Osgar entered the room with not a little curiosity and was extremely startled to see the lovely Lady Elianne of Whitethorn sitting there.

One of the worst of the lot. Osgar thought, scornfully. Haughty, spoilt and proud as anything. He thought everyone in the palace must know who she was and tales of her pride and aloof behaviour were rife in the servants' hall.

"Is there a problem, my Lady?" He asked, tone rude, though words deferential.

"No sir." She said, quietly. "I came here to ask if you had a job for me."

She wouldn't look him in the face.

He blinked, surprised. "A job?" He said, unable to suppress a sneer.

She nodded, cheeks flaring red. He looked at her in disgust, it must really hurt her pride to ask, he thought, maybe her darling Da cut her off. Well I'll be damned if she can get easy money this way. Chit's too proud to even look me in the face!

"Well, I'm terribly sorry." He said, voice oozing with insincerity. "But we haven't got any places for healers at the moment-"

He'd just opened his mouth to send her packing from the room when something very surprising happened.

Elianne fell to the floor on her knees. "Oh please, sir! I am not afraid of work and I really can Heal. My teacher, at the City of Gods he-"

"Be quiet!" Osgar snapped, and the Court beauty fell silent, her big entreating eyes falling to the floor. "We have no need of you here!"

Her face sank in disappointment.

Suddenly, a thought occurred to Osgar and he smiled spitefully. "We do, however." He said carefully. "Have an opening for a nurse."

Ha! Try that on for size, my lady! You'll be running out of here in a week!

Those blue eyes almost burst with hope. "Oh thank you, sir! You won't regret this!" She exclaimed.

"You will have to move closer to the infirmary. I'll show you where." He informed her. "So you can be called any time, day or night, with the bell."

Like a servant, he added inwardly.

"And," He said before she could reply. "You will be directly answerable to me."

Elianne jumped to her feet. "Oh thank you, sir. You don't know what this means to me!" She smiled; her face really was very beautiful Osgar reflected, lesser men than he had probably been drawn in by that smile.

"And we'll need to get you a nurses uniform." He said, eyeing her black dress, which, though simple, was made of very fine material.

Elianne nodded vigorously.

"And you may not use your Gift without my saying so." He scowled. "I don't need an amateur messing up my patients."

This time the nod was slower but it still came. He pursed his lips.

"You may go." Osgar dismissed her. "I will get a servant to show you your- No, wait." Another, excellent thought had occurred to him. "There is one more thing."

Here was where she would baulk, he thought.

"You are a nurse now, no better than any other servant, lower than any healer. We will therefore not refer to you by your title." He smirked. "We will call you Nurse or Elianne."

Elianne smiled warmly. "Thank you." She said seriously, finally meeting his eyes.

He frowned, disconcerted. "And you will speak to me with respect." He added quickly, not sure why she didn't protest. "Do you understand?"

"Yes sir." She smiled again.

"Good, now leave." He ordered.

She complied immediately and he went back into the infirmary, after summoning a servant

"Well?" Duke Baird enquired.

He smiled. "I hired her."

"Oh?" Duke Baird's eyebrows raised and he looked at his assistant with approval. "She is a very impressive candidate."

Osgar shrugged. He hadn't seen anything impressive about her at all. The older Mage was obviously a little soft when it came to young ladies.

"So when is our new Healer to start work?" The Duke asked, working on the broken arm of a Knight.

"Today." Osgar smiled again. "But not as a Healer. A nurse."

Duke Baird swung around to stare at him. "A nurse?" He demanded. "And she agreed when her education, if not her birth, entitled her to better?"

Osgar scowled. "We don't need another Healer." Duke Baird privately disagreed, they were always overrun. "We do need a nurse. You needn't worry." Osgar added. "Our new nurse will report directly to me and I will see she is not wanting."

Duke Baird shuddered in sympathy for the poor girl but let the matter go. They would soon see who was right, who was objective.

And then, Duke Baird thought, as he turned back to the young man with the broken arm, then he'd see exactly what his assistant was made of.