Page 49 of The Queens and the Kings
The door swung open, revealing a teenage girl with a black apron, a white dress, hair shorn to her jaw. Short-formed curls spiraled around her ears, bouncing as she smiled wide.
“Welcome, Britt of Kapurnick.”
“Carina!” she cried, hands outstretched. “How wonderful to see you still here. I didn’t know if you’d continue to work here with the change of leadership.”
Carina, whom Britt hadn’t seen in over a year, flashed a smile. She extended her hands, squeezing Britt’s ready fingers.
“It is good to see you again, Miss Britt.” She stood on tiptoe, peering over her shoulder with a frown. “The General isn’t with you?”
“Not this time.”
“Too bad.”
“What?” Britt quipped with a smile. “Do you miss her affable jokes?”
Carina giggled.
For more than ten years, Alma, Carina’s mother, had cared for the Lordlady’s household and business. While he met with General Helsing, Alma fed her snacks, told her stories, allowed her to play in the catacombs with Carina or help with projects inthe household. Carina, a full ten years younger than Britt, had always been a droll and delightful young girl. When not working, Carina had a giggly, youthful side that didn’t receive enough attention.
“You’re a young woman now, Carina. Are you still working here?”
“Yes. Mother requires it.”
“Does she?”
Carina’s lips tightened with an uncertain smile, then a nod. Years before, when Carina was a baby, Alma and Carina had been abandoned to the streets of Klipporno when Alma’s husband died during a sailing accident. The former Lordlady gave Alma residence and a profession.
Carina opened her mouth to ask something, hesitated when she glimpsed Henrik, and instead widened the door. Whatever she meant to betray, it remained in the air. Her professional smile returned.
“Soldat, you are also expected and welcome.” A slight dip of her head. “The Ladylord is pleased to have both of you. She will attend to you in just a moment. Please, follow me.”
Carina led them into an antechamber lined with white tile, positioned between two round doorways, one on either side of the room. The doorway on the left was closed; the one on the right canted open. A modest office waited on the other side. Carina touched the left door. It breezed open, revealing two plush chairs on the other side of a mahogany desk. Matching spherical windows filled the wall. They had no glass, and admitted an outpouring of fresh air.
Historically, the leader of the mainland strove for a deep simplicity in their everyday life and reign. An utter disregard for material gain was a continuing facet in each consecutive leader. Comparatively, the islands were considered a cancerous freckle upon the nose of the mainland. The mainland kept theirmetaphorical nose in the air over the types of people, motivated by greed and power and lust, that led the bulk of the world, for even a cancerous freckle could spread.
Surely, the Ladylord had not lost sight of this belief, upon which General Helsing had been reliant for her entire military career. If the mainland considered the islands a potential problem, then they wouldn’t forget the islands existed.
The Isles needed remembrance.
The former Lordlady had a far more masculine feel to the office, with very little to show. This Ladylord added a few touches of femininity. A jar of bright blue flowers, a yellow pillow on each chair, which were lined with a burgundy velvet so rich it almost appeared black.
“How long has the Ladylord been in Klipporno?” she asked.
Carina, standing by the door, tilted her head. Her hair surged to the side, away from an ear decorated with sparkling rhinestones.
“A month, Miss Britt.”
“Will she be in residence much longer?”
“She hopes so.”
A vague, but appropriate response. Britt smiled. “We do as well.”
Carina bobbed another quick nod, curls bouncing with vigor. “I will let her know you’re here.” She hesitated, then tacked on with fervor, “It was so good to see you, Britt. I hope we can visit more. Later.”
Britt’s broad smile sent scuttling Carina out the door with a shy grin. She closed it with a graceful littlethunk.
Henrik took up a position behind the door. With his back to the wall, he skimmed the room with an erudite eye. Britt expected increasing signs of discomfort in a new and closed place, but he revealed none. Surely, he’d experienced far more physically stressful situations than the Ladylord as a soldat.
