***

“Your Grace, the dresses made by Khanna have just reached the seamstresses.”

Rubica, who had been reading a book with Ann in the duchess’ study, closed the book as soon as she heard that. The book was about management and events of the household. It couldn’t have been more boring.

“Already?”

She was grateful enough to be freed from that boring task, and what was freeing her were the new dresses. She smiled brightly. It was amazing that Khanna had made so many dresses that quickly, even though the seamstresses of Claymore had helped with embroidering. Rubica couldn’t wait to see Khanna’s work.

“Madam, shall we go there?”

“May I?”

“Yes, I can take care of this on my own.”

“But… I cannot make you do all this hard work alone.”

Although most events took only a day, there was a lot of preparation to be done. Rubica couldn’t let Ann do all that hard work. Plus, Ann would stick to the budget as much as possible. Rubica was going to make every event the most splendid ever during her time as the duchess. Ann, who didn’t know her plans, was deeply moved.

“You even worry about me…”

Rubica felt a little guilty, but it wasn’t like she was not worried about her at all.

“Let’s do this together later and let us go to see the dresses.”

“Yes, I also want to see you in pretty dresses.”

A maid took the thick book and moved it while Ann put the books in a drawer and locked it with a key. Only the duchess and the housekeeper were allowed to look into it. Rubica, instead, stood stiffly till they got ready.

“Thank you.”

She was supposed to get used to others doing her things, but it felt so awkward. She thanked after some hesitation. Ann and the maid simply blushed. They said there was no need for her to thank them as they were only doing their job, but it looked like the day Rubica would naturally stand and watch was still far away.

“Then, shall we go now?”

Rubica arrived when Rosa and Khanna were putting a dress on a mannequin to see if there was something wrong with it. Rubica exclaimed at seeing the elegant salmon-colored dress. She really loved it, probably because she had added her own opinion to its design.

“Your Grace, please try it on.”

“May I?”

“Of course. It’s your dress.”

Rubica excitedly nodded. The door was closed and the curtains were drawn. They took the dress off the mannequin and started to help Rubica put it on. Khanna hadn’t lied about helping her husband’s work from time to time. The sewing and frills attached to it were very neat. Of course, she was not a perfect or great designer, but she mended her flaws by actively listening to Rosa’s and Rubica’s opinions. The dress was beautiful and it surprisingly fit Rubica’s body. It didn’t drag on the ground and only came down to her ankles. Its length was perfect for walks. Moreover, the armholes and the waist were a little wider to make it easier to move around. Rubica liked it. Khanna was a designer who didn’t forget the original purpose of the clothes.

“It really fits you well.”

“Oh, I didn’t know the salmon color would look so good on you. Should I tell Carl immediately and order more…”

“The pearl decoration of the stomacher is so beautiful.”

Rubica stood in front of a huge mirror. It was quite embarrassing to say it, but the dress did look better on her than when it was on the mannequin. The salmon-color dress maximized the pleasant softness of her milky white skin and had been made to increase her beauty even more.

“I like it.”

Khanna smiled widely when hearing that. Although she had done her best, she was worried Rubica might not like it.

“I can freely move my arms around like this, and the dress itself is so light. It’s so good.”

Moreover, Rubica even didn’t miss the thoughts Khanna had given while making the dress. Being beautiful was good, but it was for taking strolls. It was supposed to be comfortable enough to carry a parasol and walking. Khanna didn’t forget the dress’ purpose to focus on making it pretty. That was something an unprofessional like Rubica couldn’t have thought of.

“Yes, I tried my best to make it comfortable for walks.”

Then, she showed Rubica the other dresses. They were all in the colors that suited her perfectly. Rubica nodded and additionally bought gloves and a straw hat that would go well with the dresses.

“Oh, right.”

Khanna was about to curtsey and leave when Rubica stopped her.

“Can you come again tomorrow?”

“Tomorrow? Of course.”

The fact that Rubica had ordered dresses from her hadn’t been widely spread yet. Of course, she had worked hard for a few days to make the dresses, but she still had more than enough time. Of course, even if she had had other orders to take care of, she would have made time for Rubica.

“Thank you. How about tomorrow afternoon? I want to talk to Ann and set the time.”

“Do you need any more dresses? Please tell me and I will bring some designs and fabrics.”

“It’s not for me.”

“It’s not for you?”

“Yes, I want to order a dress for my new lady-in-waiting.”

Rubica was worried about Elise. Although she had given her a pink dress, that was only one dress. Moreover, it was for feasts and formal events. Even though ladies-in-waiting didn’t have any hard work that the maids did, judging from how Ann lived, it wasn’t a position that did nothing. Elise would have to help with making a list of people who will be of help to the family, and Rubica couldn’t manage the books alone.

Claymore was too big and had too many people, and there were anniversaries to be celebrated. Most thought of ladies-in-waiting as women who kept the mistress company and brought her fan but, in fact, they had many things to do and even more to take care of.

Rubica didn’t want Elise to do all that in an uncomfortable dress.

“Then do you want me to mend your dress?”

“No, I want you to make a new one.”

“Excuse me? Oh, it must be for someone you very much care about.”

Rubica was quite confused to hear that. The Berner Family, in which she had grown up, had maids but wasn’t noble enough to have ladies-in-waiting. Her mother had been the daughter of a count, but she had never taught her on how to behave with ladies-in-waiting. Actually, as Rubica was from a baronet’s family, she would have been fortunate if she were to marry a baron.

‘But Ann said it was normal to give dresses to ladies-in-waiting…’

It looked like it was normal to pass down dresses instead of giving new ones.

‘Well, whatever. I will pass down my dresses and give new dresses!’

Stupid, extravagant. A girl from a lowly family who didn’t know how to behave as the duchess. Those were rather what she wanted people to say about her.

“Yes.”

“Then I will bring what is needed.”

After Khanna left, Rubica had a maid bring the dress to her dressing room. Then, she went back to the study. She hadn’t discussed with Ann about the budget for the first half of the year. She had looked into the books to find out about the expenses they had spent till March, but the part about the budget that was going to be spent in the future was different. It was good that festivals held in the domain weren’t the duchess’ work. However, celebrating anniversaries of the family was part of her duty, and she was getting a headache because of all those birthdays of the relatives that had to be celebrated.

‘I don’t even know who they are.’

Of course, she could find out about it one by one. However, as she had many things to take care of in front of her, that way was going to be too slow. In the end, she decided to take a shortcut.

“Let’s increase the expense of gifts for relatives and anniversaries than last year.”

“By how much?”

“About 5% more.”

In that perspective, Ann was a very trustworthy housekeeper. She had managed the household for four years without the mistress and she thoroughly knew about when and where the budgets were being used.

She immediately calculated the percentage Rubica spoke of and showed it to her.

“It would be the first gifts you send after your arrival at Claymore, so it would be better to spend a little more money.”

Plus, she didn’t nag at Rubica like Mrs. Shaynie. Rubica smiled happily. She also assigned enough money on the maids’ snacks. She did the same with the kitchen’s expense. Now Steven was making a cake every day without being given an excuse. He had even bought a new recipe book and had made it with joy. Ann assigned more money on sugar, flour, cinnamon, rum, and other things than usual. But then, she grabbed her hair while calculating.

“Uhh.”

“Ann?”

“Madam, it won’t work. Can’t we cancel that dress order for Ms. Solana?”

It looked like they had gone over the budget. No, they had probably done that a while ago. Rubica had ordered to increase it compared to last year, not to decrease it. Ann had agreed with all that as it seemed like little money, but when it was all put together, it wasn’t a small sum at all.