Chapter 7
***
The hallways were deserted, as if someone had put a curfew on them.
-caw!
From somewhere, she could hear the muffled cries of animals.
If nothing else, Louise was frustrated that she couldn't tell the time. Even though she was paid a large sum of money as a per diem, it was hard to get home after dark.
The window at the end of the hallway still let in sunlight, but it would soon be dusk, and then the carriages from Helden to Melk would probably be cut off.
For the umpteenth time, she glanced toward the window. The door behind her burst open, and she almost jumped out of her skin.
"......aah!"
She let out a startled exclamation, and the door, which had barely opened, slammed shut again.
Louise rose impatiently and knocked again.
"Miss Miriam, are you now ready to greet me?"
Only when she mentally counted to twenty did the door reopen.
"Lady Miriam..................?"
A woman with the color of Parisian blood who had never seen sunlight, and hair so bright it was almost silver. Turquoise eyes stood out from a white face.
There are many beautiful and precious girls in the world, but those sea-blue eyes looked too innocent to be dismissed.
"And, uh, you................ the new teacher?"
She stammered, her voice raspy, not at all in keeping with her angelic appearance.
"Yes, that's right, I’m Louise, the new teacher."
Miriam asked again and again.
"No teacher, your mother, no..................?"
That must be the common ground the girl had been searching for. Louise thought of her mother and answered bluntly.
"She died, last month."
Miriam's blue eyes widened.
"Me, me................"
Louise spoke quickly before she received a clumsy apology from the girl.
"So, Miss Miriam, do you think I can comfort you?"
Miriam nodded awkwardly and opened the door a little further. She took a step back, stepping aside to allow Louise to enter the room.
As she cautiously stepped into the room, she noticed something white and shiny sitting on the edge of the tea table by the window.
Upon closer inspection, they were seashells. They were equally spaced and very carefully arranged.
Miriam walked past the tea table and headed straight for the desk, but when she caught Louise's eye, she said defensively.
"There, there's something..................."
In other words, the tea table in this room had forgotten its hospitality duties and had become a seashell display case. Louise retorted pleasantly, as if she'd seen it coming.
"It’s alright. They're too pretty to ruin."
A rosy flush crept across Miriam's pale cheeks, and her chest heaved slightly with pride. The maid was right, the young lady had the attitude of an eight-year-old.
She must have been paid for it, for all she had to do was say hello to this particular lady once and then leave.
Louise forced down the sympathy in her eyes.
The lady was a noblewoman who didn't know the hardships of the world. Not like her.
The desk was scrawled with the marks of clumsy cursive practice. Miriam fumbled through the papers, picked out one of them, and held it out to Louise.
Miriam von Burg.
It was the name she had painstakingly written with great effort. By the look on her face, she was expecting praise.
Louise smiled, not dampening her hopes.
"Your handwriting is very, very pretty, my lady."
"I, I practiced.................. a hundred times.................. so I wouldn't get it wrong."
"That's very nice. Since we've never met, would you like to know my name?"
Miriam straightened up awkwardly, her jeweled turquoise eyes twinkling.
Louise picked up her pen and wrote her name, oblivious to the reddening of the sky outside the window.
It took the lady several hours to open the door. She would be disappointed if her new teacher, whom she had met with such great determination, left after less than an hour.
Louise was determined to do her best, even if it was only for one day.
***
Miriam couldn't concentrate on the conversation for long. By the time she started practicing her new cursive spelling of her name, the sky was already red.
But Louise was no longer interested in the color of the sky.
Just then, a quiet knock sounded outside.
The smallest sound was enough to make Miriam's shoulders shake.
Louise was startled to remember the maid who had knocked on her door in the daytime. She wondered if she hadn't realized her condition.
Miriam didn't say anything in response, but the door swiftly opened. The maid who had escorted Louise to the front door earlier poked her head in.
"Miss Louise, I hope you've had a chance to say hello to the lady, my master has invited you to dinner."
"If the master,.................. you mean His Excellency the Margrave?"
"Yes."
The maid answered briefly, then strode into the room, looking troubled.
"Teacher, I’ll be in trouble if you show me any respect. If the head maid sees it, I'll be fired!"
The meeting with the Margrave was completely unexpected and nerve wracking. Louise apologized hastily.
"..................Okay, I’m sorry."
But then she noticed Miriam's calm face.
Miriam was the Margrave’s sister, and she felt a rush of relief that she would be okay.
"So, would lady Miriam like to join us for dinner?"
But as soon as she asked the question, Miriam's seemingly unaffected face turned pensive.
"Me, me?"
For Louise, it was difficult because it was the Margrave, but for Miriam, he was her brother.
Sisterly relationships were nothing new to the Engel family. How sweet and generous the eldest son Pietro was to his younger siblings.
But Miriam's fearful face was no more, not less, than when she remembered the maid. Why on earth..................
Miriam looked up at the maid as if to say, please tell me I’m not invited.
Louise thought it unlikely, but the maid shook her head unexpectedly and said.
"It's only a teacher that His Excellency has asked me to bring, because he doesn't usually dine with anyone."
Why, she wondered, would she dine with his sister's prospective teacher?
Perhaps she had lingered too long in the lady's chamber? Was it impolite of her to stay until nightfall, on her first visit?
Suddenly, it occurred to her that maybe she was.
When she looked back at Miriam, her turquoise gaze was as agitated as a stormy sea.
The uneasiness in her eyes was enough to make Louise even more nervous. This man, the young Margrave, must be as frightening as his status.
Meanwhile, even the maid was impatient.
"..................I beg your pardon, but my master is already waiting."
Louise nearly knocked over her chair in her effort to get to her feet. She would have made the worst impression of anyone who had ever interviewed to be a teacher.
"Enjoy your dinner, lady Miriam."
She greeted her cheerfully, but it was hard to keep the corners of her mouth from twitching nervously.
"Follow me."
Only the maid who came to fetch her walked with a lightness of step. Perhaps it was the difficulty of keeping the owner waiting.
***
The Margrave’s room was at the end of the opposite hallway, and it was a long walk back up the stairs.
-caw!
The distressed cries of animals outside the window made Louise's steps even heavier.
Reaching the grand door, the maid knocked softly.
"Come in."
A low reply came from inside the room. Louise's heart beat irregularly.
The maid opened the door for her and then quickly retreated. Louise swallowed hard and stepped into the room.
"Excuse me."
She offered an awkward greeting, but there was no further response. To make matters worse, the door closed behind her.
The room was not very bright. The smell of firewood, beeswax, and burning oil mingled with the faintest hint of smoke and a faint floral scent.
When she cautiously lifted her head, the first thing she saw was a large stuffed antler on the wall.
When she looked away in panic, she saw a man with light golden eyes. He was young enough that the name Margrave seemed absurd, even though he was unmarried and hadn't yet been officially knighted.
From his jet-black hair to his face, he bore no resemblance to Miriam, but he was just as beautiful, if she dared say so. But unlike his sister, who looked as fragile as a porcelain doll, this one seemed harder than steel.
He stood up from his desk. He was so tall that she had to tilt her head to make eye contact, though it shouldn't be necessary.
"Have a seat."
***
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