Chapter 6:
Party of Four Plus One Knight
AFTERWARD, THEY COLLECTED ROOK, AND the carriage and animals went quietly to the stable. Lect now sat in the parlor, meeting with his hosts.
“It’s an honor to have you in our abode, Sir Froude,” Hughes said.
“I only wish it weren’t so sudden, Your Lordship,” Lect said.
Hughes chuckled. “No need for all that fanciful terminology. I’m no sailor.”
“As you wish, Lord Rudleberg.”
Lect sat where Maxwell had on that fateful day nearly a month ago. The Rudlebergs sat across from him in the same fashion.
“Sir Gutless here,” Luciana began, “rudely intruded upon our estate with the sole intent of stealing Melody away for purposes im—”
“If I may,” Lect interrupted. “I’d like to tell the story in my own words. For my sake.”
Hughes noted the snarl forming on his daughter’s lips and needed no further explanation. “I believe that may be for the best.”
And so Lect told the story. In perhaps more neutral terms.
Hughes hrm’d. “Wait. Melody, you were at the Spring Ball?”
“Cecilia was you? Goodness, I didn’t even recognize you!” his wife said.
“How could you not?” Luciana scoffed. “I knew it was her at first blush!”
Her parents did not respond to that.
“In any case,” Hughes said, “you want her to attend the Summer Ball as Cecilia again?”
“That’s right,” Lect said. “I’ve already consulted Melody but thought it best to receive the permission of her employers as well.”
“And you gave your consent?”
“Yes, my lord,” said Melody. “With the intention of seeing to Lady Luciana’s every need.”
“Very well—er, what needs?”
“My lady has decided to accept Lord Reclentos’s invitation, on the condition that she isn’t alone. You see, my lord, she’s a tad shy.”
“I-I am not shy!” Luciana protested.
“Yes, of course.” Melody giggled. “Merely a slip of the tongue.”
Time had worked its magic, and Luciana could now speak of the matter without flying into a rage, though her face still flushed red and her cheeks burned.
Right on time, the count and countess snapped from their frozen stupor. “We forgot!” they cried.
“Mother! Father! How could you forget something so important?” Luciana said.
“I-I’ve just been so lost in my work,” Hughes protested. “And what with the estate collapsing, well…”
“Every free moment I have goes to tea parties with Lady Haumea,” Marianna said.
“I can’t believe you two,” Luciana said.
“My lady, you yourself remembered not half a week ago,” Melody reminded her.
“W-we were busy!” Luciana cried. “What about you or Micah? Where are your excuses?”
“I have nothing to do with this!” the little maid blurted.
Lect, for his part, was in a stupor of his own. Generally, it was unthinkable that an entire noble house could simply “forget” an invitation to the Summer Ball from the scion of House Reclentos, a likely contender for the next lord chancellor. The Rudlebergs’ airheadedness was truly legendary.
“At any rate,” said Hughes, “to summarize: Melody is to attend the Summer Ball as Cecilia and requires time to prepare, thus your returning through one of your doors.”
“Yes, my lord,” Melody said. “The original plan was to travel by carriage, arrive on the twenty-fifth, and spend the remaining five days preparing. However, now that I must consider my own arrangements as well, we thought it prudent to minimize wasted time.”
“Entirely understandable. Sir Froude, I’m to understand you will handle the matter of her dress?”
“That’s right, my lord,” Lect replied.
“On that note,” Luciana said. “Father, we need to prepare accommodations for Sir Gu—Sir Froude for the next five days.”
“Why is that?”
“We stepped into the capital through one of Melody’s doors. We didn’t pass through a gate or conduct any of the necessary procedures for entering the city, and in order for the timeline to make sense, we’ll need to wait for time to pass.”
“You mean to say Sir Froude will need to stay out of sight during the time he would have been traveling.”
“Exactly. On the twenty-fifth, we’ll take the carriage and horses outside again, then ‘officially’ return through the proper channels.”
“Yes, smart. That makes sense. I understand. Serena, tidy up a room for Sir Froude.”
“At once, my lord,” the doll replied.
“I apologize for the inconvenience,” Lect said.
“Not at all,” insisted Hughes. “But now that I think about it, won’t us playing host to a knight for the better part of a week get in the way of your preparations, Melody?”
“We’ve planned for that,” said Luciana. “Haven’t we, Melody?”
“We have, my lady. I happen to be friends with Sir Froude’s maid, Paula,” she said. “She’s seen my magic as well. If you’ll allow it, my lord, I can bring her here so that she might see to our guest herself.”
“Thorough,” Hughes said. “All right. See to it.”
“Yes, my lord.” Melody bowed most perfectly.
“Paula, are you in?” Melody arrived at the Froude estate by way of Ovunque Porta, with Lect’s permission, of course. “Paula?”
“Coming, coming!” A maid with a pair of braids appeared and, upon seeing her guest, lit up. “Melody? Long time no see.”
“Hello again, Paula.”
Paula was an old friend, one of Melody’s first, and another maid of all work.
“Already back in the capital? Uh-oh, did you miss my master?”
“No, we met. We’ve just returned, and he’s currently staying with us at the Rudleberg estate.”
“Noted. And the ball?”
“I’ll be attending.”
“He actually did it! I just might shed a tear.”
“My lady is terribly nervous, you see. I’ll be going to help put her mind at ease. I really should thank Lect. His offer couldn’t have come at a more convenient time.”
“I take it back. I’m going to knock his head in.”
Melody wondered at that.
“Anyway, how can I help you?”
“Seeing as we’ve arrived five days ahead of schedule, he’s staying with us until the timeline falls into place. I wanted to ask if you might help with that. I hear you have plans for my dress as well? We could provide anything you need in that regard.”
“Say no more! At a count’s estate, I’m confident I could put together something even better than last time. How did you run five days ahead of schedule, though? Did my master rush you?”
“Oh, no. I used this.” Melody cast Ovunque Porta.
Paula blinked but offered little else in the way of a reaction. “This is that door you pulled my master through. You did this with your magic?”
“I can connect it to any location I’ve been to before.”
“I remember you knocking him out with your magic the first time you came to visit, but this is something else.” Being a commoner without much knowledge of the arcane, Paula had little basis for awe. “One moment while I gather my things.”
She vanished to pack clothes and the things she’d need for Melody’s dress and various odds and ends. Before long, she returned clutching two big, bulging bags in each hand.
“That’s an awful lot of stuff,” Melody noted hesitantly.
“Three of these are for your dress. Materials and tools.”
“I, um, hope we’re not planning on making it too involved.”
“Ballrooms are battlefields, Melody. A ballgown, your armor. I will cut no corners here. Are we clear?”
“Y-yes, madam.” Melody saw a bit of herself in that hard smile. This was how she got when it came to maids, so she understood now was the time to smile and nod.
Why in the world does putting me in some silly old dress always get everyone so heated?
Stifling a sigh, she guided her friend through the door and into her family’s estate.
“Oh?” said Luciana, catching them right on time. “Who’s this, Melody?”
“Right, yes. Introductions. Paula, this is my mistress, Lady Luciana of House Rudleberg.”
“A pleasure to make your acquaintance.” Paula curtsied, her normal brusqueness fastidiously brushed under the metaphorical rug. “My name is Paula, and I serve House Froude as a maid of all work.”
Luciana nodded. She expected nothing less from Melody’s friends. “The pleasure’s all mine. I look forward to seeing how you work. On Melody’s dress. Especially on her dress. I want to see the dress.”
“Of course, my lady. Rest assured, I will devote myself body and soul to the dress. And my master. But mostly the dress. Primarily the dress.”
“You’re a maid of the highest caliber, clearly. Wasted on that sorry excuse for a knight, Sir Gutless.”
“You’re too kind, my lady. My sorry excuse for a master simply cannot comprehend what’s truly important. That being Melody’s dress.”
“You’re both, um, aware that he’s standing right there, yes?” Melody said.
Luciana tittered poshly. Paula giggled innocently. And Lect, having come to greet his maid like a responsible master, stood there blankly.
He sighed. “Just take care of the dress, Paula.”
“Goodness, there’s my sorry excuse for a master now! I hear our esteemed Melody, in her magnanimity, has graciously accepted your invitation to the Summer Ball, all for her lady. Forget not your manners, my wobbly-kneed master. We owe Lady Luciana a debt of gratitude. And you need a spine.”
The knight grimaced.
“I quite like this maid,” Luciana said. “But I must admit, I rather like her master squishy and ambulatorily challenged.”
“Oh? No rest for the wicked, eh, Master?”
Luciana tittered poshly. Paula giggled innocently. Just like that, they were fast friends.
This pleased Melody…and confused her. What in the world?
As the first day of Lect’s stay with the Rudlebergs began, Paula set about the arduous task of creating it—Melody’s ballgown.
When asked for comment regarding her other responsibilities, Paula reportedly had only one response: “My master? Yeah, I’ll check on him. Later. Maybe.”