Chapter 185 - The Right To Host

“No, it’s nothing,” Kalix said. It took great effort for him to pry the words out of his mouth. “Nothing at all.”

Fortunately for him, Amber didn’t pay much attention to his strange attitude. She stepped out of the reception room, her mind preoccupied with the issue of the ladies-in-waiting. What should I do about them?

After she summoned Heinreich to check the ledgers, she pondered a way to get the ladies-in-waiting back in line. Sadly, nothing came to mind. It was only natural that she felt lost, however, due to the sudden appearance of Cecilia. She had never accounted for her involvement in her original plans.

In the end, the solution came to her when she least expected it. Several days later, a huge commotion occurred, which worsened the ladies-in-waiting’s brooding. Like bursting a bubble, though, the atmosphere in the castle would eventually become calm.

The commotion that unsettled the ladies-in-waiting and tipped the scales of Amber and Bella’s power struggle was none other than the first formal tea party hosted by the Duchess of Thales.

* * *

Exactly three days after the kitchen incident, Bella came looking for Amber. Amber had recently finished her lunch and was enjoying a short tea break with Cecila before the start of her busy afternoon schedule. When she spotted her mother-in-law, she rose from her chair in surprise.

Bella scanned Amber’s small reception room with a critical eye. “May I come in?” she asked abruptly. Amber was so dazed that she was rendered speechless. Noting this, Bella added in an arch tone, “It’s so hard to run into you around the castle, my dear.”

It should have been obvious to Bella why that was. Ever since what happened in the Vine Room, Amber ensured that she was never alone in a room with Bella or her followers again.

You have the gall to say that after what you did? She sighed inwardly. It wasn’t shocking, per se, as she never expected any human decency from Bella. Still, she couldn’t help but feel repulsed by her brazenness.

There was no more time to think about that, though. She had yet to respond. “I see that I have been neglecting you. I apologize, Mother. It’s just that I have been so busy as of late.”

She was giving her such blatant lip service that Bella’s face twisted into an expression of rage. It was quickly replaced by a mask of calm. “Yes, that’s why I sought you out myself,” she said without a hint of shame. “You wouldn’t turn me away, would you? You appear to be free at the moment.”

Amber held off from telling her to enter. She glanced over the woman’s shoulder and saw Grace, who was glaring fiercely at her. There was no one else with her. She only brought Grace along?

What a relief. With Cecilia on her side, the numbers were even. Bella would be unable to overpower her and lash her with a whip, like she had tried to the last time they were shut in a room together.

Amber gestured with a hand and said, “Come in.”

As she led Bella inside the room, Cecilia got up from her seat at just the right time. “Greetings, Dowager Duchess,” she said with a curtsy.

“Oh my.” Bella tried to assume a smile upon seeing Cecilia, but only managed to twist her lips. “So you’re here as well, Miss Cecilia.”

Amber’s lip service had produced the smallest of sparks, which had been easily extinguished. Seeing Cecilia again, on the other hand, caused Bella’s features to ignite with fury. Clearly, her presence brought to mind the humiliation that she had experienced at her hands. That was all it took to rile her up.

Bella didn’t waste any time trying to chase her out. “I’d like to have a private chat with my daughter-in-law, so could you take a turn in the garden for a while?” she asked Cecilia.

Instead of obeying her orders, Cecilia widened her eyes in mock innocence. “But I am her lady-in-waiting, and I must attend to her during tea time,” she answered.

“You see, Miss Cecilia”—though she maintained her strained smile, Bella’s mouth spasmed several times over—“the matter I must discuss with my dearest daughter is of great importance. Only the mistresses of the house should be privy to such sensitive information, so the presence of a lady-in-waiting is a little, well…”

To put it simply, she was telling her, Get lost, this conversation isn’t meant for the likes of you.

Cecilia’s innocent expression didn’t falter, however. She tilted her head and said, “Yet Lady Grace is still here. If she is asked to leave the room as well, then so will I.”

Her bold words made not just Bella flush red with anger, but Grace too. The two women shot appalled looks at Cecilia, as if she was some hideous beast that they never had the displeasure of encountering before.

“I see,” was all Bella said, defeated for the moment.

Wanting to speed the situation along, Amber didn’t beat around the bush. “You mentioned a matter that was of great importance. What is it that brings you here?”

Unfortunately, Bella had no intention of letting Amber get her way. “Oh, let’s not be so hasty, my dear.” She ordered Grace to set up her own tea set and refreshments. Then, after Grace had poured her a cup of tea, she brought it to her lips and made a show of enjoying the fragrance.

Just as Amber was about to run out of patience, she spoke once more. “Sweetheart, I came here because I thought you were in need of my help.”

“Your help?” Amber echoed in puzzlement. No matter how hard she racked her brain, she couldn’t think of anything that required Bella’s help.

Bella set down her teacup and smiled. She had finally learned how to ignore Cecilia’s presence and regained her composure. “Yes. My help. It is my intention to host a tea party at the castle.” She spoke so serenely that Amber almost forgot that it was her responsibility as Duchess to host tea parties, not Bella’s.