11. The Tea Party

With the reasoning that “everyone must be tired after coming such a long way,” the nighttime tea party came to an end unexpectedly quickly. Given that I’d been planning to duck out early from the start, that was a godsend for me.

“It sounds like quite a few girls bought your sapphires and had them made into necklaces of their own,” said Mr. Fisalis. He claimed the topic had come up during his conversation with the other gentlemen.

“So it would seem. I even saw a few girls wearing a necklace with the same design as mine.”

“Apparently they’ve been going to the jeweler and ordering one ‘just like Duchess Fisalis’s.’”

“Yeah, that’s what Miss Verbena said.”

The popularity of the jewel itself was a no-brainer, and considering the kind of serious thought Mimosa and Stellaria always put into the designs, it was only natural that my accessories would garner so much attention.

“Come to think of it, Mother was going crazy trying to pitch her ‘Angulata Drops’ today...”

“Oh? Is that a new product?”

“Evidently so. From the sound of it, she threw a fit at Father—something to the tune of: ‘People tell me my eyes are like sapphires too, I’ll have you know!’ He caved and rechristened the star sapphire ‘Angulata Drops’ as an allusion to her eyes. She can get competitive over the pettiest of things, that mother of mine,” said Mr. Fisalis, chuckling.

“What, really...?”

Please, Mother Fisalis, don’t work yourself up over a plain Jane like me! Anyone could see that you blow me right out of the water!

* * *

Just as the forecast had predicted, the rain stopped the next day. The sky was clear and blue enough to make yesterday’s downpour seem like little more than a dream.

The way the plants in the garden were shining lush with dew was absolutely beautiful! The only downside was that the waters of the Wahl River were looking rough and muddy.

Breakfast was brought up to our room, so there was no need to worry about seeing other people first thing in the morning. And thank goodness for that—if I’d been required to put on my social persona from the moment I woke up, I wouldn’t have made it through the day. Three cheers for private time!

“Now that the weather has cleared up, Lady Verbena would like to give you a tour of the villa.”

When our breakfast arrived, one of Miss Verbena’s maids gave us a brief rundown of today’s schedule. Lunch would come after the tour, and following that, the girls would have their tea party. The boys were supposed to go hunting, but seeing as the ground was still slippery after yesterday, the plan had been changed to a leisurely horseback ride. Hunting... Now that was a rich man’s sport. What about my father, you ask? He did go hunting, sure, but not for sport; he was out there trying to put food on our table, so he couldn’t afford to have fun with it!

Oh, but I don’t think I’ve ever seen Mr. Fisalis hunt before.

“I never see you do much hunting, Cercis. Not a fan?”

“Oh... Uh, I already spend a lot of time riding horses or training on the job, so I’m not interested in doing even more of it on my time off. Besides, a more practical kind of hunt suits—”

“Please don’t finish that sentence.”

I’d only asked him out of idle curiosity, and there he was ready to give me a disturbing answer. A kind of hunt Mr. Fisalis (in other words, a knight) would consider “practical”? No thank you!

Moving right along.

I guess that makes sense. Hunting is a sport, so unless he really enjoyed it, someone who already spends each and every day working out like Mr. Fisalis wouldn’t have any reason to bother.

What does he do on his days off, anyway? He either gets nagged by Rohtas to take care of his mountains of paperwork, or he gives his butler the slip and kicks back with me...and that’s about it? Huh? Does my husband not have any hobbies whatsoever?!

I shot Mr. Fisalis a pitying look, which he returned with a blank stare.

“So you girls are having a tea party, hm? I bet you’ll have yourselves a grand old time.”

“It’s like they say: a woman’s tongue wags like a lamb’s tail.”

“Huh?”

“Huh?”

Whoopsie, I let an insult slip there☆ Let’s just forget that ever happened, shall we?

* * *

Not long after breakfast, Miss Verbena and Celosia showed up in person to pick us up.

“It would be beyond obnoxious to show everyone around at once—this is hardly some kind of a tour group—so I’ve decided to split everyone up into smaller groups and show them around one by one.”

She had a point. If we explored the mansion in one big mob...

“Okay, everyone! Next up, take a look at the room to our right!” Everyone shuffled along after their guide. “One, two, three, four... Oh dear, did we lose somebody?”

Just imagining it was enough to wear me out. She’d definitely made the right call in dividing us up.

“This is the banquet hall. We had dinner here last night, but we mainly use it for parties. Over here we have the parlor, and that’s the main dining room.”

After we’d seen all the public areas, we were shown the rooms largely reserved for guests. Personally speaking, I would have been way more interested in seeing the kitchen or laundry room.

It might not have been on the scale of their main residence back in Rohze, but each and every room was elegant and spacious nonetheless—no less than you’d expect from a family of moneybags. Not to mention that everything was decked to the nines with expensive-looking furniture.

Once we’d gotten a cursory tour of the villa, next up was the garden. The Wahl River ran just beyond the grounds, which only served to make the space look even more vast.

“If only the river were a little gentler today, I would’ve liked to take you out on the water.”

“That would have been lovely! It’s too bad the waters are so turbulent.”

The rain had muddied the water and flooded the river too much for safe sailing, so it wouldn’t have been much fun to do it now.

But just as Miss Verbena and I were wallowing in our disappointment, Celosia suggested, “Perhaps it will have calmed down by tomorrow. If so, let’s take the boat out for a spin.”

Lunch was laid out for us in the banquet hall, and we were free to help ourselves. Hooray for buffet style! There were seats available not only in the room itself, but out in the garden just through the glass door, so the four of us opted to eat out there. Anyone who had finished their walk around the villa started eating at their leisure, giving the noontime meal a nice, laid-back vibe.

* * *

When lunch was over, it was time to start socializing. The men mounted their horses, while we—Team House-Sitters—saw them off at the front entrance.

Every single one of the guys looked great on horseback, but no matter how generous you were to the others, Mr. Fisalis was clearly a cut above the rest. He was so dashing that it shot right past eyecandy and straight into nosebleed territory.

He was wearing a black shirt and white pants, with close-fitting riding boots to complete the look. The simplicity of the outfit only served to highlight his gorgeous proportions.

As a matter of fact, all the girls’ eyes were on him. Excuse me, ladies? Didn’t you come here to find a husband? Stop ogling a taken man! Get your butts into gear, bachelors—don’t let a married man beat you out!

“Have fun. And do be careful.”

I knew I was being a nag, but I made a point of warning him regardless. Carelessness invites disaster, after all.

“Not to worry—if I got injured on a mere jaunt, I’d be the laughingstock of the Royal Guard. Enjoy your tea party, Vi.”

“I will.”

After watching the men leave, we went our separate ways for the time being. All of us would meet back up in the parlor once we had primped ourselves for the tea party.

The grounds were quite extensive for a vacation home, and I was tuckered out after that walk around the premises. We still had some time before the tea party, so I figured I might as well take it easy until the servants came for me. Unfortunately, just as I’d gotten settled in my room...

“Let’s start getting you ready for the tea party, Madam Fisalis,” said Stellaria, she and her fellow maids gleefully getting down to business.

“Huh? But don’t we have a break between now and then?”

“No, Madam. This block of time is set aside for changing clothes and having your hair and makeup done.”

“Can I take that break after you do my hair and makeup?”

“Absolutely not. You’ll mess up all our hard work.”

“Figures.”

It’s only a tea party, sure, but it’s still socializing. Are you really going to deny me a chance to mentally prepare myself? Oh well—I guess that’s what I’ll have to use the prep time for.

“How many times am I going to have to change in one day?” I lamented, heaving a sigh.

“There’s the tea party, the luncheon, and dinner—so that makes three.”

“Oh, right... That’s why I packed so many dresses and stuff. I remember now.”

“The tea party won’t be quite as formal as the dinner, but that only makes a touch of panache that much more critical. It’s an all-female event, so you’re sure to get a tongue-lashing if your appearance isn’t up to par,” my maid insisted, getting right up in my face.

She’s got a point! Girls always notice the little things when it comes to fashion. And they’re not shy about dragging you for it!

Come to think of it, they’d even had some pretty particular opinions about the necklaces from yesterday.

Stellaria was getting more and more worked up. “And that goes double when you’re the center of everyone’s attention! Even a moment’s carelessness could cost us dearly!”

“She’s right!” the rest of the maids chimed in.

Gotcha. Just because it’s a friendly tea party doesn’t mean I can slack off. I hear you loud and clear!

Still, it was safe to say that this was more a test of Stellaria’s fashion sense than my own. I didn’t have a scrap of “panache” to my name, so I just had to keep my mouth shut and play the part of her dress-up doll.

“All right! I hereby swear I’ll do whatever it takes not to disgrace the Fisalis name!”

But that was limited to whatever I could do, of course. Dahlia had drilled me on the proper way to drink tea. As for the conversation...well, I’d just have to wing it.

Will I really be okay? Now that Stellaria’s put the fear of God into me, I’m suddenly feeling way more nervous!

When she noticed I’d gone quiet all of a sudden, Stellaria gripped me by the hand and did her best to calm me down. “Just do what you always do, Madam.”

“You’re the one who got me all worked up!”

“Dear me! Do pardon my indiscretion.”

“That apology doesn’t sound too sincere when you say it with a smile!”

“Oho ho ho! Forgive me, Madam.”

“Hey, you’re still laughing!”

Fortunately, our banter did the trick of chasing my jitters away.

And then, before I knew it, the time had come to begin the tea party.

There were so many of us that we had to be seated across several different tables. We were roughly divided up by age, with the mother generation—the women closer to Duchess Argenteia’s or Mother Fisalis’s age—and the younger girls sitting amongst ourselves. I’d been worried they were going to split us into groups of married women and bachelorettes, so boy was I ever grateful they’d gone with a generational split instead. I wouldn’t have had any idea what to talk about with the moms.

Hanging out with the youths meant I got to sit with Miss Verbena and Miss Iris too, which came as a big relief. It was moments like this that made me feel how small my circle of friends really was.

“You’re welcome to change seats whenever you please, so relax and enjoy the appetizing tea and snacks. Feel free to get up and take a walk around the garden while you’re at it,” announced Duchess Argenteia—and with that, the tea party was officially underway.

There was a variety of baked goods, fresh sweets, and sandwiches laid out. Each and every treat was made with care by the Argenteia family’s chef and just as scrumptious as you’d expect.

At first I just sipped my tea and nibbled away at my cakes while quietly listening in on everyone else’s conversations, but given my love for gardening, I was eventually overcome with the urge to see what sorts of flowers were blooming.

When I found that I had less of an appetite than I’d thought and got tired of snacking, I figured I’d kill some time looking at the flowers.

“Miss Verbena, would you mind if I go take a look at the garden?”

I hadn’t really had the chance to get a closer look at it during our morning tour, after all.

“Why, of course not! I’ll come show you around,” she replied, getting up from her chair.

“Oh, I didn’t mean to interrupt—”

“The conversation can carry on just fine without me. I’ll leave you to it, girls.”

“Wait, I’ll join you!”

“Me too!”

I tried to turn down the offer so that she wouldn’t have to stop what she was doing, but instead, it seemed I’d triggered a wave of ladies getting to their feet.

And thus Team Youngsters was off for a walk in the garden. How had it come to this?

That blue blossom I had spotted in the corridor was far from the only rare flower blooming in the garden of the Argenteia villa.

“Wow, there are so many flowers I’ve never seen before!”

When she saw the way I was glancing around at the unfamiliar flowers, Miss Verbena explained, “We mainly grow flowers unique to the region.”

This was neither Fisalis territory nor my parents’ domain, so naturally the native flora would be different. Since this was my first time visiting the territory of a non-family member, it only made sense for it to be full of flowers I’d never seen before.

Hmm... Do you think Bellis could have them imported if I asked? First I’d need to find out the names of the flowers, though.

That train of thought was interrupted when one of the lady guests said, “I see you’re a big fan of flowers, Miss Viola.”

She had plump, rosy cheeks and twinkling blue eyes. With half of her beautiful blonde hair pulled back behind her, she looked like a lovely young lady...but unfortunately, I had absolutely no idea who she was.

I went with as innocuous an answer as I could manage. “Yes, I love them! I’ve made sure we have plenty growing in our own mansion.”

“I knew it! I’ve heard the duke often goes out and buys you flowers as a gift.”

“How did you know that?!”

“My brother works for the chivalric order, you see...”

According to this young lady—who introduced herself as the daughter of Viscount Pastoris—she’d heard about Mr. Fisalis’s shopping exploits from her older brother in the chivalric order. For the record, he was not one of my husband’s direct subordinates, but rather part of the clerical staff.

“I’ve always looked up to you, Miss Viola! I’m delighted to have the chance to make your acquaintance.”

I knew those stars in her eyes hadn’t been my imagination. Well, that explained that.

What was she doing looking up to an ugly duckling like me? Or so I would have liked to say, but whenever I was on the clock, I was transformed into a prim and proper duchess through the power of makeup. Little did she realize I was just pulling the wool over her eyes.

“Goodness, you flatter me!” I responded—and not out of modesty, but because I was genuinely taken aback.

“I’m glad for the opportunity myself.”

“As am I!”

More and more young ladies were flocking to me and chiming in now. You girls sure do love to move in packs, huh?

“You’re beautiful, charming, and an inspiration for young girls everywhere!”

Like I was saying, that’s all the work of my special effects makeup.

“You’ve got great taste in everything, and you’re a master of dance and conversation!”

And that’s all the work of my top-notch servants.

“And to top it all off, you have the perfect husband who’s absolutely head over heels for you!”

I don’t get that one either. As a matter of fact, I wish someone could please explain what’s going on there.

“Oh, I’m so jealous!”

“Where can I find that kind of happiness?”

No need to build me up, girls! Where’s all this praise even coming from?! Flattery won’t get you anywhere, I’ll have you know!

I’d worn myself out just poking holes in everything they were saying. Okay, maybe that was my own fault for bothering with the running commentary in the first place. Still, I had heard about girls hero-worshipping me, but dealing with it face-to-face was draining me emotionally!

That’s enough already, thanks!

“I’m such a big fan of yours that I even bought a Viola Sapphire!” said Miss Pastoris, puffing out her chest just enough for me to catch the glint of a sapphire in the light. But to be perfectly frank, I had no way to know if that was actually one of our sapphires.

She must have realized we weren’t quite ready to believe her, seeing as she went out of her way to flip her necklace over to prove its authenticity. “Look, it has the seal and everything!”

Sure enough, the mark of a Viola Sapphire was engraved on the platinum part of the necklace right next to the gem.

“I wanted the whole necklace to look exactly like yours, but my father thought that would be a bit much. I just went with a similar design instead.”

“Oh, I do have a necklace that looks a lot like that one, yes.”

“Ever since I caught sight of it at an evening party, I’ve been dying to have one of my own!”

“Thanks.” The “for your purchase” part was implied.

She can buy whatever she wants as soon as she wants it, huh? Classic rich girl stuff!

Of course, she was far from the only one with a sapphire of her own. The other girls chimed in with similar comments. I seemed to remember getting caught in a conversation a lot like this one the other day... So we were back to this nonsense, huh?

To top it all off, everyone declared in unison: “I’ll be wearing mine to tonight’s party!”

Tonight was shaping up to be one big Viola Sapphire showcase.