A/N: Finally, an update!! Thank you, NightStalker for the reminder! :-) It's a new semester, and with 28 (yes, 28) books to read, I don't know how much I'll be updating, but hopefully some.

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Chapter 12

I immediately ascertained that I had my work cut out for me.

"This looks like a third world country," I murmured.

"A what?" Treven asked.

I shook my head and batted down the question with an absent wave of my hand. "Nothing." I could only stare in amazement and disgust as we trotted through the estates. The houses of the families looked dilapidated, and from what I could see of their inhabitants, their clothing didn't fare much better. "Are you kidding me?"

"Selenay warned you it would be bad, didn't she?" Treven asked.

"Yes," I replied, "but I didn't envision this."

:They're good people,: Landon interjected, :though rather embittered over Nestor's lack of care.:

"Who wouldn't be?" Treven returned.

Landon had taken to beSpeaking Treven as well as me. After all, he had told me, if he was going to talk to one person who was not his Chosen, why not the rest in the party? Why not indeed? After his initial shock over hearing Landon's voice in his head, Treven had gotten quite used to the setup.

I sighed audibly as the estate house came into view. We had sent a rider ahead of us from the inn the night before to let the household know that we would be arriving early. The servants were all standing outside, waiting for us. While they were dressed marginally better than the families I had seen, it was apparent that they were in need of some new clothes—and some good food. What kind of a man was this Lord Nestor anyway?

:A stingy, selfish one,: Landon replied. :You have the opportunity to do a great deal of good here.:

I sighed again. It wasn't that I was ungrateful—far from it! It was just that I hadn't expected so much work upon my arrival. My mind was already moving in a dozen directions, planning improvements and such.

:I wonder what the stables look like,: Althea said. She, too, was rather shocked at Landon's free use of mindspeech, but eventually came to include me in some of her general conversation.

"Probably like everything else," I said, sotto voce, as we trotted into the courtyard—and the hearing range of the servants.

I could see that the servants were trying not to stare, but they weren't succeeding too well. I was, much to my own dismay, dressed in one of my new gowns, as was Lucia. Treven had insisted it was necessary to appear as a Lady, and I had bowed to his wisdom, though I hated every minute of it. I wasn't a Lady! I was Jaelle: t-shirt, jeans, and a bag of Doritos.

Once the fourfoots came to a stop, the servants bowed or curtseyed to me in turn. I instinctively opened my mouth to admonish them, but caught Treven's warning glance just in time. I swallowed my reproof with a sigh. It was going to take some getting used to, being a Lady.

Treven dismounted and I handed Lucia down to him. She was chattering away, but I wasn't paying much attention to what she was saying. In keeping with the whole "Lady" thing (which, of course, wasn't a thing at all, but a fact), Treven gave me his hand and helped me down from the saddle. It would have been easier to dismount on my own, but he made the whole process look far more graceful than it would have been had I been on my own, and I was grateful for that.

There were seven female and five male servants, all of varying ages. They just stood there after I dismounted, staring at the ground as though waiting to be punished.

"Good afternoon," I said to them, but they didn't move, save for a quick, brave glance or two in my direction. Hmmm. Perhaps I should try something else. "I'm very pleased to meet you all."

The servants traded surreptitious glances, and one of the women curtseyed, seemingly on behalf of the others. "Please your Ladyship."

What did that mean? I looked to Treven for help, but he just shrugged, a faintly smug smile on his face. He was plainly enjoying my dilemma. Fine, then. If he wasn't going to be of help, I was going to do things my way.

I heard Landon snicker in the back of my mind as he realized what I was about to do. I had the feeling I was about to throw all proper "Lady" propriety to the four winds.

"I want your attention, please," I said to them. I waited until they were all looking at me. "I was given to understand that Lord Nestor was a dreadful master, and I see that I was correctly informed."

I heard Treven give a significant cough beside me, but I pointedly ignored him. "I want you to know that I have no intention of following in his footsteps." I could see eyes widen at my announcement. "Nestor turned this estate into the disgrace of Valdemar," I continued.

Treven started choking, and I sensed that it was real, and not just a polite way of telling me to shut up.

"But I intend to turn these estates back into a place of honor and dignity." And as my first real "Lady"-ism, I looked them each in the eye for a long moment, and said, in my most authoritative voice. "I expect you all to fully cooperate."

There was a long moment of what I could only guess to be shock, and then I was treated to a chorus of "yes, your Ladyship."

"Thank you," I replied. "Who is in charge of the stables?"

One of the men stepped forward, bowing. "Jahn, your Ladyship."

"Jahn, please take Herald Treven and the Companions to the stables."

"Yes, your Ladyship," Jahn replied.

Treven handed him the reins to both Landon and Althea. "I'll follow you momentarily," he said to Jahn, and then turned to me as Jahn was leading them away and cleared his throat, lowering his tone. "That was rather . . . unorthodox."

I shot him a mock-withering glance and lowered my tone to match his. "You had your chance to help. Besides, these are my estates, and I'll do as I please." I resisted the urge to stick my tongue out at him. "So there. Now, if you'll excuse me." I turned back to the servants. "I'd like you all to meet my daughter, Lucia."

Lucia smiled and beamed at them so that even the shyest, most reserved of them smiled back. They all bowed or curtseyed to her as well, which made her giggle and hide her face in my skirts.

"Well, shall we go into the house?" I asked.

The servants parted to allow me to precede them, and with a sudden twinge of excited curiosity, I made my way towards the great oak door.

scenebreak

Hours later, I fell exhausted into the nearest chair I could find. My watch read 11 pm, but it felt like the wee hours of the morning already. As it was, I was one of the last people still up. Treven and Lucia, both imparting kisses to me, had already gone to bed, as had most of the servants.

It had been a long day. After getting a tour of the house—which, though shabby, was immaculately clean—I decided to pay visits to the families under my care. Landon accommodated me and Tristan and Lucia, not wanting to be left alone with the servants, tagged along as well.

It was worse than I had thought.

All of the families were living in dreadfully poor conditions. Their houses needed significant repairs, which, as I learned, Nestor had been promising to make, but never did. More than one child sounded as though he or she was about to cough their little lungs out, and each face bore the stamp of hunger and bone-deep weariness. I frequently found myself caught between pity and outrage.

The goats, upon which the income of the estates depended, seemed to be in just as sad shape as their caretakers.

I had brought pen and paper with me and had jotted down various notes as we moved among the families, and upon returning to the house, I dashed off a letter to the nearest House of Healing, requesting immediate assistance. Just as I was about to send one of the servants away with it, Treven, in his nosiness, asked what it was, and then had Althea send a call to the Companion of a Herald who happened to be recovering from an injury at the House of Healing. She received word back a few moments later that a Healer would set out for the estates in the morning.

That being done, I started a list of supplies that the estate needed, from bolts of cloth for new clothes for the servants and families, to repair supplies for the houses (and the stables, per Landon and Althea's direct order), and several things in-between. I definitely had my work cut out for me.

Now, however, all I wanted to was to find my bed. I hoped I could remember where it was! There were almost two dozen rooms in the house, and it was easy to get lost. I rose from the chair and headed for the stairs, anticipating nothing more exciting than my dreams.

That was when I heard the raised voices coming from the kitchen. Swallowing a grumble, I made my way into the kitchen to find two of the younger servants, Kae and Elsa, engaged in a tug-of-war with a crusty piece of bread. They didn't hear me come in, giving me ample opportunity to observe them.

"It's mine!" Kae declared, and with one, firm tug, ripped it out of Elsa's hands.

"You had it last night," Elsa said. Was it just the poor lighting, or was she crying?

"Well, you had the bed," Kae returned, cramming the bread into her mouth. I waited until she was finished eating before speaking. I was sure my presence was going to frighten them, and I had long since forgotten how to properly do the Heimleich maneuver.

"What is all the fuss about?" I asked.

As I figured, they both jumped about two feet. They stared at me, first astonished, then clearly afraid. So afraid, they couldn't answer.

"I saw everything," I told them. "Were you fighting over a piece of bread?"

They looked at each other and then back at their feet. "No, your Ladyship," they mumbled in unison.

Except that I saw them. I tried another course. "Are you girls hungry?" Come to think of it, it didn't seem like the servants had much time to eat that night.

"Oh, no, your Ladyship!" they both replied.

I sighed. I was getting nowhere with the food issue. I thought about asking about their sleeping arrangements, but knew I would only get the "no, your Ladyship" response again. I decided to be more proactive.

"I want you to take me to the room where you sleep," I ordered.

They both immediately looked up at me with a glance of horror. "Oh, no, your Ladyship!"

Now I was annoyed, and even more determined to find out why they were being so stubborn about this. "I gave you girls an order," I said, "and I don't want to hear another 'no, your Ladyship' again. Now let's go."

I led the way out of the kitchen, and the girls silently followed me, and then preceded me up the stairs. We walked down the long hall, and they stopped at a door. Glancing at me as if in hope that I would change my mind, they paused.

I intended to disappoint them. "Go on," I said.

They opened the door to reveal, not a room, but a staircase going up. What was this? I was given a full tour—or so I thought—and had no idea there was a third floor. Grabbing a candle from the wall, I motioned for the girls to go ahead of me.

As we reached the top of the staircase, I could hear voices, and as I emerged on the top floor, I could understand why I hadn't been made aware of it.

It was awful. It was more of a small attic than a floor. Everything, from the smell of mold and mildew, to the sight of the beds (and I use that word in the most liberal sense), what few there were, bespoke filth. I felt slightly nauseous. All of the other female servants were there. They were still awake and chatting away, and they noticed me at that point. They all tried to scramble to their feet, but the low ceiling made it difficult. One of the older female servants, Ila, the head of the household, cuffed both girls soundly.

"How dare you bring her Ladyship up here?" she demanded.

"It's all right, Ila," I said. "I ordered them to do so." I looked around at their quarters. "Is this truly where you sleep? All of you?"

The entire room fell silent, waiting for someone to be bold enough to answer me. Ila had no qualms, and there was a bitter edge to her voice. "Yes, your Ladyship."

"How often do you eat?" I asked.

Ila's bitter tone deepened. "Once a day, per orders of the house."

I didn't dare ask what it was they ate, "per orders of the house." I was certain I could probably guess. Little, and nothing of substance.

I was silent for a long moment, curbing my tongue so as not to curse their prior master in their presence. It wasn't good form, Treven had said, though I didn't really care at that moment. "I want all of the servants to gather downstairs."

"Now, your Ladyship?" Ila asked.

"Yes, Ila, now," I replied. "And someone please find the men and bring them as well. We will meet in the dining hall immediately."

I turned and made my way down the stairs, thankful to be out of that room. I could hear subdued, but excited, chatter behind me, in spite of Ila's attempts to hush the others.

It was about ten minutes before all of the servants were present, and I waited until they had come to order and were silent before speaking.

"It has just been brought to my attention the horrible living conditions you have had to endure," I said. "I'm sorry I did not know of them sooner. At least you would have had a decent meal this evening." I intended to rectify that however. "As it is, the new rules of the house are this: you will have three meals each day, and you will have meat of some sort for at least one of those meals."

A delighted murmur ran through the crowd gathered before me.

"Furthermore, you will no longer sleep in that hell-hole, at least, not as it is," I continued. "Until it can be thoroughly renovated, you will sleep in the empty bed chambers on this floor. You will have to share beds, but there is nothing to be done about that."

I looked at the house cook, one of the female servants. "I know it's late, Sara, but do you think you might be willing to cook up a meal for all of you? You shouldn't go to bed hungry."

"I think I can managed that, my Lady," Sara replied, a twinkle in her eye.

It was the first time I had been called something other than "your Ladyship" and I smiled at them all. "Thank you for your patience in this. I also intend to outfit all of you in new clothes and shoes. I'll be sending away to Three Rivers for supplies tomorrow." I looked them over. "Are any of you seamstresses? We'll need plenty of those, as well as carpenters, and I'd just as soon not have to hire out help if possible."

Several of the ladies and one of the men claimed tailoring abilities, and all of the men and a couple of the women claimed knowledge of carpentry.

"Wonderful!" I said. "Then I shall bid you all a good-night and we'll talk more tomorrow about the specifics of supplies and such. Kae and Elsa, would you please see to preparing the bed chambers?"

"Yes, my Lady," they said, barely able to contain their smiles.

I followed them out of the dining hall to a chorus of "good-night, my Lady," and headed for the stairs, smiling at the girls chatter. I was halfway up to my room when one comment echoed back to me and made my blood run cold.

"No one's slept in those rooms since Lord Orthallen was here!" Kae exclaimed.

I froze in my tracks. Orthallen had been here? Orthallen, who hadn't been seen in Valdemar since Elspeth was a child, was here? In my house?

This did not bode well for me.