Nina was right—it was an emergency. Or at least, it could have turned into one at any moment.
Just as Ciara had said, Nina had turned off down a side street. But she wasn’t looking for a shortcut to the next shop. In fact, the destination she had in mind had nothing to do with anything on the shopping list.
She’d headed for the office that managed the city’s sewage system, where she inquired into the state of the sewage pipes that ran beneath the marquess’s estate.
“One of the items on the list was rat poison,” Nina explained, “but the amount struck me as unusual. Of course, it was possible you wanted to stock up just in case, but...”
This was what Nina had asked the broad-chested manservant about. From him, she learned that far from stocking up, the estate went through the quantity of rat poison on the list in just a few days. Around three weeks earlier, the rat population had suddenly exploded.
“The first sign I noticed of something being wrong was the smell that came up from the drain in the sink,” Nina said.
The sink—the site of her and Ciara’s first duel. There, she’d caught a powerful whiff of rat, and began to suspect that there might be an infestation down in the sewer.
Emily, incidentally, looked totally baffled by the idea of sniffing out rats, but Tien nodded knowingly.
“I thought there might be a problem with the sewer itself, so just in case, I went to the city office to ask about the layout of the pipes. It turns out that the city’s main sewage line runs along the edge of this estate. There are supposed to be mechanisms to prevent rats coming up from the main sewer lines, as well as magic devices that repel them, but it’s possible that they’re broken. I was hoping,” she said, turning to Astrid, “that you could use this device to investigate the problem for me.”
The large bundle in her arms turned out to be a magic device for conducting ground surveys.
They all headed to the back grounds and there, in the farthest corner, they found a number of unusual depressions. The butler made a noise of amazement.
“My goodness... I overlooked all of this. I’d heard about the increase in rats, but I assumed it was just the summer heat and would settle down again.”
He admitted that, because the back grounds were only tended to once every fifty days or so, he hadn’t picked up on the changes.
“So Nina,” Astrid said, “not only did you suspect there was something wrong with the sewer, you even went and found a magical device to investigate? It’s heavy too...”
“That’s right. Although it meant taking a liberty, I thought that rat poison alone wouldn’t solve the root of the problem.”
“It was no liberty at all,” the butler said. “Indeed, it was profoundly astute. I’m sure we would be glad to have you join the house—”
He broke off and turned around with a start. Behind him stood his master, Marquess Donquis.
“Well? How does this work, then?” the marquess demanded. “Did Nina win or lose the duel? Either is fine with me so long as it means she stays here.”
If the last round had simply been about who could do the shopping fastest, then Ciara had won. But if this was truly a maid duel, then the victory could only go to Nina, who had gone straight to the root of the problem.
And no one knew that better than the other duelist herself—Ciara.
She stood rooted to the spot, trembling and visibly shocked.
“I didn’t... I never heard anything about an infestation of rats!” she said shrilly. “Why did no one inform me?! I am the housekeeper!”
The other maids all looked away sheepishly.
“It should be obvious,” came a voice. “When you treat people the way you do, no one wants to report anything.”
It was Tien.
“I-I beg your pardon?!”
“Chi and Nina and the others do not bother with formalities like ‘reports.’ We say what we think. We want to tell each other what happened in our days. But if Chi had to report to someone like you, Chi would rather say nothing at all.”
“How dare you speak to me like that? I am a Lorsted maid! I stand at the very pinnacle of maid-dom!”
“When it comes to the task in front of you, there’s no question that you’re both quick and precise,” Astrid said. “To tell you the truth, I was shocked to see you keep pace with Nina. But when it comes to the substance of the matter... That’s where you fall short.” She turned to Nina. “Tell me, what’s the essence of a maid’s job? What should a maid always be thinking about?”
“Well,” Nina said, “I’d say that a maid must always do her utmost to ensure the comfort of the master of the house and everyone else she encounters.”
“Does that include her fellow maids?”
“Yes, without question! After all, if there were no other maids, it wouldn’t be possible to complete all one’s duties flawlessly.”
This stopped Ciara in her tracks.
She was an excellent maid. Her skills were nothing short of remarkable. But for all that, she was alone.
Emily was reminded of the story The Emperor’s New Clothes. As housekeeper, Ciara bossed the other maids around, but they weren’t truly loyal to her, so in their “reports,” they simply told her what they thought she wanted to hear. Ciara was left almost totally in the dark.
“Ciara lost, my lord,” the butler said.
“So what happens to Nina?” Donquis demanded.
“I’m afraid that she is now free to leave.”
A vein in the marquess’s forehead began to throb.
“Do you think I’ll stand for that?”
The butler hesitated. “No.”
“Then what are you going to do about it?! What were those confident proclamations you made about the great Lorsted maids?! That was the only reason I let you go through with this farce!”
“I must apologize. I set too much store by the Lorsted name.”
Ciara’s eyes widened in shock. “Y-Y-You...!” she spluttered. “You dare disparage the Lorsted maids?! The pinnacle of maid-dom?!”
“I merely stated facts. After all, you lost.”