Aufors thought so, too. He swept a bow, saying with a smile, “You’ve done well, my Lady Marchioness.”
“Please don’t call me Lady Marchioness. I hate it.”
“Well, Genevieve, I must, you know. On formal occasions.”
“Well then, when we are alone, could you call me Jenny?”
“Very well.” He smiled. “When we are alone.”
“Who’s the Duchess Bellser-Bar?” she asked in a worried tone, picturing a large and overbearing dowager whom she would at once owe numerous favors.
“Someone I did a very small favor for, once, and she’s repaid me by getting your flowers for you. It’s no problem, Genevieve, really. Please, erase that frightened look from your face. It’s all going to go well!”
“Aren’t you ever frightened of anything?” she demanded, very slightly angry.
He considered the question seriously. “The usual things,” he confessed. “Death, wounds …”
“No, no, I mean just . . . things.”
“I am quite frightened of water-babies,” he said, the words popping out without any thought at all.
“Water-babies?” She frowned, suspecting he was teasing her. “I’ve heard of them, but . . .”
“It was nothing, really. When my mother died, she left me a small legacy. Even though my older brother knew he would inherit the farm, he resented the fact she’d left the legacy to me. In his view, eldest took all, regardless. He got even by telling me horrific tales about how my mother had gone to pick cress for salad and had been abducted by water-babies, and because I was her favorite, they would come for me next. He was constantly knocking me down, sitting on me, then peering at my fingers and toes, claiming he saw webs growing between them. He even locked me in the well house once, where it was damp and cold and dark, and hung about outside making frog noises. I was frightened for days afterward.”
Actually, Aufors still had occasional night terrors in which he dreamed himself turning into something green, clammy, and cold, but he was not tempted to confess this frailty to Genevieve.
“That’s dreadful,” she said, indignant on his behalf.
“It seemed so at the time, and I have never been really friendly with my brother since.” Which, he thought, was a charitable way of putting it. “Now, let’s go down this list of people, and then we’ll look at your seating diagram.”
They drilled on the names while Aufors changed the seating diagram about, saying, “Lady Alicia, Duchess Bellser-Bar of Merdune, the donor of your flowers, is cousin to Inelda, Countess Farmoor of Dania, who has not spoken to the Lady Alicia since a falling out over a matter of inheritance. The grandmother of both ladies favored the Duchess as more true to the family lineage, and Inelda has never forgiven her. Put them at opposite ends of the table. As a matter of fact, put the Duchess to your left, across from Prince Thumsort. She’s done you a favor already, she’s an interesting woman and her rank allows you to favor her, though Inelda will dislike you for it. And remember that the Invigilator of the Covenants, chief of all scrutators and a high-ranking member of the Tribunal, is at odds with Count Farmoor over a question of interpretation.”
“What does that mean?”
“I have no idea. Nobles do not explain covenant matters to commoners. Tribunal matters are sacred and secret. Commoners are not even allowed to go near the Tribunal Building, for any reason. Nonetheless, I feel sure, seating them together would not be a good idea.”
“I’ll never learn the names of all the nobles!”
“Not if you had to learn them all, but you don’t. Only the other six provincial Dukes and Duchesses are regularly here in court, together with a handful of the lesser nobility. Your father’s military role has kept him free of attendance until now, and if a battle broke out anywhere, he’d probably be excused again. Just remember each Province’s Duke is known by the name of the Province, as for example: Duke of Sealand or Duke of Merdune. Each county has an Earl or sometimes a Count, depending upon the original title, who is known by the name of the county, and within counties large estates are held by barons or viscounts. If you forget, flutter your eyelashes and smile.”