Chapter 5, part 3

Ingrid was placing the box in a drawer when Catherine entered. If she was surprised to see her there, she did not show it.

“Is there anything I can help you with, my lady?”

“Well, do you think you could just call me Catherine? I'm not actually a lady or anything. “

“I would rather not risk making a slip when we are in company, my lady. Either way, you will be a lady for now, so it might be good to get used to it.

“I see.” Catherine felt slightly defeated, and less happy with the politeness, but did her best to stay calm. “Then can you tell me what I will be doing here?”

“You mean how will you spend your days?”

“Yes.”

“Well, usually you will be expected to join the others for conversations and entertaining activities as soon as you have finished your morning routines. I think it will be best if we get one or two maids to help us with that, and to have your breakfast served here in your rooms. That way you can start out easily later. At noon you will have to get dressed for lunch, then again for tea and supper, and one more time for the evening. I will try to be around to remind you when the time comes. You can always call for help by these bells, there is at least one in each room, and I will be here most of the time.

“There are no limitations to your budget, but His Majesty feels that you should wear slightly older dresses for now. I have arranged for some samples to be brought up here, then we can take a look at them and decide what you will feel more comfortable in.

“When you are with the others, you should try to seem interested in their conversations, make facial expressions and smile a lot. You want them to trust you, and since you will be pretending to have taken a vow of silence they are a little more likely to let you in on secrets. But most of them will suspect you in every possible way. Be sure not to do anything that could encourage suspicions.

“His Majesty will let you know through me when he wishes to speak with you in private. You should try to stay away from him at other times. Act polite - remember he is your father's old friend - but uninterested.”

Ingrid paused and looked at Catherine in a calculating way.

“You should really just join in where you can and see what happens. The rest will probably be easy. Are you good with names and faces?”

“Not really. I'm not bad at it either, though.”

“Good. You will need to concentrate on that. You wont have to speak to anyone directly of course, but if it is obvious that you have forgotten, you will insult someone.” Taking in Catherine's worried expression she smiled and reassured her. “I will do my best to be close by at all times. I'll be your close helper for the next many weeks.”

Catherine smiled gratefully. She was ready to ask about bedtimes and meals, but Ingrid was faster.

“Are you wearing much make-up today, my lady?”

“Uhm, I'm not sure.”

“There is a rather large bruise on your face that should be covered up by the time you go downstairs. It is very unladylike to engage in activities that cause physical harm, my lady.”

Catherine paled and turned towards one of the large mirrors on the wall. She had been to preoccupied with the thousands of things she needed to do and avoid that she had forgotten all about the injuries to her face. Her arm had not hurt since her wedding day, and it had been easy, apart from the weak muscles, to forget that it had ever been hurt. Looking down she realised a small bandage was still covering it. Ingrid followed her gaze.

“Oh my, you have been quite busy, haven't you?”

Catherine tried a polite laugh, but did not succeed.

“The arm's fine, though. I can take that off now.”

“That will be fine, then. Maybe we can have you holding a fan for a little while to make sure the rest is hidden. It would make it more difficult for you to show your facial expressions though. I would have you write on a small board, but His Majesty informed me that your handwriting needs a little practice first.”

Catherine frowned, not sure if she was insulted or not.

“No offence, my lady, but a young lady from the country would have had several years worth of practice, and we can not take any chances. Now,” she continued before Catherine could say anything else. “You can order your food any time you like, but you will always be required to be present at the normal meals. And you will not be missed in the evenings if you decide to retire early. It might even be a good idea to stay here the first few nights, so you can get used to keeping quiet with a smaller risk of forgetting yourself. Would you like to have some food?”

Catherine was overwhelmed by the endless streams of information from Ingrid's lips, but nodded at the mention of food. She did not look forward to eating in other peoples' company for all of her future meals, but she had never had the strength to stay hungry if given a choice.

Ingrid left the room with her efficient steps and a maid returned with a tray soon after. Ingrid had led Catherine into the dining room and the two of them sat next to each other. Catherine did her best to show proper table manners, but far from lived up to Ingrid's standards. Before long she began wondering if the woman would take offence if she asked her to leave. She did not have the courage to find out and continued to fight her way through the meal.



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