Alliances Offered: An Aside

Lady Tabitha Andiras shifted on cushion and turned her head to look at her mistress. She was supposed to be stitching, as they were currently working on something that would either be an ornate robe or an extremely fancy dress, cut from some pearlescent cloth that their host had provided, but she couldn't help wondering...

Lady Jacqueline Bouvier was humming as she worked, looking cheerier than she looked or sounded in... well, months, really. Possibly for as long as Tabitha had known her. And this was despite the fact that she'd rejoined her ladies to help with this project after a full day at the temple. 

There were other things, too: the fact that this cloth, this magnificent cloth, had arrived this morning from the bald chief servant of the lady Emiliana Fontaine, in whose manor they were currently housed; the fact that Jacqueline had not, so far as Tabitha knew, made any effort to contact her father; the news from Welfort, which seemed to indicate that everything there had changed with the arrival of the True Heir, Tavros Fontaine. Changes were afoot, and a good lady watched for them and was ready when they arrived. 

A good lady did not let them distract her from her sewing, of course, but nobody was perfect. Lady Jacqueline would understand."Mistress..." she said, putting a touch of inquiry into her tone. 

Lady Jacqueline Bouvier looked up from her work. "Oh?" She looked around. "Oh, it's late, isn't it? Cawthi, would you go and fetch us a night-tea from the kitchens. Lissia, go with her and help her manage the trays and the doors." 

The two women exchanged a momentary glance, then set their sewing aside and rose together. "A night-tea does sound good," said Lissia, but Cawthi glanced speculatively at Tabitha before they departed. 

When they'd had time to get well out of earshot, Tabitha said: "I take it things went well." 

Jacqueline made no effort to deflect her. Tabitha hadn't expected her to; her mistress had left her to impersonate her and watch her father's movements; if there was a higher trust than that, Tabitha couldn't imagine it. "Things went... yes." She hesitated, and Tabitha thought she was skipping over some things, but that was fine. "Are you worried? The three of you will become the first of our household, and you foremost among them."

Tabitha smiled shyly. "I am concerned, but not for that. Supporting you in your father's court -- even being  you in your father's court -- was not so difficult, especially with things so unsettled. But being a lady-in-waiting to a possible princess is... I suspect it will be very different from being foremost among the ladies-in-waiting to a queen."

Lady Jacqueline's expression suggested that she didn't think that Tabitha's impersonation of her to the court at Welfort had been as easy as all that, which was encouraging. She considered for a long moment, then said: "Go on."

"You know I don't have your talent for magic," Tabitha said. "I was only able to make the scroll work and get the three of us out of there because I'd studied it for so long trying to see how it all fit together. So... I would like to pursue further studies with someone who could help expand my skills. I'd thought perhaps Vigo himself, if he could be bothered or persuaded; if not him, then perhaps the lady Martini D’wintlither might be willing."

Her mistress raised her eyebrows. "You'd study under an elf?" 

Tabitha shrugged, and Lady Jacqueline smiled. Even with that reassurance, Tabitha continued: "I'd study under this elf. Lady Martini D’wintlither is a legend. She has -- and I have confirmed this with three different people -- assassinated a pit fiend, among other things. And while I doubt I'll ever be doing anything like that for you, she could teach me much about gathering information, determining people's true goals and beliefs, and all the messier sides of life at court. All the things that I might do to help you, Mistress."

Lady Jacqueline looked up, clearly expecting her other ladies to return with tea at any moment. "If that's what you want to pursue, and if you can do it without compromising yourself, I'll see what I can do to help. You're not so much seeking an advantageous marriage, then?"

Tabitha let herself smile, and spoke honestly. "If something comes along, I won't ignore it. But even with a household of my own, I would be loyal to you... and I would like to have options, if a hypothetical husband proved less than worthy." She hesitated, then added: "Not all of us can have a paladin who seems somewhat smitten with us."

Her mistress swallowed, her expression a mix of happiness and hope and worry, and said: "I hope we all can, or something very like it."