Lady Yolana was the wife of the late Earl Haynes.
When her husband died of illness, she’d relinquished her position as head of house to her son and his wife, along with the family manor. She now lived a life of leisure befitting a wealthy dowager countess in the eastern quarter of the capital.
One day, while on her way home from a friend’s tea party, she decided to stop by a shop in the southern quarter to pick up some embroidering supplies.
She gave the things she’d bought to her servant, holding only her purse. But after taking just a few steps, a young man ran up to her and snatched the purse out of her hands, putting a great deal of distance between them as he fled. “Thief!” she yelled, and a muscular man in the vicinity immediately began chasing him. Being quite headstrong, Lady Yolana joined the silver-haired man’s chase, ignoring her waiting maid’s cries to stop.
Up ahead, the man caught up to the pickpocket and restrained him. She was able to safely get her purse back, but on her way home, she realized she’d forgotten to thank him properly. She’d been so flustered that she’d just briefly said thank you before leaving. Feeling terrible about this, she headed to the guard post the next day.
“I’d love to thank him properly.”
“The captain won’t accept any money, but I’ll relay the message to him.”
“Well, would you mind at least telling me where I can find the woman who tripped the pickpocket?”
The guard told Lady Yolana the name of a hotel, so she headed there and asked the man at the front desk if he would call the woman down. A few moments later, a woman smiling softly and a young girl in tow appeared from the stairwell. Lady Yolana told the woman that she wanted to express her gratitude, to which she replied, “Just your thank you is enough,” with a smile.
“Would you at least come to my house for tea and refreshments?” Lady Yolana asked somewhat stubbornly, reflecting on her own vulnerability after getting robbed in her old age. Fortunately, the woman accepted her offer with a grin.
A few days later, the woman, whose name was Victoria Sellars, showed up at her house along with the little girl. She introduced herself as a commoner originally from Randall. Despite her status, she didn’t seem intimidated to be in the manor of a noble, and Lady Yolana noticed her manners and etiquette during teatime were quite refined. Perhaps Victoria came from a wealthy family.
“And what are you going to do now? Surely, you can’t stay at the hotel forever,” Yolana said to her.
“I’m planning on renting a place for us somewhere soon.”
“Well, in that case, why don’t you live here? I have a guest cottage you could live in. It has a kitchen and a bathroom.” The next thing Lady Yolana knew, she was inviting the girl to live with her.
Not only had Victoria cooperated in helping apprehend the pickpocket, but she’d also taken in an abandoned child. As a citizen of Ashbury, Lady Yolana wanted to express her heartfelt gratitude to her.
Victoria pondered her offer for a few moments and said, “As long as we’ll have a proper lease agreement.” She said she would draw up the contract herself, which convinced Lady Yolanda she’d received a proper education.
The agreement Victoria brought the next day was quite reasonable, and her suggested rent was of fair market value. Despite the high rent in the eastern quarter, which was where the aristocrats resided, Victoria didn’t seem to want to negotiate for a lower rate.
“Goodness! This is meticulously done. A perfect contract, indeed,” Lady Yolana said, before lowering Victoria’s suggested monthly rent by half and finalizing the lease. It was a rare instance where the landlady had offered a half-price discount.
And as it turned out, Victoria was an excellent tenant. She never had noisy guests over, and the little girl, whose name was Nonna, was quiet and well-behaved, unlikely to make a mess of the guest cottage. Victoria even paid two months’ worth of rent in advance.
Victoria was a pleasant conversation partner when Lady Yolana invited her to tea, and she would often offer her homemade dishes, humbly saying, “Forgive me for imposing; I’m sure you have a wonderful cook.” They were not only visually appealing, but they were also positively scrumptious. One such dish she shared was called “chicken and vegetable roulade.”
It was made by spreading a layer of vegetables and herbs over pounded chicken breasts, then rolling everything up, searing it, and simmering it in a white wine sauce. The sliced portions were beautifully arranged on the platter. Although chicken was often dry, Victoria’s was tender and easy to chew even for a person of Lady Yolana’s age. The outer layer was glazed with honey, which was delightfully crispy when seared.
“I’m so glad we met. By the way, is your place of employment nearby?” Lady Yolana asked belatedly, and Victoria informed her she was working as an assistant and housemaid for a famous historian. “It’s truly a mystery to me how you manage to do so much, and so well!”
She was impressed for good reason; one breezy day, Lady Yolana was looking at the garden from her second-floor balcony when a gust of wind carried off her hat. The hat floated on the breeze and got caught in the branches of a ginkgo tree.
“My late husband bought that hat for me before he passed, so it’s quite special to me, but there’s nothing to be done. I just pray it falls from the tree before it rains.”
Victoria had just come home from work when she heard Lady Yolana say that. She went into the cottage and changed into pants, then shimmied right up the tree, freed the hat from the branch, and tossed it over to her landlady. The tree was even taller than the roof of Lady Yolana’s two-story estate.
Yolana was so surprised, it rendered her speechless. Victoria slid back down the tree and said, “I was a tomboy growing up!” with a laugh.
Not only could this young lady conduct herself just like an aristocrat, but she was also a historian’s assistant, a fantastic cook, and even an adept tree-climber!
Suffice it to say, Lady Yolana had grown incredibly fond of Victoria.
Lady Yolana’s maid, Susan, was another one of Victoria and Nonna’s admirers.
“How could a mother abandon such an adorable girl?” she asked through angry tears. “Your Ladyship, once Nonna gets used to me, do you think she could stay in my room? Then Ms. Sellars would be able to go out at night without any worries. She’s still so young, but it doesn’t seem like she has any time for courting!” she noted with concern.
Nonna didn’t show much emotion, but when Susan talked to her or gave her little snacks, her expression would soften a bit.
“Why, you sound like you’re trying to tame a feral kitten!” Yolana cried.
“A kitten! I simply find the girl so adorable that I want to show her a mother’s love.”
“Unfortunately, the two of us could be nothing more than grandmothers!”
“How gauche, Your Ladyship!”
Lady Yolana was exasperated by Susan’s reaction.
Speaking of Victoria, she’d borrowed a large pot from the kitchen to make something for her employer’s birthday. A delicious aroma had been wafting in the air ever since this morning, when she began cooking.
“You can use my carriage to transport the food,” Lady Yolana offered, much to Victoria’s delight.
“Thank you so much! I was wondering how I would carry the food over and considered calling a carriage.”
Lady Yolana found Victoria’s occasionally absent-minded nature incredibly endearing.
Bernard Fitcher was an elderly historian, and a very cantankerous man. Although he wouldn’t do it himself, he insisted on having his tea at a particular time, prepared in a particular way. If any of his items were the slightest bit out of place in his house—even in areas outside the study and living room—he would get irritated.