Page 27 of Pawns of Fate
“I know quite a bit about them. I visited their estate last year to help my uncle secure a few business deals.”
“Syzman told me as much, but I wanted to confirm. Did you interact with Lord Dahtey’s mother when you were there? She can be a viper of a woman.”
“Well, I wouldn’t say she’s a viper.” Her voice trailed off as she tried to find the right words to describe a woman who frequently tormented her servants by throwing hot tea at them. Rose had been lucky that Lady Ylimia Dahtey hadn’t considered it worth her time to harass a mere hostage.
“Are you familiar with her preferences? What sort of tea and food does she like or dislike? She can be picky.”
“Are you hosting her? Wait, arewehosting her?”
“Yes, she is coming here for tea with Ava.”
“That’s a terrible idea.” An old noble like Ylimia Dahtey would trample all over Ava’s sweet personality and lack of etiquette.
“I know. I hoped you could join them and smooth things over.”
Rose frowned. She weighed her options and decided to tell Nicholas the blunt truth.
“Is there any way you could cancel? She’ll eat Ava alive. I don’t know how much I’ll be able to step in.”
“We can’t cancel, especially not this late. She’s coming tomorrow.”
“What is the purpose of her visit? I thought the Sharps and Dahtey were on good terms.”
“The Sharps and Dahteyareon good terms. Ylimia is an old friend of my father’s because she was a close friend of my mother’s. She always stops by this time of year to visit my mother’s grave. I haven’t interacted with her much, but she changed quite a bit after my mother, who was her closest friend, and her husband, Lord Idne Dahtey, died within six months of each other. I remember Lady Ylimia as a kind woman before that.”
Rose barely suppressed a scoff. Kind was not the word she’d use for Lady Ylimia. Grief certainly changed people.
“She usually just visits the grave, chats with my father, and leaves. But this year, we have Ava. Ylimia requested to meet with Ava specifically.”
“Why?” Rose questioned. Ylimia Dahtey rarely concerned herself with matters outside of her own family. It surprised Rose that she visited an old friend’s grave each year. Rose was shocked that the noble lady was concerned about Ava at all.
Nicholas let out the low hum that Rose was learning escaped his lips when he wanted to choose his words carefully. “I think she wants to vet York’s wife for herself since his own mother can’t do so from beyond the grave. She arranged this before news of our engagement spread, or she would have requestedto meet you, too.”
“What exactly will this vetting gain her?”
“Maybe she just wants to have as much information about Ava as possible, in case she needs it later.” Nicholas ran a hand through his hair, then propped his chin up with his palm. “Maybe she feels responsible for York in some twisted way we can never hope to understand. It doesn’t matter either way. My father would never turn her down.”
Rose bit her lip and flipped through all of her memories of Ylimia from her stay with the Dahtey. However, most of that involved staying well away from the woman the servants called an ice queen when they thought no one important was listening. And that was the nicest nickname they had for her.
Besides throwing hot tea at servants she thought were underperforming, Ylimia was also known to purposefully break dishes and blame those who’d displeased her. Her handmaids never lasted more than a month; most only served Ylimia for a week. It was a well-known fact in high society that her son, the current Lord Dahtey, refused to attend any social or political event with his mother.
But hopefully, Nicholas was right and she really did just want to meet with Ava out of a sense of duty to her old friend.
“What do you need from me?” Rose felt a headache teasing the edge of her consciousness when she thought about trying to corral Ava and Ylimia.
“I need you to join them for tea. Lady Dahtey will be interested in meeting you, too, even if she hasn’t had the opportunity to request it officially. You can guide Ava, and take a little ofthe—” Nicholas hummed again, “the focus.”
“In other words, you need me to help take the attention off Ava?”
“Precisely. Ylimia will care about York’s wife, but ultimately, that matter is settled. She’ll be more interested in critiquing you since we haven’t married yet. It will feel like she can have more influence.”
“You are really throwing me to the wolves.”
“Don’t let one old woman’s opinion bother you. It certainly won’t bother me.” Nicholas tapped a finger on his desk.
“That’s easy for you to say.” A memory of Ylimia throwing a teacup at a servant, missing, and nearly hitting Rose, who’d been reading in the garden beyond, flashed through Rose’s mind. “You don’t have to have tea with her,” she added.
“She specifically stated that she wanted a little quality time for her and Ava to talk as fellow noblewomen, or York would have stepped in. I don’t think she wants Ava to have York as a buffer. She wants to see her as she truly is. Perhaps I shouldn’t even be sneaking you in.” Nicholas’s shoulders slumped as he leaned forward, and the pleading look on his face softened Rose’s heart.
