She sets the blue silk aside abruptly, her expression unreadable. “This is a good one, but I want a few more colors for you. Do you have jewelry to match?”
“I’ve got my grandmother’s ring,” I say, holding out my hand to show off the thin band set with a ruby, the setting itself made of two simple curves meeting on either side of the stone. If she doesn’t want to talk about her husband’s politicking, the least I can do is change the subject.
Melly snorts. “That’s a pinky ring.”
“Attendants don’t wear pinky rings? What is wrong with people here?”
She swats her hand at me. “Rae, half the time I can’t tell when you’re teasing me.”
“I do know that rubies won’t match sea-green silk,” I tell her. “But we ordered that zircon set yesterday with rubies and sapphires both. Won’t that do?”
“Ordinarily, yes, but from now on everything you wear should perfectly complement the rest of your appearance. For this, white gold with sapphires.”
“Do I look like I have five horses to spare to buy such trinkets?”
“Oh, Filadon will pay,” Melly says firmly. “This was his idea, after all.”
A very appealing offer, but . . . “It was my choice to become an attendant, and I’ll pay the price, thank you very much. Though,” I add grudgingly, “if you’d warned me just how much these women wear, I probably would have made a different decision.”
She laughs. “Filadon and I both knew. And we agreed that we didn’t want you to worry about the cost. The princess needs a dependable attendant; if you can do that for her, you’ll gain in the end, and so will we. That’s how politics works. Filadon would much rather cover the cost of a few dresses and earrings than pull back now, or not have served the family by introducing you to them. This is as much about the princess and you as it is about Filadon and the prince. So let Filadon manage it.”
I hesitate. “But—”
“No buts, Rae. We’re getting you a full wardrobe worthy of an attendant, jewelry included, and you are not going to argue with me. Now, what about this orange?”
Having seen the princess’s attendants, I know I need to dress the part. But that isn’t my concern; the cost is. Still, I’ve a rather strong suspicion that Filadon is playing a long game, and if he wants to pay the price of it, I should probably allow it. Especially given that my family can’t pay much more without selling off horses earlier than we’d like. So I settle myself beside Melly without further argument and consider the benefits of wearing orange.
My first morning as an attendant passes tolerably well. With the help of a pair of footmen, I shift my belongings to the attendants’ quarters where I will be rooming with Mina, the third of the princess’s attendants. It is she whom Alyrra assigns to show me around and acquaint me with my duties.
Veria Mina is of average height with a pleasant demeanor, her brown eyes steady. She isn’t striking, her very manner retiring, as if she’s learned to survive by not drawing attention to herself. Considering Jasmine’s hard beauty and cutting mannerisms, that might not be too far from the truth.
She waits patiently as I unpack my belongings, her hands busy with a bit of embroidery. Our room is exquisitely appointed, with gorgeous mosaics upon the wall, carved ceiling beams, plush carpets, and embroidered silk bedcovers upon the low beds. It takes me only half an hour to transfer my belongings to the remaining wardrobe and set out my writing box on the desk. I sent a long letter to my family last night, following up on the short note I sent upon arrival. But with the three to four days it takes for a letter to reach home, it will still be a little while before I hear back from them about my new position.
“Ready?” Mina asks as I turn away from the writing desk.
When I nod, she sets aside her embroidery and ushers me into the princess’s apartments. She reviews our duties as we go over the rooms. As Filadon assured me, we don’t clean—there is a pair of maids for that—but we do make sure the rooms are sparkling, help the princess select jewelry and outfits for her daily wear, and generally make sure she’s comfortable.
“But our true duty revolves around attending the princess when she goes out,” Mina explains. “She has asked that you attend her this afternoon. She’ll be going out for a drive with Zayyid Kestrin. It will be relatively private, and a good way for you to learn your role. Just follow Zayyid Kestrin’s attendant’s lead if you are unsure what to do.”
Follow his lead? “But won’t one of you come along?” I ask. I hadn’t thought I’d have to attend Alyrra at once, without either training or another of her attendants present to ease the way.
“I’m afraid not,” Mina says with a politely kind smile. “I believe the princess thinks this will be an easier start for you. We’ll go over all the possible scenarios you may need to respond to beforehand.”
“Thank you,” I say, since there’s nothing else I can do.
By early afternoon a blanket of clouds has blown in, thick but gentle in its grayness, offering the promise of a light spring rain. I meet the princess together with Mina in the inner sitting room. Alyrra inquires after my day and then leads me away, bidding Mina to take the afternoon off.
We join the prince in an outer courtyard, his own attendant three steps behind him. Kestrin greets Alyrra with unaffected pleasure, his features mobile with emotion, utterly unlike the detached, shrewd young man I met only yesterday. She smiles in response, her whole face warming. If Filadon hadn’t told me they’d known each other longer than the brief week or two since the princess returned to the palace, I wouldn’t know what to make of such a meeting.
“You have met my newest attendant, of course,” Alyrra says, turning slightly to nod toward me.
I dip into a deep curtsy, aware of the jerkiness of it as I reach its lowest point. Oh well. It’s not as if the prince didn’t notice when last we met. If he doesn’t mind, why should I care what his attendant thinks?
“Kelari Amraeya,” the prince says.
As I rise, he introduces his attendant, an impeccably dressed and distantly polite young man. The princess and I are then ushered into the waiting carriage, the interior all gilt edges and shining velvet.
Kestrin sits opposite Alyrra. They discuss first the project Alyrra mentioned to me yesterday—her house of healing for the poor folk of the city—and then the various preparations for the wedding. I take my cue from Kestrin’s attendant, sitting quietly and watching the buildings through the window. As the carriage rolls past the city gates, I glance about once, uncertainly, for I had not thought we would leave the city proper. But no one else takes notice, and since I have no idea of our destination, I keep my silence.
The carriage turns and the fields give way to a graveyard larger than I have ever seen. Great plots of land, lined with low stone boundary walls and filled with row upon row of graves, each marked by a few stones laid at the head. This must be where all the dead of the city are buried. The carriage rattles along, the first drops of rain spattering against the glass windows.
“We’re almost there,” Kestrin says, and the carriage falls silent.
We come to a stop by a plot with a slightly higher wall, the stones nearly black, unlike the more typical gray stones used to build the other walls. I clamber down after the prince and princess, pulling my cloak’s hood up to shield myself from the gentle rain. Of all the places I’d imagined we were going, a graveyard was not among them.