Maria woke up from a restful sleep to find her maid Sadako standing next to the bed, as was her habit.
"Good morning, my lady," she said, the words being said with the rote pronunciation of a memorized string of sounds, each syllable said by itself, like something recited in chorus at a classroom.
"Good morning, Sadako," Maria said. The woman was her maid, after all. There was a level of intimacy and informality expected, even when you weren't drinking their blood or ravishing them. Maria hadn't been very good at it back at Cainhurst, since the maids hadn't lasted long, but she wanted Sadako to last, and so had tried to model their interaction on the best example she had: Katarina and Miss Shelley, though with as much of Katarina's improper behavior as she could scrub out. Sadako seemed to be responding well to the approach.
Rafael was very warm next to her. Maria lay back, enjoying the feeling as she waited for Rafael to wake up. Really, it would be rude to get up while he was still asleep, after all.
Thankfully, Rafael did not linger unconscious long. Maria invited Rafael to bathe with her, but so far, that invitation had yet to be accepted either. Maria suspected that he realized it was a ploy to get them both undressed so she could maneuver one or the other of them to be ravished.
Was this what the Third Prince felt like all the time, trying to maneuver situations so that he could physically molest Katarina? Maria felt she had to offer her sympathies. Well, she would if his intended hadn't had the simplicity of mind of a child, in which case it was just immoral.
In any case, Rafael returned to his own quarters to bathe, walking there with a borrowed robe over his sleepwear, while Maria took her own bath. Really, she was quite thankful for Sadako's assistance in scrubbing the places on her back that were difficult to reach without extreme arm contortion.
They had breakfast with the children that morning.
Maria had tried having breakfast with her mother but due to her continued recovery, her mother would not wake up until late in the morning. Really, it was things like this that made Maria worry about leaving her alone when Miss Shelley inevitably had to return to her mistress.
So, breakfast with the children it was. When they weren't expecting any noble visitors, the dining hall was open to everyone to eat at, as was the balcony. The children ate where they would, though some of the Ashina and Gerudo children ate with their family, those lucky enough to have them.
Maria and Rafael sat at a table where the children could approach them. Many did, coming over to say good morning and hold their arms out for a hug. Maria dutifully complied, and wiped the mouths of the one's who'd gotten jam or whatever else around their mouths. Rafael helped, even though he seemed to feel awkward about it. After she finished eating, Maria made her rounds from table to table, greeting the children, asking if they were in good health, how they were doing in school, and whether anyone had made any inappropriate moves towards them. Thankfully, the children all answered that last in the negative, without the underlying fear of anyone who had been threatened or coerced into doing so.
Maria then did the same with her older wards. Thankfully by now she had managed to convey they had to stop and prostrate themselves on the ground and bow, and only a few stopped and stood respectfully. None seemed suicidal, depressed, or self-destructive, even if some of their answers had the roteness of prepared responses. She might have to change her questions.
Rafael excused himself from this. He seemed uncomfortable in their presence, and given the subtle signs of nerves Maria had noticed them display when he was near, she supposed they still felt nervous around men. Perfectly understandable, given their ordeal. She was glad they didn't show that sort of reticence around the male children, though. They were all perfectly willing to look after the children.
After breakfast, Rafael headed for the Ministry, while the children and those other attending went to the schoolroom on the first floor and Maria went to do her own work.
She supervised the beginning of the shooting practice of the knights whose turn it was to practice on the rifles and revolvers. They all had some experience with using the various kinds of crossbows, but there had been problems since guns had completely different weight distributions, not to mention recoil. Many still used the two-handed stance to fire, although to their credit they were increasing their accuracy. However, part of her contract had been to ensure these knights could use these weapons in a real battle, and in real battle you'll seldom have the convenience of being able to perfectly set your feet and devote both hands and five seconds to a weapon. They were still learning how to shoot with one hand while moving, never mind coming up from a roll. Still, they were progressing and Maria felt they'd get there soon.
Maria also checked on the production rate of the gunpowder and nightflowers. They'd had to divide the two production lines, especially with the knights in training. Under her contract with the crown, Maria provided all the powder they used for practice, which wasn't anywhere near as much as the nightflowers used. Even so, they ran through a small barrel a day. Some of the knights had started sending the empty powder barrel back with a few coins in it. The amount was more than enough to pay for what the powder actually cost in raw materials, so she made sure the remaining money was sent back in the next day's barrel.
It was good to work with honorable people.
She was also glad to hear that there had been no more attempted intruders during the night, though there had been an increase of out-of-town strangers wearing hooded cloaks and laughing sinisterly in the town bar, trying to bait the manufactory workers into conversation when they returned home to town or, in the case of the blacksmiths, went out to have a drink. Thankfully, the men and women hadn't said anything, though they made a game of trying to get the strangers to bribe them with outrageous sums. Fortunately, that was the point the mayor intervened and politely asked them to find a bush to sleep under for the night, since they were being thrown out of the town. Politely, of course.
With nothing urgent occurring, she left to have her morning spar with Keith. Her carriage was halfway to the Claes estate before she recalled that with Katarina back home, Keith might not need her as a sparring opponent. Well, she should say hi anyway.
When she arrived, she was admitted to a sitting where there three people. Two, she recognized. They were the Claes siblings. Katarina was her usual happy self, no surprises there. Keith Claes, however, was sitting with a gaze of sullen suspicion he usually reserved for the Third Prince. The third party was a complete stranger to Maria, a young woman a few years older than the three of them, perhaps in her early twenties, wearing a purple casual day dress. A round shield leaned on the chair at her side, its surface a similar purple shade. She was directing a look of awkward confusion at the younger Claes, and looked like she was wondering if he'd offended him somehow.
With vivid recollections of the last time Katarina had met a strange woman, that Maria took a moment to examine them all, and was glad to find no traces of Dark Magic.
"Lady Maria!" Katarina greeted as Maria stepped in. "I wasn't expecting you. Cousin Matthew, may I introduce my friend, Lady Maria Campbell. She's a knight too! Lady Maria, this is my cousin, the Lady Matthew Romani, daughter of my Aunt Leona Romani on my mother's side. She's also a knight! You're both knights! Isn't that great?"
Maria raised an eyebrow, but gave the young woman a polite bow. "Good morning to you, Dame Romani. Any friend of Katarina's is a friend of mine. I hope I find you well?"
A bit stiffly, as if she hadn't been expecting this, Dame Romani bowed in return. "Good morning to you as well, Dame Campbell. Pardon, but are you perhaps the one known as Lady Maria, the Wandering Knight? The one of whom the stories tell?"
"That will depend on which stories, Dame Romani," Maria said. "Some bear my name and little else but outrageousness. According to some I'm the chosen champion and protector of a saint or something. A particularly trouble-prone saint at that, never mind that Sorcier has no saints."
"Really?" Katarina said. "Huh. I keep hearing people talking about some saint too sometimes. Maybe it's the same one?"
Keith, why are you laughing like that? What is so funny?