Chapter 384: A Question of Knowledge

Chapter 383: A Question of Knowledge

Lyria’s POV

There was a beat of silence as all the maids looked at me.

No one seemed quite certain what to say.

Then Bridget sighed.

It was a long, deeply troubled sigh, the sort one might expect from a woman who had just discovered that a particularly difficult problem was not going to resolve itself on its own.

"I confess I do not feel particularly reassured by the knowledge that Your Highness permitted His Lordship to leave that mark," she said. "If anything, I find myself rather more troubled by it."

I frowned.

"Why?"

Bridget looked at me as though the answer ought to have been entirely obvious.

"Because it remains improper conduct."

Margery rolled her eyes immediately.

"You really ought to release yourself from this particular crusade, Bridget."

"It is not a crusade."

"It has all the makings of one." Margery replied, though Bridget paid her no attention.

Margery turned toward me instead.

"Besides, Your Highness ought not be discouraged from discovering affection with your chosen one simply because Bridget has appointed herself guardian of your virtue."

Bridget’s eye twitched.

"I have done no such thing."

"You have been threatening an Earl."

"Because he left a mark upon Her Highness."

Margery gave a small shrug.

"There are worse reasons for threatening a gentleman."

Bridget stared at her in disbelief.

"There are also gentlemen more suitable than the Earl."

Elara reached over and gave Bridget a light tap upon the arm.

"Mind your tongue," she said. "Her Highness’s choice of companion is not ours to dictate. We are here to serve her, not to arrange her affections. And if she decides upon His Lordship, it is of no concern to us."

Bridget muttered something beneath her breath that I could not quite make out.

Though rather than that, I gave them all a look.

I was beginning to suspect that I had somehow entered the middle of a conversation whose meaning everyone else understood perfectly well.

"His L-Lordship o-only bit my s-shoulder," I said. "I d-do not understand what you m-mean by choosing anyone. Nor do I understand what any of this has t-to do with a-affections."

Silence.

Complete and utter silence.

For perhaps three seconds, no one moved.

Then Margery covered her mouth. Pippa turned away. Debbie lowered her head. Bridget closed her eyes. Elara pressed her lips together firmly.

And then, almost simultaneously, they began to laugh.

I stared at them.

I could not understand what was so terribly amusing.

Bridget shook her head as she struggled to compose herself.

"We ought to have known," she said.

"W-what ought you to have known?"

Margery turned toward me.

Unlike the others, she did not laugh quite so openly. There was something almost affectionate in her expression.

"There is another name for what His Lordship has left upon your shoulder, Your Highness."

That did not answer my question or resolve my confusion, though it did make me rather more curious.

"T-there is a-another name for a b-bite?" I asked.

"Yes, Your Highness. One you may well have encountered before, had you been acquainted with such matters."

I frowned at that.

Margery continued carefully.

"It is not merely the bite itself that has led us to our conclusions. It is the fact that His Lordship gave it to you, and that you permitted him to do so. We merely assumed that if you permitted a gentleman to leave such a mark upon you, perhaps you had formed something of an attachment to him. That he was, in some sense, the one you had chosen."

"I a-am not choosing a-anybody," I said immediately.

The laughter returned.

I sighed, quite at a loss as to what was so thoroughly amusing.

"Why d-do you all f-find this so f-funny?" I asked.

"Because," Margery said warmly, "you say it with such complete sincerity."

"I am s-sincere."

"We know." Pippa smiled. "That is precisely what makes it so endearing."

I frowned.

I did not think being ignorant was particularly endearing. It was, in fact, becoming rather inconvenient. There were too many things I did not understand. Too many customs, words, and unspoken rules that everyone else appeared to know instinctively and without instruction.

I did not wish for that to continue.

Before I could ask another question, Elara intervened.

"Eat, Your Highness."

I glanced at her.

"You have been reading for a considerable portion of the afternoon. If the sounds your stomach has been making are any indication, you must be thoroughly famished."

As though summoned by her words, my stomach gave another audible rumble.

Pippa smiled.

"Indeed, Your Highness."

She returned to the trolley and began removing the covers from the dishes.

The aroma of roasted chicken immediately filled the chamber, followed by the scent of buttered vegetables, warm bread, and herbs.

My attention was captured at once.

I reached for the nearest piece of bread.

Then I paused.

My thoughts returned to the conversation.

I looked at Margery.

"W-what other n-name is there for the m-mark on my s-shoulder?"

Margery paused. She looked at me, then at the others, before returning her attention to me.

A mischievous smile appeared upon her face.

"I do not believe I ought to be the one to tell Your Highness."

I lowered the bread.

"Why n-not?"

"Because I suspect Your Highness will find the answer rather more interesting if you discover it for yourself."

I frowned.

"How a-am I s-supposed to d-discover it on m-my own?"

Margery’s smile widened.

"I imagine there are several methods."

"Margery."

Elara’s warning was quiet but clear.

Margery straightened at once.

"My apologies."

I looked between them.

"Are there p-perhaps books that c-could tell me what the m-mark means?"

"I w-will read a-about it," I added. "If t-there are books c-concerning the m-matter, then I s-shall simply r-read them myself."

"I do happen to know of a book that may answer Your Highness’s questions," Debbie said.

I brightened.

"You d-do?"

"Indeed. It contains everything Your Highness might wish to know about such matters." She paused. "And considerably more besides."

I tilted my head.

There was something peculiar in her expression.

"I d-do not mind," I said. "If it will h-help me understand, then I w-wish to read it."

Pippa raised an eyebrow.

"Are you quite certain, Your Highness? The book Debbie speaks of is rather... thorough."

"T-thorough?" I asked.

Pippa nodded.

"Quite."

"About t-the m-mark?"

"Among other things."

I considered this.

I had spent the entire day studying the manner in which nobles spoke, because I did not wish to remain ignorant of the society into which I had been thrust. If there was something else I ought to understand, then learning about it was surely the sensible course of action.

"I d-do not see the p-problem," I said. "If it is t-thorough, then surely it will be b-better for l-learning."

Margery covered her mouth as she stifled a laugh.

Bridget looked toward the ceiling.

"Will Your Highness not come to regret asking?" she said.

I looked at her.

"Why w-would I regret l-learning s-something?"

Bridget opened her mouth.

No words came out.

She closed it again.

"I suppose," she said carefully, "that is something Your Highness shall discover for herself."

I frowned.

Everyone seemed entirely determined to speak in riddles today.

"I am q-quite interested," I insisted.

Debbie gave a small curtsy, looking thoroughly pleased with herself.

"Very well, Your Highness." She paused. "I shall bring the book tomorrow morning."

Another pause.

"And perhaps a few others besides."