It was one of Mr. Fisalis’s days off, sometime after I’d dabbled in the world of mazes. Normally he’d suggest the two of us go somewhere together, but unfortunately, he had such a huge backlog of paperwork that Rohtas had given him strict orders not to leave the house.
“Daddy’s got a lot of work to do, huh, Lettie?”
“Ptoo...”
“Let’s hope he finishes up soon.”
“Ga!”
“If he tries to blow it off, Rohtas’ll have his head.”
“Hee hee!”
“Ooh... She got a kick out of that one.”
While waiting for Mr. Fisalis to finish up his work, I was playing with Violet on the sofa in his study.
“I don’t mind if you two go for a walk while I’m busy,” he suggested, sounding so defeated he toed the line between pitiful and hilarious. I had to stop myself from giggling.
“It’s fine. Lettie wants you to come with us!”
“She does?”
“Yep. So we’ll wait until you’re done.”
“I’ll finish up on the double.”
Leveraging Violet was all it took to give Mr. Fisalis a kick in the pants these days. Unfortunately, he had an extra heavy workload on his hands today, so it wasn’t until after lunch—but still a little too early for afternoon tea—that he had completed the majority of it. Violet had grown fussy, bored of waiting around, so I had handed her off to Mimosa to go play with Daisy some time ago.
“I’ve taken care of what I needed to, but now it’s an awkward time of day. Too bad.”
“Yeah, you’re right.”
Mr. Fisalis and I were working together to sort the documents he’d just read and signed. It’d make things easier on Rohtas when he came to pick them up.
“It’s too late to go anywhere now, but I can’t say I’m in the mood for an early tea break.”
“Yeah...”
“And Lettie’s already asleep. So much for our walk.”
“She and Daisy were playing pretty hard.”
Tuckered out from all that fun, Violet was currently taking an afternoon nap with her friend.
Mr. Fisalis stood up and did a full-body stretch. “Man... I’m feeling stiff as a board after all those hours spent battling paperwork. I’m in the mood for some sword practice. Or maybe I’ll go running.”
Sword practice made sense, but “running”? What?
“Running where, exactly?”
“I don’t know—anywhere. The garden, perhaps?”
“That’ll get you in trouble with Bellis.”
“Good point.”
Going for a stroll was one thing, but racing through our beautifully manicured lawn was bound to wreck all his hard work. Though, uh...didn’t you sprint through it once before, Mr. Fisalis?
“Around the mansion, then?”
“That’ll get you in trouble with everyone else.”
“But aren’t you always running down the halls?”
“Not by choice! It’s a part of my training.”
Back before I got pregnant, in addition to my drills in swordsmanship and martial arts, I’d been forced to run around dressed to the nines as a part of my rainy day lessons(?). Yeah...that sure was a thing that happened.
“Then how about we play some tag? You know, as another part of your training.”
“The word ‘then’ is doing a lot of work in that sentence! Tag? Seriously?”
“Yeah. An all-out game of tag between me and you. Didn’t you say you wanted to see the secret chamber and such?”
“I did. So?”
“It’ll be a good opportunity for you to do some exploring.”
“What, now?! I thought you were going to show me around normally!”
“I wouldn’t mind doing things that way, but isn’t it more fun to make it into a game?”
“Okay, fair point!”
Adding a game into the mix would make it more exciting... Uh, hold on. I already learned through mazes just the other day! Does everyone think I’m an overgrown kid or what?!
Eh, oh well. Mr. Fisalis looks really into the idea; it couldn’t hurt to indulge him.
“Great, then it’s settled. I’ll be ‘it.’ We’ll play until tea time, and whoever loses has to obey one order from the winner. How’s that sound?” he proposed, a huge grin spread across his face. I was getting an awfully bad feeling about what would happen if I lost.
“Fine by me. No part of the manor is considered off-limits, right?”
“Of course not. Feel free to head behind the scenes or stay in plain sight. The only thing you’re not allowed to do is find a hiding place and run out the clock. The point of the game is to outrun me.”
“Why? Because staying in one place means I wouldn’t be familiarizing myself with the secret passage?”
“Exactly.”
“Hmm... That does sound fun.”
“Doesn’t it?”
This was all set to be a good example of learning-by-doing.
Ha! Now that I’ve learned about the secret chamber (and passage), I know everything there is to know about our mansion!
“You’re on!”
“Let’s get started, then. I’ll give you to the count of ten. One, two...”
“Already?! C’mon!”
Seeing as Mr. Fisalis had already begun his countdown, I rushed out of the study as fast as I could.
✦ ✦ ✦
Since I was dressed in my casual wear that day, my shoes were low-heeled and easy to move in. My footwear wasn’t an issue—the problem was how long I was going to be running. Tea time wasn’t too far off, but spending the entire time on my feet was going to take a lot of stamina.
Considering how long it had been since my last rainy day lesson, my physical capabilities weren’t what they used to be. I hadn’t even realized what wonders those dance lessons were doing for my strength and endurance, or those hallway sprints for my agility. All that time I’d spent slacking off had left me rusty.
I’d have to use my head to get out of this one.
My best bet was to avoid taking a straight path. Mr. Fisalis would destroy me in a contest of speed.
The whole point of this game is to give me a look at the secret tunnels. Might as well use that to my advantage to give him the slip!
Just when I was plotting to duck in and out of rooms, making good use of the various turns and stairs along the way...the starting countdown was up.
“Here I come, Vi!” I heard Mr. Fisalis yell.
I’d rather be the one giving out the orders than taking them! Time to win this thing!
✦ ✦ ✦
With the second story study now behind me, I flew down the stairs to the first floor. I could hear the footsteps of Mr. Fisalis right on my heels in hot pursuit.
I stormed down the corridor. One servant I passed looked at me in confusion and asked, “What are you doing?”
Yet another laughed and commented, “More running practice?”
“Sorry! In a hurry!” was the only answer I could give them.
In my attempt to deviate from a straight path, I decided to run through the servants’ dining room. This isn’t their break time, so there shouldn’t be anyone around!
Seeing as I was in a bit of a rush, I slammed open the door to the dining room, only to find Dahlia and Cartham in what I’d assumed would be an empty room.
“Eep!”
“Halt, intruder...! Wait, Madame?!”
Jumping to the conclusion that I was some kind of thief, Cartham stepped up to shield Dahlia on reflex. You should have seen the look on his face when he realized it was just me!
Guarding your wife on pure instinct? Awww, now that’s love! Wait, now’s not the time!
“Sorry to disturb you! I’ll be out of your hair in a moment!”
“What?!”
No sooner had I come rudely tramping through than I was heading right back out through the door to the kitchen, the couple left gaping in astonishment. I bet Dahlia’s gonna have my head for this later... I’d better brace myself.
Just as I left the kitchen, it sounded like Mr. Fisalis had come running into the dining room.
“Not you too, Master Fisalis!”
“Sorry! Didn’t mean to interrupt!” I heard him shout from behind me.