“Are you feeling any better?” Karissa asked, rinsing the last remains of soap out of Lilian’s light brown hair. The lady’s maid nodded contentedly, her eyes closed. She was leaning back so that the cascading water from the pitcher in Karissa’s hands would stay out of her eyes. Only her bobbing head was visible above the thick layer of bubbles in the tub. 

“Yes, my lady, thank you,” Lilian answered, then her eyes opened and she sat up. “I think I’m clean enough now, you ought to-”

“No no,” Karissa said, holding up her hand to tell her lady’s maid to stop. “You deserve at least ten more minutes of soaking.”

“The water will be cold by then!” Lilian protested.

“Then you’ll really have to show me how to heat water properly,” Karissa teased. “Just enjoy it, alright? It will help ease my guilt from making you walk on an injured ankle all that way.”

“You have nothing to feel guilty about, you didn’t know because I didn’t tell you.”

“Well, next time you need to tell me. Promise?”

“Yes, I promise.” 

“Good.” Karissa heard a noise from the main bedroom, probably the maids still unpacking her things as she had asked them to, to give herself and her companion some privacy. Karissa was unused to having so many people at her beck and call. Usually it’s just Lilian…

“I hope they’re being careful,” Lilian commented with a frown, also having heard the maids in the other room.

“I’m sure they are,” Karissa replied. She put the porcelain water pitcher down on a towel and moved from her spot at the end of the clawfoot tub to sit on the stool beside it, facing her lady’s maid. Karissa felt her aching feet still throbbing inside her shoes, and longed to give them a nice soak. But she could wait a little longer. “It will be your responsibility to make sure they know what is expected,” she continued. “And you’ll need to find out what routines of the keep we need to follow. Laundry days, meal times, all of that.”

“All of that?” Lilian repeated, looking more than a little worried.

Karissa nodded. “You’re a proper lady’s maid now. And with your ankle, you will need to delegate certain things to others until you are better. Like… allowing the maids to unpack my things.”

“Yes, my lady, I understand. I won’t let you down,” Lilian said earnestly. 

Karissa smiled softly. “I know you won’t. Of course, I’ll need to figure out exactly what a Duchess is supposed to do…” She had some ideas of what a Duchess should do. But with her obvious inexperience, and her new husband’s initial suspicion of her, it might be difficult to get him to entrust any important tasks to her. 

I’ll have to ask the Duke if there is anything to be done when he gets back. Something little, that I can’t possibly mess up…

“I’m sure you’ll do a wonderful job, my lady,” Lilian said. “You always do your best, and that’s what matters.” Karissa ducked her head at the praise. 

“We’ll see,” she answered simply.

Karissa then gazed around the washroom, marveling at the simple yet elegant furniture and ornaments. The white clawfoot tub was the center of the room, with a small cabinet against the wall next to a small table. The table held a washing basin that matched the porcelain pitcher she had been using. An oval shaped mirror hung on the wall above the basin, encircled with an intricate silver border. Bronze sconces attached to the stone walls lit the room with warm light.

The maids had eagerly shown her the inside of the cabinet first when they had first entered the washroom. The shelves of the cabinet held all sorts of glass bottles filled with oils, perfumes, shampoos, and lotions. Not a single bottle had been opened, which led Karissa to believe that they had all been purchased especially for her.

Lastly was a squat chamber pot in the corner next to a small window. With slight surprise she saw that the sun was setting, casting the sky in an orange hue. The end of the day had approached quickly. Soon it would be time to go to bed. 

Then Karissa realized she was extremely hungry. As if her stomach knew she had suddenly remembered its existence, it growled. Loudly.

Lilian giggled, then sat up fully, reaching for a towel. “We ought to get you cleaned up now so you can go eat,” the lady’s maid said. Karissa was about to point out that it had not been another ten minutes yet, but decided it would be better to be done with her bath quickly so they could fill their empty stomachs sooner.

Karissa stood and helped Lilian up unsteadily on one foot, wrapping the towel around her companion’s soapy body. Then she carefully helped her lady’s maid step out and sit on the stool. She was just about to call to the maids to bring Lilian a clean set of clothes when she heard a thumping at the door to her room.

Who could that be?

Karissa heard one of the maids open the door, and then a masculine, out-of-breath voice began to speak. 

“I ran into Marie- heading to the infirmary- what has happened!?” 

The Duke! Karissa rushed to the doors leading to the bedroom, closing them behind her as she entered the room so that Lilian would be hidden from sight. There she saw the Duke, breathing hard, his tall frame filling the doorway as he stared at her. The three maids stood at attention, looking confused.

“Are you hurt?” the Duke demanded, reminding Karissa of when he had asked that exact question after the wyvern attack. His eyes were wide with concern and she felt an odd emotion bubble up in her throat. 

Why is he so worried about me? Wait, he said he ran into Marie… is that the maid that the steward sent? Does he think that I had been injured in some way?

“No, I’m not hurt. A nurse is needed for my lady’s maid, Lilian, she hurt her ankle during the attack and did not tell anyone,” Karissa quickly explained. He took a few breaths, his broad shoulders sinking with each heave of his chest. A single bead of sweat ran down his temple next to the scar on his cheek. Then he ducked his head in a short bow.

“I see,” he said, his head still bowed, staring at the floor. “I will make sure the nurse is brought to your rooms right away for Lilian. Good night.” Then he turned on his heel and left as quickly as he had appeared, his boots thumping on the floorboards as he retreated.

Karissa rushed past the confused maids to the door and out into the corridor. “Wait!” she called out, causing him to stop in his tracks at the end of the passageway, his back to her. She took a few more steps towards him. “I am sorry, Your Grace, I did not mean for you to go. Thank you for your concern, and I am sorry also for the misunderstanding.” 

The Duke did not turn around, just nodded his head at her words. Is he angry? He must be angry, oh dear, how do I stop him from being angry?

“Erm,” Karissa mumbled, trying not to bite her lip again. “Thank you, also, for the rooms that were prepared. The view from the windows is lovely, everything has been lovely-” Just then her stomach growled loudly, the sound filling the passageway between them. Only then did he turn around and fix his brown eyes on her again.

“You haven’t eaten yet?” he asked, his brow furrowed in… something. Confusion? 

Is he not actually angry, just confused?

“Well, no, I’ve been helping Lilian,” Karissa said. “I was just about to take a bath and then go down to the dining hall.”

The Duke shook his head. “There’s no need to come down, I will have your meals brought to your room.” With that he bowed his head again and turned to go.

Karissa wanted to call out to him again to wait, to stop, but she didn’t. He is exhausted, he probably just wants to eat something himself and go to bed… and stop having to deal with me…

“Good night, then, Your Grace,” she said softly to his retreating back, clasping her hands in front of her delicately. The Duke paused again at the top of the stairs, but he did not turn back to her.

“Good night, my lady,” he replied, then disappeared down the staircase.