’s anger was rising fast. Wait—we’re getting a pension? I didn’t know that. Also, the “assistance” might only be enough to keep us from starving, but we’d be in trouble without it.

“Sister, you call it ‘assistance,’ but that is merely the partial repayment of the sum I lent you when the Monterraced Earldom was suffering from a poor harvest. Ordinarily, since I am dismissed and receiving no salary, I would ask for the full amount back. Furthermore, the pension alone is not even enough to cover the maintenance of this mansion.”

Whoa—an epic sibling battle. A break in finances is a break in the bond, indeed. It was the first time I’d seen Father raise his voice. He’s usually so calm, but I suppose a fight with a sister is different. While I pondered this, the battle escalated.

“Father, I shall take my leave.”

The best move was to run. I didn’t want to watch a pair of adults have an ugly fight. I tried to stand, but both of them stopped me.

“Patience, I apologize. You should not have to hear about matters of money.”

Even the Countess looked a bit embarrassed.

“Matters of money are not things nobility should speak of. William, your manners are severely lacking.”

Uh, you were the one who brought up cutting off assistance first. And besides, that wasn’t “assistance” in the first place—it was a debt repayment. Give us the money back! Father looked unconvinced, but knowing that opening his mouth would prompt a rebuttal a hundred times as long, he bit his lip and fell silent. He knows his sister’s personality well.

“Patience was chosen as Princess Margaret’s lady-in-waiting because her schoolmates would not enter the dormitory. I do not know what will be done for Princess Jane’s schoolmates, but what if Angela were to enter the dormitory?”

My aunt looked perplexed. The House of Satisfoard has a mansion in Romano as well; normally they would commute.

“Why would the Queen insist on the dormitory? Setting aside the Princes, is it not inconvenient for the Princess? Are her maids accompanying her?”

Father only shook his head, indicating he didn’t know. My aunt’s gaze turned to me. That smiling face—it was frightening. She had me squarely in her sights.