After a year with centaurs, horses, annoying and bossy farm boys, a family friend of ours and her children came to visit.
I was helping Lou feed the centaurs at the time and was wearing my dirty, everyday farm dress when Flora informed me they had arrived.
I called for Moonlight. "SneePh laKin TuY HhaPPhonia!"
That was Gnomic for, "Come where sunshine awaits!" Meaning in Kyrrian, "Come here to me!" and meaning to Moonlight, "Come to do something for me and I'll give you a treat."
So Flora and I hopped on Moonlight double-bareback and rode quickly to the front of the house with Lou behind us on a centaur (centaurs are very picky about who can ride them; they only trust Lou.)
Father helped me off and frowned at my filthy work dress. I rolled my eyes. Since when do we have to wear good clothing while greeting someone who is visiting? I walked to where Emma was standing. She also looked disapprovingly at my dress (she had on her most elegant dress, a light blue one with frills and laces everywhere), then grinned. We couldn't wait to confuse them. Then a footman (a footman?! No one in Kent had footmen!) opened the door to reveal a huge boy with a big nose a year younger than Emma and I, a very tall voluptuous girl with two small pig eyes and a wide smile about 16 years old wearing a balloon sort of dress (they cost 350 KCs, or, in our world, about one hundred-fifty dollars) and a huge mother with the same kind of dress. The mother looked exactly like the boy and girl combined, with a wide smile, small pig eyes, and a big nose.
"I'm Robert," the boy said with a bow. I had never seen in all of Kent someone who wore such fancy clothing, especially a boy. In Kent, all the boys wore trousers for work, and never wore suits.
The two ladies swept beautiful curtsies, and the mother said, "I'm Sarah, and this is Amelia. You two shall call me Aunt Sarah."
She turned to us, and we curtsied. My knees cracked, and Emma almost fell over.
"I'm Emma," I said, starting our game.
"I'm Elisa," Emma grinned, continuing the game. There was a pause.
Father sighed. However, he played along (the first time in a long time) and didn't say anything. Aunt Sarah gave Emma a lung-crushing hug, looked me over, and did not give me a hug.
"Pleased to meet you Elisa, and, er, Emma." Amelia frowned at me, but smiled at Emma. It was working.
I pretended to look confused. "No, I'm Elisa."
"And I'm Emma." Emma said.
Now the three of them all looked confused.
"Please, Lady Sarah, we have prepared a feast for your arrival. Come into the sitting room, and the food will be ready soon." Father bowed, ending our game… for the moment. A carriage pulled up behind our "friends" ' carriage. Father continued, "I am sorry, but I must ride to Frell on important matters."
With that little speech, he left. I believed it was very rude of him, but I didn't really mind. And our "sitting room" was also our dining room and living room, with a small fireplace, tables, and comfortable chairs. Everyone went inside, and Mother and Flora hurried off to the kitchen. As you can see, we didn't have any servants, except for Flora, who isn't really a servant, so Mother had to help with preparing feasts when people were at our house. We weren't exactly poor, but we certainly weren't rich!
Emma hissed in my ear, "Where are your manners? Put on your most elegant dress!"
I obeyed, although I did not have to, because someone with the curse of obedience cannot order someone with the same curse.
I quickly shoved on the same exact dress that Emma had on. Although it was beautiful, it was stuffy, hot, and itchy. I brushed my long and wavy brown hair that went almost to my waist, and raced down to the sitting room.
"Why does your mother do the work of a servant? I would love to chat with her now, but she's preparing the food, " Lady Sarah looked at Emma and me, and I had to stifle a laugh from the pitiful and pouty look she gave us.
"We don't have servants except for Flora." Emma said solemnly, and I didn't know how she could say that without smiling.
"Oh." Aunt Sarah looked at her children, and they looked back at her.
What was wrong with no servants?
"Do you…well, it's slightly rude but... do you work also?" Amelia stared at us very hard.
"Well, of course," I said without thinking. "If we don't have servants, then what are we going to do? Just be lazy and sit around and wait for some servants to appear by the sound of a bell, do all the chores, and then leave?"
It then occurred to me that they had servants, and I had just called them lazy without meaning it. Everyone in Kent had only one or two servant (or maybe none at all), and everyone had to do some sort of chore. Our visitors were from Frell, not Kent.
There was a long, awkward silence. Aunt Sarah, Amelia, and Robert all looked indignant. Emma elbowed me hard in the ribs.
Suddenly Lou came in the room, and met Amelia's eyes. They stared at each other for a minute, not saying anything.
Emma coughed. "Lou, this is Aunt – I mean – Lady Sarah, and her children, Amelia and Robert."
Lou bowed, taking his eyes off of Amelia. "Good evening, Aunt-I-mean-Lady Sarah, Robert, and Amelia."
He gave them his genuine smile. Amelia seemed to have forgotten that I had insulted her, and smiled back. Her smile was so wide, I thought it touched both ears. Emma was giggling next to me. Whether it was Amelia's smile, or what Lou said, I didn't know. After that, dinner was ready, and we all got up.