Trinidia

  For the second time since Hannah’s own arrival at the estate, she waited outside with the rest of the staff and family in anticipation of someone else’s arrival. The midday air was nice and mostly temperate, even if it was still winter for another week, so waiting outside wasn’t unpleasant. Not that Hannah wasn’t used to staying out in the cold. Back home at this time of year there could still be a decent yer of snow on the ground. The fox missed the snow, having not seen anymore than a handful of flurries during her time in the Dewathian capital. The only upside of the weather here was that when she was at the bakery with only a sack dress it had never been dangerously cold for Hannah. Unpleasant yes, but not dangerous.

  Rayne rather enjoyed the fresh air as she waited for her cousin’s arrival. With the spring approaching it would soon be time to have the windows open more regurly in the home and the dy very much looked forward to that. She looked forward to being able to spend more time outdoors with Hannah as well. How was Hannah going to look in the garden outfit she had ordered from Lena? Without thinking, Rayne took yet another gnce at her fox. It pleased Rayne to no end to see that today instead of the leather colr Hannah had been wearing since their day out, Hannah was wearing the gentle ce one around her neck. She couldn’t help but wonder if Hannah had chosen today to wear it for a reason. Maybe to show the coming beastkin that here they were just as equal as regur staff.

  The sound of gravel crunching caught the attention of Hannah’s ears before her eyes found their way to the encroaching carriage. It wasn’t nearly as gilded as the one Hamish had arrived in, though it was a lovely shade of light blue. Hannah had to wonder if the carriage colors nobles rode in had any significance. Maybe that was something to ask Rayne about ter. After a few moments of patiently waiting, the carriage soon pulled up to the home. Off of the jump seat at the back of a carriage hopped down a leopard kin. Hannah was even more excited to see that he was of the snow variety, meaning his lineage came from the mountainous regions of Everlial, just north of where Hannah was from.

  None of the letters Rayne received from Margret or her father gave any indication of what variety her beastkin attendant would be. Of course the dy had seen many beastkin while visiting other houses or attending events, but Rayne was fairly certain he wasn’t a kin she had seen before. His fur and short hair were a silver like gray with bck spots and circles. His tail shape resembled those of a cat, though a good bit longer. It even moved mostly simir to a cat’s, but his ears were more rounded and small. Rayne watched as he quickly pulled open the carriage door and offered a hand to the woman that stepped out.

  Hannah studied the woman that stepped out of the carriage. Though she was clearly of average height for human women, Hannah couldn’t help but feel that this dy was small because of Rayne’s towering height. Unlike the Haywards with their dark brown to bck hair and gray eyes, Margret’s hair was a curly blonde with a pair of blue eyes. Margret stepped out of the carriage with grace thanks to the assistance of the kin and looked over at her cousins with a very gentle smile. So gentle one might not have actually considered the woman happy to see the Haywards, but to Hannah it was maybe the clearest and most genuine smile she had ever read on a human.

  “Margret,” Rayne said cheerily as she stepped forward to greet her cousin. “It’s been too long.”

  “Rayne,” Margret said with her customary small smile. “It has been.”

  It surprised Rayne that Margret went in for a rare hug and Rayne was happy to give one back. Of course, she didn’t hold it for long for the need to let Margret greet her brothers.

  “It’s nice to see you again,” Hamish said, also receiving a hug from Margret, much to his surprise. “Though it’s not be as long for us.”

  “No, it hasn’t.” Finally Margret turned to Kaden and also gave him a hug. “It must be exciting with your first season about to start, Kaden.”

  Kaden smiled. “Not as exciting as getting to see my cousin again. I’ve missed our games of cribbage. Hamish isn’t very good and Rayne gets a little too competitive.”

  “Oh, that she most certainly does,” Hamish said with a small ugh.

  “I don’t get overly competitive,” Rayne said in her own defense. Though by the looks she received from her brothers and cousin, they all clearly thought otherwise. The next words that came from Rayne were quieter. “I just don’t understand what is the point of pying if you're not trying to win.”

  “Sometimes it’s just about the fun of pying, sister,” Hamish said with a gentle hand on Rayne’s back. “Come, tea is all set and ready.” He gestured to the door and let the dies go ahead of him.

  Hannah watched as Margret took a gnce back at the kin who now patiently stood off to the side near Mr. Williams. Then she watched as those blue eyes quickly scanned across the rest of the staff before stopping on Hannah. They locked on her with a curious eye, clearly not having expected Hannah to be there. Quickly Hannah curtsied.

  “You have a beastkin?” Margret asked, her eyes still not having left Hannah yet.

  “Yes,” Rayne said immediately. The dy had wondered if Margret heard news of Hannah before her arrival. Margret did live a two day’s journey from the capital so getting the test gossip wasn’t always fast. That and Margret wasn’t one for gossip rags. “It is a rather recent development.” The st words tasted sour on her tongue as she watched Margret’s gaze turn to Kaden. “Though I can assure you, it’s not what you're thinking.”

  “That it most certainly is not,” Hamish said, continuing to guide them all inside.

  The vixen watched as the family made their way inside, feeling a little eager to talk to the new kin. Only, he was already off carrying a few things with the other footmen and Mr. Williams alongside. Hannah knew she would get her chance to talk to him soon enough, but she couldn’t fully contain the excitement of getting to speak to another kin. Nei gave her a pointed look as they both finally made their way back inside, though Hannah wasn’t fully sure what that meant.

  Rayne herself took one st gnce at Hannah before they walked through the door. Her vixen’s eyes were gncing at the new beastkin and Rayne realized she hadn’t asked Hannah much about what her thoughts on there being another here. At least the dy didn’t have to worry about Hannah falling in love with him anymore. Nor did she have to worry about her slight competitive nature acting up against him in attempts for Hannah’s affection. There was no way Rayne would handle a competition for her vixen’s affection well…

  It was clear to Rayne that the topic of Hannah still hadn’t left Margret’s mind as they finally sat down in the sitting room. Her cousin looked a little perturbed by it too, though Rayne couldn’t pce why. Maybe it was just something Margret never expected to happen in the Hayward household. She wasn’t one for handling change too well. “I know us having a beastkin if a big change of pace, so as to not to beat around the bush when it comes to our newest member of staff,” Rayne started as she picked up her cup of tea, “Hannah is our new librarian and teacher for the estate.”

  Margret was clearly surprised by that. “But she is a beastkin.”

  “Hannah is the most well educated person in this house,” Hamish said and Rayne was very happy to hear him say that. “That includes amongst us.”

  “She even speaks Elven.”

  To Rayne’s great joy and surprise those words came from Kaden. He didn’t even say it with a slightly displeased tone. He might not have said it with as much pride as Rayne was about to, but he did say it. Internally Rayne berated herself for questioning why Kaden would say something positive about Hannah, but she did still question it. The part of her mind that took hold whilst in business discussions took over as she tried to work out what angle he was pying at. Was he trying to get in good graces with her? Trying to get in good graces with Hannah for reasons Rayne did not like? Then as quickly as her suspicion came on, realization hit her.

  He was pying the nobility game and standing behind Rayne and her decisions.

  There was this strange part of noble society where you were expected to stand with your family even in times of disagreement. Granted he most likely still wasn’t happy about the whole Hannah situation, but he wasn’t about to stand against Rayne in front of a guest. Margret was family, but she was still a guest here. It wouldn’t do well for Kaden to question the judgment and actions of his sister. In fact it would be better for him to publicly stand behind her actions.

  For greater or for worse, the Hayward family did own a sve, and though they were new to this aspect of society they would still have expectations put on them. A family such as this one would only be expected to purchase the cream of the crop when it came to beastkin. Though Rayne wasn’t going to hide that the reason she bought Hannah wasn’t because of her intellect, she already had the story about punishment for helping her pnned out, Hannah being as well educated as she was would in noble society reflect well on Rayne’s judgment. It would reflect well on the family as a whole, no matter how disgusting Rayne found that.

  Kaden was simply doing the part of the family in this matter. Whether he liked it or not, Hannah was extremely intelligent and denying or fighting against that would put him in a negative light to high society. It was far more beneficial for him and the entire family if he also went along with the dispy of Hannah’s intellect. It wasn’t the reason that Rayne would have preferred for his dispy of approval in this matter, but in a way Rayne was a little proud. Kaden hadn’t even seen his first season yet and he was still pying the social game well.

  “She speaks Elven?” Though her expressions were small, Margret’s voice very clearly contained surprise.

  Hamish nodded. “Speaking of Hannah knowing Elven, I was pnning on inviting a few acquaintances with old Elven poetry books over to have Hannah read them. I was hoping for three days from now, if no one would be opposed to that.”

  “Would Lady Lonnie Whitlock be one of those attending?” Rayne asked with a slight smirking smile on her face.

  “So her name is Lonnie Whitlock,” Kaden said with his own smile.

  The eldest lord’s eyes narrowed on Rayne. “Why would you assume it was Lady Lonnie? There are a good number of Whitlocks in this empire.”

  The smile on Rayne’s face only grew. “There is only one Lady Whitlock living in the capital and collecting Elven books.” It hadn’t taken Rayne more than two well pced questions in recent letters to find her name. Admittedly she had only received word this morning and she would have liked to ask a few more questions before making that assumption. Hamish did however bring it up and by the look on his face Rayne was in fact right.

  “Yes, she would be one of them, as she does in fact own some Elven poetry. I take it no one is opposed to this little gathering I have pnned?”

  “No, just be sure to inform Mr. Williams and Hannah of this so they can prepare.” Hamish nodded at Rayne’s words. “Back to the original conversation,” Rayne said, turning back to Margret. “Yes, she does know Elven, as well as three other nguages she’s fluent in.”

  Margret seemed to be taking that in with some thought. It wasn’t unheard of for beastkin to speak more than Celian. Families like the Pinkertons most certainly taught their sves Treysain to some degree. “If there are no other beastkin, who is she teaching?”

  “Anyone who wishes for lessons,” Rayne answered. “I know she’s teaching the hallboy to read, helping a maid with writing, Hamish with Treysain poetry, and me with Everlian.”

  “Rayne braving learning another nguage is not something I expected,” Kaden said. It was a little surprising that it wasn’t a comment about why she would want to learn a nguage not spoken here. It was also a little interesting that Hamish didn’t seem surprised at all.

  “Well, I have a feeling it will become rather adventitious in the coming months. And I’m not that bad at other nguages.” For the second time today the family surrounding Rayne all gave her the same look telling her that they thought otherwise. “We all struggling with certain things,” Rayne said, not quite as powerful as the earlier sentence.

  “So anyone can ask her for lessons?”

  Rayne felt a little excitement grow inside of her. She had wondered if Margret would be open to lessons, and if she was reading her cousin right, it did look like she had something in mind. “Certainly. They just need to discuss a time that works with her and Mr. Williams or Eda if they are staff.” Margret nodded gently but didn’t look fully convinced. “I understand there being apprehension at the thought of a beastkin teaching, especially teaching humans, but teaching was Hannah’s trained profession. It would be foolish not to utilize the years of experience she has.”

  “Who did you buy her off of?”

  The question caught Rayne a little off guard. Though there had been a lot of thought into the pnned story Rayne would tell, she had skipped over the possibility of people asking who previously owned her. That would need to be remedied. “A baker in Guild Row. No one special or of note.” Rayne’s words appeared to have caught everybody off guard. It did occur to her that Rayne had never actually told either of her brothers the specific part about the previous owner being a baker, nor that she was in Guild Row.

  “Guild Row?” Kaden and Hamish both asked.

  “Why would a baker train a sve to be a teacher?” Margret asked.

  It was obvious people were going to ask Rayne questions about Hannah and her purchase, but Rayne finally got a sense of how much people were going to question things. Most of the time when Rayne said something it didn’t leave much room for question, and even if that was the case, it wasn’t going to stop people. “Yes, Guild Row. Normally I wouldn’t shop outside of Riverside, but in this instance Guild Row was where I needed to go. And to the other question, the baker didn’t teach Hannah, she had all of her teacher training done in Everlial before being taken as a sve.”

  “Everlial?”

  “That’s the name of the beastkin country we call the freends.”

  “I still don’t understand why a baker would need such a well educated beastkin,” Hamish said.

  “I don’t fully understand the circumstances of just how Hannah ended up there, but I do not believe her knowledge was something that was considered upon their purchase of her. Whatever it may be I would assume it was unpleasant.” Thankfully those words did carry a weight of finality that everyone abided by.

  “I don’t think Papa would be very happy with this,” Margret said more to herself than to any of them.

  “Not a lot of people are going to be very happy with this,” Rayne conceded.

  “Margret,” Hamish said, drawing her attention. “If there is one thing this family does really well, it’s doing things that other people wouldn’t be happy with.”

  “I find that both a compliment and a slight,” Kaden said with a smile on his face.

  Hamish smiled. “Just look at Rayne and I. She successfully runs the family business, much to the chagrin of many businessmen, and I spend the vast majority of my time reading poetry and avoiding anything remotely financial.”

  “Except when spending money,” Rayne quipped.

  Kaden said, “My better sense of fashion upsets Hamish, but that doesn’t stop me from dressing the way I want.” That brought a light chuckle from everyone.

  “Though it must be said, no one in this family wears pants quite as well as our dear sister, again much to the chagrin of many men.”

  “Needless to say, we are a family known for not being orthodox, and yet Uncle Allen still entrusted us with your stay.” Rayne smiled gently at Margret. “He should expect for there to be a few things he wouldn’t be happy with.”

  Margret gave a very gentle smile back. “I’ll keep that in mind.”

  Trinidia