The healing fatigue must have had a sentimental effect because the exercise made me so homesick I nearly used one of my father’s precious communication compositions so I could speak to them in person. Only the thought of the toll it had taken on him to produce them stopped me, along with the memory that the message would be sent straight to my aunt. She had entrusted them to me for official use only, and the secret I was keeping from her only made me determined not to betray any other part of her trust—a resolution I had nearly lost sight of in the pursuit of my ability. Thank goodness for Bryony’s intervention.
Ida didn’t appear until lunchtime, when she delivered my tray of food. I brightened instantly at the sight of her, but she looked startled.
“Oh, I’m sorry, Your Highness! I thought you’d be in bed. I was only going to leave this on the table there.”
“Please don’t apologize.” I gave her my most winning smile. “It’s pleasant to see another face after so many hours alone.” I drew in a deep breath through my nose. “And that smells delicious.”
“I’m sure it is, Your Highness. The duke’s cooks are excellent.”
I jumped on the tiny opening. “Don’t the servants eat the same food? I would have thought it was simpler for the kitchen to prepare one meal for everyone in the Academy.”
She paused from arranging the tray on a small table within my reach to give me a shocked look.
“The same food as the trainees? No, of course not, Your Highness. We have our own kitchen and our own cooks in one of the outbuildings.”
I frowned. “That doesn’t sound efficient. And Zora strikes me as efficient above all else.”
Ida grinned. “She’s certainly that. But some things aren’t up to her. It’s always been done this way at the Academy.”
“But practices can change.” I nodded toward where her long hair partially hid the intricate markings that ringed her neck. “Like sealing for instance.”
“Some things have certainly changed for the better under Zora’s rule,” she said cautiously. “Some of the stories my gran used to tell would strike fear into your heart.” She dropped her voice ominously low. “Ice cold washes in the middle of winter.”
“Goodness! I’m glad to hear Zora provides you with warm water, at least. Just the thought makes me want to get an extra blanket.”
Ida grinned. “You wouldn’t find me here if anyone was trying to dump freezing water over my head, I can tell you.” An alarmed look crossed her face as if she’d only just remembered who she was talking to. “But we eat well enough, Your Highness, you don’t need to be worrying about us. And we keep warm enough in our tunnels.”
“Your tunnels?”
“Oh, aye. I suppose you wouldn’t know about those. All the main outbuildings are connected to the Academy with a series of old tunnels. There are storage rooms down there and everything. That way we don’t have to go back and forth outside in the dead of winter.”
I couldn’t help but consider that perspective on the tunnels’ existence to be overly generous toward the original creators of the Academy. Now that I had seen how many lessons actually took place outside, I rather suspected they hadn’t wanted the servants to be traipsing about in their view. But it sounded like it was a mutually beneficial arrangement, at least. Even in milder weather, the servants wouldn’t want to find themselves walking through the middle of a whirlwind or accidentally struck by lightning.
“I’m glad to hear you’re so well provided for,” I said.
“I’ll come back later to tidy up then, shall I?”
“If you don’t mind.” I transferred a bowl from the tray to my lap. “That would be lovely.”
She dropped a curtsy and hurried from the room, leaving me to my meal. While I hadn’t discovered anything of particular import to my purpose, I still felt the connection had been worthwhile. She had talked more openly than I had expected which boded well for the future.
When she returned later that afternoon, I used her earlier reference to her grandmother to ask about her family. It turned out they had been locals to the area for generations, and although most hadn’t been full time servants at the Academy like Ida, many of them had picked up extra work from time to time.
I could tell from the way she talked about her family that she loved them, and it sounded as if they were the reason she stayed. Zora had been canny in choosing those commonborns she had put forward for sealing. It would have been easy for someone like Ida to be tempted to use her sealed status to seek a better position elsewhere.
“So you get plenty of chances to see them, then?” I asked.
“Oh, yes, Your Highness,” she said as she fluffed the cushions on the other sofa. “Zora is generous with all of us with days off and the like. Plus she often has work for the villagers up here.”
“She seems like an excellent head servant.”
“Oh, there’s never been one like her, that’s for sure.” Ida chuckled, as if at some joke, but despite my hopeful silence, she didn’t expand on what she found so amusing.
When she departed, I was left with the strong impression that whatever political leanings the servants might or might not have, their loyalty was first and foremost to Zora herself. If I could find out who she supported, I would likely have my answer.
When I felt the ball of energy that I knew must be Darius return to his suite in the evening, I was tempted to knock on the door between us. But what did I really have to report? Nothing of especial relevance. And the days when we could openly discuss theories and conjectures were gone. I owed it to my heart not to give in to such inclinations. If I was honest with myself, I just wanted to see him after a day spent mostly alone. And that was exactly why I couldn’t cross over to his door.
The next morning I was recovered enough to return to class, so I didn’t see Ida again for some days. But when Bryony visited my suite the next rest day afternoon, she spilled a bottle of juice she had somehow managed to purloin from the kitchen all over my rug.
I surprised her by responding with enthusiasm, and when she realized I saw it as a prime opportunity to summon Ida, her exclamations of apologetic dismay changed to veiled hints that it had all been part of her superior strategy. When Ida actually appeared, however, Bryony was full of humble apologies, and the servant was soon laughing and smiling while she cleaned up the mess. Few could resist Bryony’s bright and irreverent manner when she chose to turn on the charm.
“So, what did you think?” I asked Bryony, when the spill was at last cleaned to Ida’s satisfaction and the servant had departed.
She grinned. “I think we’ve had it wrong all along, and it’s not Duke Francis who runs the Academy at all. Clearly it’s Zora.”
“I suppose you haven’t met her.” I tried to remember the times I had spoken with her the year before while arranging my Midwinter Ball. I couldn’t remember Bryony being present at any of them. “She really is a wonder, though. The most efficient woman you ever met.”
“No wonder the duke hired her then.” Bryony returned to the cake she had been eating before the juice accident. “He seems the type to admire efficiency.”