9. Lettie and the Knights of the Order

Just like I told Mr. Fisalis before he left, the week went by in the blink of an eye. Nothing of interest happened on my end, and I spent the time lounging around with Violet and the servants. Since I received no emergency correspondence from my husband (it seemed my letter ban was actually being enforced), I assumed his mission had gone off without a hitch.

In light of how heartbroken he’d been when he left, I spent the day he was due back getting everything ready for his return. Whatever it took to take the edge off his fatigue!

“Check the bedding!”

“Yes, ma’am!” the maids sounded off.

“Everything’s clean and fluffed!”

“Perfect!”

And then...

“Do you think we can make Mr. Fisalis’s favorite—?”

“Worry not, Madame. I’m ready for any order!”

“You’re the best, Cartham!”

I made sure that all of his daily necessities—his bedding and a change of clothes, for example—were laid out and fluffed for maximum comfort, and that he’d have all his favorite foods lined up on the table. Once upon a time, I might have been scurrying around with the rest of the servants, but today I wasn’t allowed to lift a finger. “You and Miss Lettie ought to sit back and watch, Madam,” they’d said. But I gotta say—handing out orders from the sidelines was nowhere near as rewarding!

* * *

Once the preparations were in place, all that remained was to wait for the man of the hour to arrive. With nothing left to do, I decided to take a late afternoon tea break.

That was when the usual herald showed up to announce my husband’s return.

“Vice Captain Fisalis has successfully concluded his mission and is on his way home. He left the royal palace not long ago, so I believe he should be arriving here shortly.”

Thank goodness he finished the job safely...or so I’d like to say, but the mission’s not really over until he makes it home!

If he’d just left the palace, that meant he’d get to the mansion sometime before dinner.

“Daddy’s almost home, Lettie! We’d better get ready to give him a warm welcome!”

Okie-dokie! I’d better put on the finishing touches before he arrives.

“He’s going to get home exhausted, I bet. Jumping straight into dinner might be rough for him, so let’s start things off with a spot of tea. Though knowing Cercis, he might prefer a stiff drink. What do you think, Rohtas?”

“However you like it, Madam. We’re happy to accommodate your every request.”

“In that case, go ahead and prepare us some tea, booze, and a light snack.”

“Yes, ma’am.”

With a quick bow, Rohtas left to get what we needed from the kitchen.

“His room should be good to go. I was there when we were getting it ready... Oh, but do you think he might want a bath before his tea?”

This time, Dahlia was the one to nod. “No need to worry. The bath is ready for him whenever he wants it.”

“Nothing left to do but wait for his return, then!”

Good things come to those who wait? Something tells me I’m not using that phrase quite right.

* * *

“Is he here yet? ...How about now?”

After finishing all the preparations, I did a whole lot of pacing and fidgeting. Cradling Violet in my arms, I walked up and down the entrance hall. I was too restless to sit still.

Since it was about time for his master to arrive, Rohtas had popped into the hall himself. “He should be here shortly. Oh, what’s that commotion I hear?”

The butler checked what was going on outside. Sure enough, I too could hear animated voices drawing closer from the other side of the door.

“That’s quite the racket. Today’s escort must be quite the chatterbox.”

“Quite.”

Huh, his homecomings aren’t usually this noisy, I thought, cocking my head to one side. Rohtas regarded that with a sardonic smile.

Right as I heard the voices growing louder, the front door opened and in came Mr. Fisalis.

“Cercis!”

He broke into a smile when he saw us...but that didn’t last for long. “I’m ho—”

“Hey, Madam Fisalis! It’s been ages!”

“Look, we brought you your husband safe and sound!”

“Omigosh, is this Violet?! She’s sooo cute!”

“I’ve been dying to meet her!”

A stampede of footsteps rang out, followed by a herd of people pouring into the room and pushing their way past my husband. Yep, you guessed it—the source of all the noise had been none other than Mr. Fisalis’s subordinates.

Drowning out whatever Mr. Fisalis had to say, the knights made it to me before he did and had me surrounded in an instant.

Wow, now this brings back memories! I don’t mind if you guys flock to me, but ease up a little, okay? I’ve got Violet to worry about today!

“Hello, everyone! It’s good to see you,” I greeted them.

“It’s been too long! We wanted to swing by sooner, but the vice captain wouldn’t let us!”

“That’s why we had to force our way in today!”

“What she said.”

Mr. Fisalis’s bearing stood in stark contrast to the ladies’ exuberant laughter. Given the boot by his subordinates, he was standing outside our little circle...and the look on his face was the stuff of nightmares!

Yikes, Mr. Fisalis—you look like you’re about to burst a blood vessel over there! It wouldn’t kill you to have a little patience!

“Welcome home, Mr. Fisalis!” I shouted from amid the ring of knights, but it was already too late.

“Hi, Vi, Lettie... I’m home.”

Mr. Fisalis was glaring daggers at his band of subordinates. Oh dear... Looks like he’s in a sulk.

* * *

Faced with an impromptu visit from the knights, the servants and I surreptitiously transitioned into the Guest Shift.

“Bring out more tea and drinks ASAP! Go heavy on the booze in particular, or else we’ll run out!”

“Yes, ma’am!”

“Tell Cartham to put enough dinner on the table for everyone! If there’s not enough servings to go around, we’ll just have to go smorgasbord-style! It’ll be okay—I know he can figure something out!”

“Got it!”

“Send half of the maids to wait on the visitors, while the other half will work on setting the table!”

“Understood.”

For the time being, I had crammed—ahem, showed our guests to the parlor before slipping out to the corridor to fire off order after order. Speed was of the essence here.

I’d covered the most important instructions. Now it was time to leave the rest to Dahlia and Rohtas and go entertain our guests in the parlor.

The lady knights nearly flew out of their seats when Violet and I came into the room. “We’ve been dying to see you, Lettie!”

“After all those letters you wrote me, I’m sorry I never managed to give you guys the go-ahead.”

“Don’t sweat it, Madam! It was all the vice captain’s fault.”

“Totally! Besides, we’re getting to see her now, so what’s it matter?”

“I’ve been waiting so long for this moment!”

“Her cheeks are so squishy! And look at these teeny little hands!”

“Hmm, do you think she’s got more of her mom or her dad in her? It’s hard to tell when she’s still all chubby.”

The ladies squealed with delight at every squirm and wiggle from Lettie.

“She got her hair and eyes from Mr. Fisalis. As for the rest of her features...well, it’s hard to say. She reminds me a lot of my sister when she was little.”

“Huh, interesting. Say, Madam, is it okay if I hold her?”

“Of course!”

The moment I was about to hand Lettie over to Angelica, Chamomile came to an abrupt realization and stopped her friend in her tracks. “Hold on a second, Angelica! You’ve been wearing that filthy jacket all day! What if you contaminate Lettie?!”

Uh, I think that’s a little too paranoid...but it’s nice that they’re being so careful.

“We should go wash our hands!”

“Here, I’ll take off my jacket! It should be fine now.”

“We wouldn’t want anything to happen to Lettie.”

“May I use your wash—?”

Just as Angelica was about to ask where our wash basin was, one of the maids came in with a towel and a tub full of soapy water. “Feel free to use this.”

“Now that’s what I call service!” the trio crowed.

Impressed by our maids’ work ethic, the ladies washed their hands clean, stripped themselves of their uniform jackets, and—now that they were all good to go—cradled Violet in their arms.

“Wow, she hardly weighs anything!”

“Lucky! I’m next!”

The room rang with their gleeful laughter. Beside us, the male knights had started clamoring for a turn of their own.

“Hey, I want a turn holding Lettie!”

“Look, we made sure to wash up too!”

Alas, Mr. Fisalis shot each and every one of them down. “No boys allowed!”

“No fair!”

Though I felt sorry for his crestfallen subordinates, I couldn’t help laughing at their expense.

I see Mr. Fisalis is already swatting the flies away. If he’s this territorial when she’s only a baby, I can only imagine how bad he’s going to get after she grows up... He’s going to pose a huge obstacle, all right.

* * *

While the kitchen staff was preparing an extra helping of dinner, the ladies and I were sipping our tea and drinks in the parlor, having ourselves a little girls-only party with Violet as the guest of honor.

“The vice captain put a lot of thought into picking out a souvenir, by the way.”

“Oh, did he?” I responded.

“There were quite a few things you can’t find here in Rohze, so it was tough choice for him!”

“Aww. If there were that many unusual sights, I wish I could have seen them myself.”

“I hope you don’t mind that we gave him a bit of advice!”

“He ended up going with a little something for you and Lettie.”

“Oh boy! I can’t wait to see what it is!”

And meanwhile, with the guys...

“When Lettie grows up, can I put my name in the hat to be your future son-in-law?”

“Hey, no fair! I want a chance too!”

“I’m my family’s second son, so I’m good to join the Fisalis household whenever!”

“You think I’d give my darling daughter to a single one of you sleazy scoundrels?! Besides, by the time she’s old enough to marry, you’ll be nothing but a bunch of geezers!”

“Geezers?” the knights protested. “Now that’s just mean!”

But enough of my husband and his knights’ playful banter.

Cartham had managed to pull a meal together, and so we all moved to the dining room. Owing to the large number of guests at our table, it turned out to be quite the lively dinner. Most days our dining table felt unnecessarily huge, but at times like this, I was truly glad for the extra space.

In the end, the knights did so much eating and drinking that we invited them to stay the night.

* * *

After I’d made sure someone had shown Mr. Fisalis’s subordinates to their guest lodgings, my husband and I finally retired to our own room.

All this when poor Mr. Fisalis was so tired. I sure kept him waiting a while, huh?

“I can’t believe those jerks! They claimed they were only going to walk me home—how did that turn into them spending the night?!”

“Oh, it’s not all bad! At least they’ll get off your case about meeting Lettie now. Aren’t you glad?”

“And what if I want to get on their case? Good grief. Here I took the time to bring you back a souvenir, and I didn’t even have the chance to show it to you.”

“Oh, Chamomile mentioned that. What did you buy us?”

“Some fabric woven with specialty thread. This one’s for you, and this one is for Lettie,” he said, showing me two pieces of cloth decorated with an exotic pattern, the kind you’d never see in Rohze. Mine was a burgundy color, while Violet’s was a light pink. Upon taking a closer look, I could tell that these textiles and their geometric, floral patterns were intricately woven, smooth to the touch, and undoubtedly expensive. With how soft and fluffy they were, I figured they’d make for good scarves.

“What gorgeous fabric! I can’t believe how soft it feels!”

“That’s what the shop owner said: it’s silky enough to be gentle on a baby’s skin. I figure we can have Madame Fleur come and tailor it into something tomorrow.”

“No need—I’m sure she’s a busy lady! I’m more than happy to sew Lettie’s clothing myself!”

“Oh, right... Now that you mention it, you are an expert seamstress, aren’t you? Sounds like a plan, then.”

“Yeah!”

I’ve got nothing but time on my hands, so I can sew to my heart’s content!

All that aside, what mattered most was that Mr. Fisalis had made it home safe from his trip.