Chapter 75

The Aunt’s smile was less terrifying than Princess Margaret’s and nowhere near Queen Victoria’s. Now—let the negotiations begin. This time my goals are Nasius’s uniform and a pony.

“Patience, do you happen to know why His Majesty would force not only the Princes but even the Princess into a dormitory of all places?”

Well, I’m currently staying in that “dormitory of all places”… but if I had a horse, I wouldn’t have entered it either. It’s certainly a mystery.

“Well… Princess Margaret mentioned she was ordered to do so by the King.”

As a lady-in-waiting I mustn’t leak what I learn, but this is being discussed everywhere. Prince Keith is loudly complaining to his schoolmates, and I certainly won’t mention that Princess Margaret is a late sleeper—my lips are zipped.

“My, so it was His Majesty… Then it wasn’t Queen Victoria’s decision.”

So she didn’t even know. To negotiate, you must know your opponent, and I knew nothing about the Countess of Monterraced. In times like this it’s best to let the person speak for herself—fortunately, Aunt is a chatterbox.

“Aunt, your granddaughter Lady Angela is the same age as Princess Jane, isn’t she? Then she will be in the same year as Nasius. I look forward to their acquaintance.”

Aunt’s eyes darted away. Had she forgotten Nasius? He’s the heir to her maiden family.

“Yes, of course. She will be a cousin to Racine’s children. I’m sure Racine will tell Angela to be friendly with him.”

It seems Lady Racine remains tightly connected to her mother even after marrying into the House of Viscount Satisfoard—perhaps one of those co-dependent mother-daughter pairs common in my previous life?

“Thank you. I know nothing of your House of Monterraced, nor of the House of Satisfoard into which my cousin married. It would be an honor if you could tell me about them.”

Marrying into the Earldom of Monterraced is Aunt Amalia’s pride, and as expected she spent the next thirty minutes talking in high spirits. My father beside me began to doze, so I nudged him awake with my elbow to avoid her slipping into lecture mode.

“The Monterraced estate stretches across the northeastern part of Romano and is quite scenic. Yes, Patience, you should visit sometime—your cousin Lucius is studying estate management there. And in Romano we have Salius, who joined the First Knight Order. You must come to our mansion.”

If there are two boys, I definitely want to secure a hand-me-down uniform for Nasius—make that the primary goal.

The House of Satisfoard governs a southern port town, so they’re quite wealthy—no wonder she liked the match for Racine. Wealthy relatives are always welcome.

“Ideally I wanted Racine to marry into a marquis or earl family, but there were no heirs of the right age… and what’s the point of marrying into a second son’s line? Viscount Satisfoard is a very sincere man, but for my granddaughter Angela to be Princess Jane’s schoolmate, the family’s rank is a bit… well, you understand, don’t you?”

Aunt, have you forgotten your own maiden family is also a viscount’s house? She’s grown too used to being flattered as a countess. Time to start the real negotiations—otherwise Father might actually fall asleep.

“Oh, the tea has gone cold. My apologies.”

I rang the silver bell on the table. It was a wonder the set hadn’t been sold off yet. Wyatt, the butler, entered the drawing room.

“Please refresh the tea. For Aunt and me, rosehip tea—and some cookies as well.”

Rosehip tea is much better than the cheap black tea we usually have, and it complements the cookies’ sweetness. Our cookies are no longer the sugar-crusted lumps they used to be.

We spent some time in idle chat until the tea was brought in.

“Rosehip tea? I am unfamiliar with the name.”

Well, ordinary nobles can afford expensive tea leaves; they wouldn’t bother picking rosehips from the garden.

“Oh, Aunt, you don’t know it? Rosehip tea is tart, but it’s famous among schoolgirls for its skin-whitening effects.”

Aunt jumped at the mention of “skin-whitening”—blemishes are a universal concern.

“My, Patience, you are quite well-informed.”

With that, she would likely stop complaining about the sour tea. Wyatt placed the tea set and cookies on the table.

“I have never seen these confections before.”

Of course not—they aren’t the usual sugar-encrusted imitation cakes.

“Yes, I had them made from a recipe I received from the Queen’s head chef at the Summer Detached Palace.”

I actually taught it to him, but using the Queen’s name adds prestige.

“Goodness! Patience, were you invited to the Summer Detached Palace? And you even received a recipe?”

The Queen’s influence is immense; Aunt began eating the cookies with great reverence.

“These are delicious! William, you haven’t served these even once!”

She was merciless to her younger brother, but she had another goal in mind.

“Was Princess Jane not also at the Summer Detached Palace?”

She took the bait. I wanted a boy’s uniform and a pony for Nasius; a rental would do—perhaps better, since it saves on fodder.

“Yes, she was there. But she was a very different type of Princess compared to Princess Margaret.”

I’m sure Aunt, having heard that “Princess Margaret likes music,” had her granddaughter Angela practicing endlessly as a mark of refinement.

“A different type? So she is not fond of music?”

Exactly—she’s a different sort. It’s information no one else knows yet, though it’ll lose value once she starts playing with her schoolmates.

“Yes, Princess Jane is very active and excels at swimming and riding. In fact, she often went for long rides accompanied by Lord Eugene.”

I mentioned Lord Eugene as well as the Queen; I didn’t care if they called me calculating.

“My, with Lord Eugene…”

Any woman who sees Lord Eugene once is bound to admire him—Aunt’s eyes practically turned into hearts.

“I was encouraged to ride as well, but I was frightened of horses and practiced on a pony instead. While Nasius loves his studies…”

Aunt’s gaze shifted to Father—time for the lecture.

“That simply won’t do. William, you were good at your studies but hopeless at athletics. Even if we are legally noble without land, there are limits—Nasius requires the refinements befitting the son of a noble.”

I felt a bit sorry for Father—he was breaking into a cold sweat as the fire spread to him—but the lack of tutors for riding or fencing was his unemployment’s fault. He’d have to endure it.

Father tried to counter, “While you say that…” but that would only incur his sister’s wrath.

“So, William. I must ask, are you providing Nasius with training in riding or swordsmanship?”

When my faltering father replied, “George, the manservant, teaches him swordsmanship…” it was like pouring oil on a fire.

“If you cannot afford a fencing tutor, you should be teaching him yourself! To think you haven’t even done that. At this rate, Nasius will be a laughingstock at the Royal Academy. It might even affect Angela’s reputation!”

We received Aunt’s angry lecture with a humble, “You are absolutely right.”

“I shall have Angela’s riding instructor stop by here twice a week as well. Have the younger one, Henry, take lessons too. As for a fencing instructor, I shall have Salius come by when he is off duty. It would be a shame for him as well if his cousin were so incompetent.”

After enduring her long lecture, riding and swordsmanship were sorted; now for the uniform.

“Oh, it would be a delight to meet my cousin Sir Salius—he joined the First Knight Order after graduating from the Royal Academy, didn’t he? …However, we have no boys’ uniforms, nor wooden swords or practice armor.”

Aunt’s anger reignited.

“William, truly, you must remarry! To leave your children so neglected. I have plenty of old uniforms from the Academy. I’ll give you the old wooden swords and armor as well.”

Hooray—goal achieved. I felt a resentful glare from Father beside me, but it was his own fault for being unemployed. I wondered if I could get him a job in accounting at the wealthy Satisfoard household.

I’d also discovered a fragment of why Father was dismissed: he apparently clashed with the Marquis of Copperfield. A house like ours was likely brushed aside like dust. I wondered if anyone knew the full story.