Lady Lyana looks at me, a bit disoriented.

«I'm your lady in waiting,» she whispers. «It would be too forward of me to consider myself a friend of my Lady...»

Is that a polite way to reject me?

«Kate works for me, but she's my friend too,» I point out. She better say it out loud if she doesn't want me. It'll spare her time. And mine too.

«It would be my honour,» she says then. «I was afraid my Lady misunderstood my words from before... I was not trying to imply that I gained your trust just yet. Rather, I think that my Lady's personality will charm everyone, eventually.»

Oh, really? She wasn't rejecting me, then?

I blink, and my eyes fill with light and happiness. Making friends isn't that difficult if they're willing to play along.

«So, can I consider you a friend as well?» I ask, just to be sure. I'm just like a kid in front of the first cake in their life.

Before lady Lyana has time to answer, though, a couple of women get inside.

«Oh, sorry,» they say. «We thought the room was empty...»

It's rather evident that they knew that I was here. However, I pretend not to have noticed the quick movement of their eyes.

«Please, have a sit,» I say, instead.

«Oh, thank you, my Lady!» they exclaim and settle on one of the sofas not too far from here. They don't dare to sit closer, and I don't comment on that either.

The younger one bows down and takes off one of her shoes. A suspire leaves her lips, and I smirk empathetically. Shoes can become torture devices.

«I'm exhausted,» she murmurs.

She then notices that I'm looking at her curiously.

«We've just finished the inventory for the yearly reports. However, I couldn't resist coming here. A ball isn't something that happens very often, here in the north...»

«I hope that now that we have a Lady, we'll be able to meet like this more often,» the other woman adds.

«And also that the Lord will become less strict with his reports. He wants everything in order in such a short time, but my husband isn't the practical type of man. It always ends up on me,» the younger sighs again.

«Well, it's easier this way,» the older woman whispers, looking to the side.

I bet they're in-laws. At least, they get along well.

«Don't annoy the Lady with your temper,» the mother-in-law whispers, smiling to me in a sorry grimace. «Sorry for the bother, my Lady.»

«It's not a bother at all,» I chuckle. «It's refreshing to see a lady complaining about my husband. It's quite a new show.»

The young girl's cheeks turn red all of a sudden. She bows her head and clenches her gown.

She's around my age, even though she seems to have already adapted to her role. I guess she has been married for a couple of years.

«I didn't mean anything ill,» she whispers in a low voice.

Personally, I prefer this to the other option I saw so far. It's easier if young women resent my Duke than if they worship him.

«It's all right. I have already heard stories about my husband's sternness and inflexibility.»

It's just the way he is. If he wants something, he doesn't give up until he gets it. It must be the same with his underlings: he requires nothing less than punctuality and perfection.

«It wouldn't be that difficult, if only we weren't forced to do the job over and over again,» she mutters.

«From when you arrived, the Lord accepted the third submission every year,» the elder comforts her. «My son simply isn't fit for administration.»

This little one really is brave.

«My Lady, please, can you ask the Lord to be a bit tolerant, this year? We had a bad year, so we can't bring you the whole sum all together!» she exclaims.

Oh, so it's a matter of money!

«Then, the rain has delayed the crops, and we're still waiting for the final outcomes. Last year, half of the wheat moulded. We're really not trying to deceive anyone, here!»

I blink surprised.

«Oh, is that so?»

«Our fief is too little, my Lady. There isn't a real profit from stealing.»

The mother-in-law pulls the younger woman's sleeve in a warning, but the latter doesn't move her eyes away.

«Why would we jeopardise our position for a few golds? In such a difficult period, at that! Please, my Lady, I'm just asking for the chance to prove our loyalty!»

Mhm, I don't think my Duke would punish anyone based on tax data alone. He would at least investigate first.

I turn to lady Lyana, and she bows over to me and whispers the girl's name.

«She's the wife of Baron Lynn. Her name is Shannon. The older woman is the baron's mother: Bridgitte Lynn.»

Oh, a baroness. I guess that explains the loose manners of the young lady. The mother is a bit more refined, but she's quite relaxed. She doesn't seem bothered by the daughter-in-law's lack of etiquette.

After all, lower-tier nobility is like that: they're closer to farmers than to the Emperor. I guess that Bridgitte Lynn hasn't visited the court in her whole life unless she belonged to a higher family before marriage.

«You said the wheat moulded,» I reply. «Has anyone checked the siloes?»

The girl blinks, surprised.

«I don't think so,» she sighs. «My husband doesn't have the talents required to administer a fief. Even if as small as ours. We really are not relevant, my Lady. Even the amount of taxes we pay is just a drop of water in the ocean that Kyre is!»

«Making a single exception will lead to further problems, in the future,» I explain. «Other lords, with small and big fiefs, will come to us and demand the same trust we gave to you. That would be troublesome, especially if we can't prove that you are as righteous as you swear.»

Shannon seems to ponder my words, and then she simply nods and drops her shoulders.

«It was worth a try,» she whispers.

«What made you think that I could influence my husband's decisions, though?» I inquire.

A chuckle from the door makes us turn. Another woman has walked in unnoticed.

«I can answer to that if my Lady is willing to listen,» she says with a smile. She steps to a sofa closer to me and sits down. «My name is Anne Mary Scott, and Count Wilhelm is my husband.»

Oh, so that man I danced with has a wife! He seemed a bit of a player.

«I can tell you what you seem not to have noticed, my Lady.»

«What is that?»

«Everyone in that hall saw how your husband reacted when you smiled at another man. He didn't move his eyes away from you for a moment. Not even while you were dancing with his childhood best friend. Would a man that doesn't care be jealous?»

«My husband isn't the type to be jealous,» I whisper. It was not jealousy that made him act the way he did.

«He's the type to hold onto something he deems valuable. My husband told me some of their youthful adventures. I bet Alexander of Kyre didn't ever need to renounce to anything, because he never failed at getting something he wanted.»

Indeed, this is more precise.

«Also, he's usually so certain about everything every time he's confronted. It was interesting to see his self-esteem challenged, for once.»

«What do you mean, lady Anne Mary?» I mutter, tilting my head. Who challenged my Duke, now?

«When that young man from Asteria approached you, Lord Kyre's expressions changed a hundred times in a second.»

Now that I think about it, my uncle is my mother's second younger brother. She was the firstborn, and her first young brother became the heir to my grandparents' title. The third son chose the path of diplomacy, and the fourth daughter was married off somewhere in the west. The difference in age between my uncle and my mother was about eight years, maybe nine. This year, he should be twenty-nine.

Men closer to me in age approached during the evening, so that can't be the reason for my Duke's reaction. Oh, I know very well the reason, so I don't need to think too hard about the matter.

«That person is my uncle,» I point out, just to clear this misunderstanding. «That's why I talked with him so relaxedly.»

«Mhm, an uncle? Are you sure Lord Kyre knows about it?»

«Surely,» I grin. «How could such a link be missed by my husband?»

«He seemed like a man protecting his wife from a wolf, rather than from a relative.»

«My situation is a bit delicate,» I point out. «Asteria and Ethiro have complicated relations, even though they're currently in peace with each other. As a prisoner related to relevant people in Asteria, I should have paid more attention to my behaviour.»

«My Lady, you didn't do anything wrong,» she points out. «And your husband really looked like someone wary of a potential rival.»