The Desrosiers estate was a relatively simple affair compared to the grand gardens of the Printemps estate. Rather than enjoy a long drive up hills and through carefully curated gardens, we merely stopped on the road in front of a wrought iron gate. A small, two story mansion was visible within the stone walls that surrounded the property, easily within sight of the road. The most decorated thing here were the spikes atop the gate, which were curved into the shape of thorns; everything else was plain and unadorned.

  "Ye'd think they'd at least 'ave some rose bushes," I heard Tor say, with a laugh.

  There was no guardsman out front to greet visitors, which I felt was odd. I turned to Erika, but she shook her head, leaving me to make a decision for myself.

  I leaned out the window of the carriage. "Tor, Sybil, would you please take us inside the gate and announce our presence to the butler? A Lady of the Printemps has come to call upon the Desrosiers."

  Tor grinned and gave a shrug, and Sybil opened the gate as he took the carriage into the estate.

  After coming to a stop at the end of the rounded drive, Erika and I waited inside the carriage while Sybil went ahead to knock on the door and call upon the servants that answered.

  After a few moments of discussion, Sybil brought back a shorter, well dressed man.

  "Greetings, Lady Printemps! I am Viscount Paul Desrosiers, pleased to make your acquaintance."

  I stretched my hand out of the door of the carriage for him to kiss the back of it, and then allowed him to help me down the steps.

  "I am Lady Sophia Printemps, and I am likewise pleased to make your acquaintance, Viscount Desrosiers."

  I curtseyed to him politely, which he returned with a curt bow. I saw his face visibly darken as I spoke my name, and it was clear that he was likely expecting Agnes rather than me. This I had expected, and I had hidden my name deliberately until he was already at hand.

  "Well, to what do we of the Desrosiers owe the pleasure, my lady?"

  "I am here to request your hospitality, my lord. My coming of age is this year, and afterward I will be attending the Queen's ball for my debut."

  His face twisted once more, clearly put off by the request.

  "Has my father yet arrived?" I added, triggering an immediate change in his disposition. He began to visibly sweat, and he dabbed at his forehead with a handkerchief.

  "Your father?"

  "Yes, his grace Duke Printemps should be arriving as well. I take it that he has not, yet?"

  "N..No.. he has not..."

  "Well, I should like to have my things brought in, then. It wouldn't do for my carriage to block his way."

  "Yes, my lady. Yes, I shall have Marcus bring your things in for you."

  Erika grabbed the bulk of my luggage herself, bringing it in with us as we followed Paul inside.

  ---

  We were given the smallest guest room, furthest from the rest of the amenities in the home. "How familiar," I mused to myself.

  There was a tiny wardrobe crammed into the corner, a standing mirror next to a dressing table, and a large bed that nearly filled the remainder of the room, leaving only a small area to walk around at the foot of the bed, near the door.

  There was barely enough space to stand as Erika undressed me.

  Freed for the moment, I immediately leapt onto the bed to see how it felt, and there was a rather unsatisfying creak as its bulk gave way and I fell onto a hard frame.

  "Well, I suppose that means that they are well aware of where I stand in the family..."

  I sighed, rolling over to spread my weight out across the whole bed and breathing deep to center myself.

  Too much had happened today. My thoughts were growing noisy, and the cramped room was not improving anything.

  As I found myself doing more and more, I tried to think of that calming scent, and bade myself fall through the bed in my mind, imagining myself floating in a deep, welcoming void.

  We were here. We had made it. Tor and Sybil had likely already gone, leaving Erika and I alone to fend for ourselves. I didn't know if I was equipped to deal with the trials that await, but I knew that Baroness Adler and Lady Ayda had prepared me as best they could under the circumstances.

  I ruminated on my experience with Paul, considering the deference he had shown as a vassal lord of my father despite my low standing. "Should I press on him for more, as Baroness Adler would say is proper, or should I let it go?"

  If I were Agnes, if I had had more power within the family, there was much I could offer him. I could be his lifeline, playing nice to feign an escape from his debts to father to take him for all he was worth.

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  My stomach turned at the thought. I wasn't Agnes, and the thought made my skin crawl. "No, best let it go. Let Agnes be Agnes, and let me be me. That sort of cruelty is best left for real noble ladies."

  A sharp poke brought me out of it. "Sophie, your father is arriving. I need to dress you for dinner."

  ---

  When I stepped out of the house to greet my father with the Viscount, I could see a fury building behind his eyes the moment he stepped out of his grand carriage and realized my presence.

  William stepped down shortly after, raising an eyebrow before turning to assist Agnes to the ground.

  Hugo rounded the other side of the carriage and openly let out a laugh when he saw me.

  Agnes covered her face with her gloved hand, looking away in surprise and disgust for a moment before regaining her composure.

  Father stepped forward to meet the Viscount, nodding curtly. "Well, Paul. I see you've already received my youngest. Please prepare rooms for William, Hugo, and Agnes."

  Without leaving any room for Viscount Paul to answer, he simply walked into the Viscount's mansion as if it were his own home. The Viscount stuttered and stumbled a meek response as he followed father inside, but even standing next to him I could hardly hear it. Marcus came out to assist the coachman bring their luggage inside.

  William was the next to enter, but simply nodded as he walked by me.

  Hugo came shortly after, shoving me aside with one hand and nearly causing me to fall.

  Finally, Agnes approached. "What are you doing here you mutt? I had already arranged something far more appropriate for you and your pet rat."

  I looked around, and saw that we were currently alone. Nobody had heard her remark, nor would anyone be there to help me if Agnes decided to "punish" me.

  With that in mind, I curtsied. "Pardon me, Lady Agnes. I'm afraid the coachman must have gotten confused; when I arrived here, I saw no reason not to receive the Viscount's hospitality."

  Her face contorted even further. "Leave it to a commoner to fail at something so simple. Go, then. Pack your things. We'll arrange another carriage to take you elsewhere."

  I curtseyed deeper. "I apologize, Lady Agnes, but I fear that would not be wise. Others have likely already heard of my arrival, and it would reflect poorly on the Printemps for me to leave now when the rest are all here."

  At this, she simply spat on my face and turned to continue her walk inside. I wiped my cheek with a handkerchief, sighing. Borrowing a bit of Tor's wit, I thought, "Well, that could have gone worse."

  ---

  The Viscount dined with us alone. Father took the seat of honor, while the rest of us sat according to our relative status. For the first time, I ate a proper meal in Father's presence, and deeply enjoyed smoky fish covered in rich sauces. There was ample bread, too, which I sampled eagerly.

  Father, however, seemed displeased, and hardly ate at all.

  "How are things on your estate, Paul?"

  "Ah, they're going quite well, Your Grace. My wife is at the port now, as we are expecting our ship to be returning soon with the money from our investments."

  Father raised an eyebrow at this. "Your wife? Not you?"

  "Well, I was just about to head out there myself when your youngest arrived, and when she mentioned that you would be soon to follow I made sure to be here when you did, Your Grace."

  Father seemed visibly annoyed at this, as if he were hoping to have arrived when the Viscount was away.

  "Well then, if things are going so well, then I'm sure that your debts to me will be repaid quite soon, then?"

  "Ah, well, I believe so, Your Grace. The money arriving today should be enough to cover this month's payment at the least."

  Father flipped the fish on his plate over, noting something in what he saw, before slowly rising from the table. "We shall have to inspect your kitchens, then. If things are going so well, then there is no way that your chef would dare serve preserved fish to us and try to pass it as fit for me."

  As Father began to leave, the Viscount clamored to his feet with a start and ran after him. "W-Wait, Your Grace, a moment, please!"

  I looked down at the meal, trying to figure out what was wrong with it. It was, possibly, one of the best things I'd tasted in years.

  Agnes laughed. "Serves him right. If he knew we were coming, what did he spend all his time doing if not making sure to prepare something more appropriate?"

  Hugo laughed with her. "Yeah, what a donkey. Do you wanna bet on if he'll let the chef take the fall?"

  "That's hardly a bet, Hugo. Of course he will. The only other option would be to admit he did it deliberately. We'll be seeing the chef leaving here with switch marks on his back soon enough."

  William stood up, having finished his plate. "I'm sure we'll see what he spent his time on when Father and I inspect his ledger."

  With that, he began to walk out.

  While Agnes and Hugo stared at him in surprise, and before he could leave me alone with them, I took the opportunity to quickly stand up and follow him out.

  ---

  I watched through the window of the guest room as the sobbing chef left the estate, wringing his apron in his hands, the back of his shirt shredded open and red with his blood.

  My stomach turned. Everyone here knew the chef was innocent. Father knew that the chef had merely served what he had been ordered to serve. The Viscount knew that the chef's "mistake" was not his own. And yet, the chef was the one leaving this estate in disgrace and pain. And despite also knowing his innocence, there was nothing I could do about it.

  Erika held my hand as she sat down on the window sill next to me, giving it a reassuring squeeze.

  "Sophie, you're going to see a lot more of that in the years to come. That's what it means to be a servant. We are your hands and feet, and we are responsible for who we choose to serve."

  I looked her in the eyes, seeing my reflection in her face.

  "But you didn't choose. You and I were born into our places, here."

  Erika laughed a bit.

  "No, Sophie. Every day, I choose to stay here with you. Every day."

  I furrowed my brow a bit. "Where else could you go?"

  Erika smiled, but this was the same smile I had come to recognize from all the other times she had hidden something behind it.

  "Erika?"

  But she didn't say anything, instead hiding her face by burying it in my shoulder and collapsing into a deep embrace.

  I reached up to brush her hair with my fingers as my shoulder grew damp.