Hedith wished that the men and the boys would join them soon. Queen Verista had not let go of Ardisia’s hand yet, and the conversation between them became quieter as they walked closer. She could not catch some of the words, and she saw the queen grow thoughtful at some of what Ardisia said.

It was different from before, when the queen was smiling at Laureline. Hedith wondered if the queen had only been humoring Laureline, being nice to the pretty young girl that no doubt wanted to impress her. But with Ardisia, it seemed to be a conversation between friends instead of an adult and child.

“Laureline, why don’t you ask your father to join us in the rockery?” she asked. Laureline left, and Hedith let out a breath of relief. For the moment, the tantrum was averted. When Wright joined them, he would put forth Laureline as the daughter the queen should pay attention to. Soon Ardisia would be in her sickbed again, while Laureline would continue to be beautiful and charming. She explained to the queen, “It is my husband’s favorite place as well.”

“I see your younger daughter takes after your husband then,” the queen said. It was praise that Hedith did not like. For years she had heard people praise Laureline, telling her that Laureline took after her and was just so lovely. Fenix took her after in appearance as well. There were Kaldor features, of course, but their coloring and the frames of their bodies seemed almost modeled after hers. In contrast, Wright and Ardisia were slighter, thinner. Wright was happy to show off his beautiful wife and children. They praised his good fortune, his luck in finding such a beautiful wife, but they never praised him or his characteristics.

Now, she was in Wright’s position, and she did not like it. Everyone spoke of Wright’s good fortune, but it felt like an insult being reminded of who had truly been fortunate, whose life had truly changed. It had been Wright’s decision to marry her that elevated her status, that allowed the luxury to maintain her beauty. Without her, he would still be Baronet Kaldor. Without him, she would have been some village housewife, her beauty long gone, weathered away by difficult times and household work.

“Baronet Kaldor must dote on her,” the queen continued. “It is always nice to see our good qualities passed down to our children.”

Wright was a genius when it came to business. It was the reason she was the envy of even countesses and marchionesses of their region. Hedith couldn’t imagine what had convinced the queen that Ardisia had inherited any of that acumen. The queen was wrong though. Wright did not dote on Ardisia. He was a businessman, and Ardisia had always been an asset without potential. If Ardisia had at least been healthy, perhaps he would have doted on her.

“He thinks it would spoil her,” Hedith lied. “Wright is disciplined with all our children.”

The queen nodded. Wright and the king came into view, Laureline’s hand in his. Hedith calmed, seeing her husband. Wright fixed things. It was what he was good at. Behind them both, Fenix and the prince followed.

“Lord Kaldor,” the queen said. “I’ve had the most pleasant chat with your youngest.”

“My youngest?” Wright asked, until he caught sight of Ardisia. Wright’s mouth tightened, before falling back into a practiced smile. It was his business smile, the one that could hide a thousand different emotions behind it. She wondered if he was angry with her, with Ardisia, with any of the maids who let their youngest outside of her room.

“She’s quite insightful for one so young,” the queen said. She leaned down to face Ardisia. “If my son were half as wise, I would consider myself very lucky.”

She called over the young prince and put her hands on the young boy’s shoulder. “This is my son, Robalt. I believe he is around your age. I hope you’ll be good friends to each other.”

Wright looked down at Laureline, and Hedith caught his raised eyebrow. It was not the outcome he was expecting, but he wasn’t displeased.

“You all should come visit us in the summer,” the queen said. “I’m sure the children will enjoy seeing everything the capital has to offer.”

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The prince looked back in Fenix. He had wanted to play with Fenix more. In the capital, most people kept their distance from him. He had started to realize that a lot of his victories in combat training, in archery, and in swordsmanship were false. People let him win because they were afraid of outshining him. Fenix didn’t do such a thing. Robalt had lost three times in their five bouts of hand to hand combat. While Fenix’s father looked angry, he couldn’t say anything even though their fighting got more spirited.

“Fenix, please come and visit! You can come in the winter too, if you want!” Robalt offered. He hoped that Fenix’s father would see how much he liked Fenix, that Fenix wouldn’t be chastised for not pretending to lose.

“I do have some work in the capital in the winter,” Lord Kaldor said to the king. “If your majesty would like, my son and his highness can spend some time on my estate near the capital.”

Robalt hoped his father would accept. He had noticed that Lord Kaldor did not monitor his son so closely. Fenix’s knees were covered in scrapes and in general he was louder and more boisterous than Robalt was ever allowed to be. The king nodded his assent and Robalt broke out into a grin.

He looked towards his mother, hoping she wouldn’t voice any concerns. She often did, and even when he got his father’s approval his mother often pointed out some problem and Robalt ended up not getting his way. His mother was instead looking at a girl he hadn’t seen before. Fenix had only spoken of one sister, and he’d seen her when they first arrived.

The younger girl looked different from both Fenix and Laureline. She had dark brown hair, and gray eyes. She was small and slight, and when she spoke it was slower and more deliberate than he expected.

“Good afternoon, your majesty,” she said, offering his father a deep curtsy. It was perfect, and when she stood up, she offered Robalt a similar greeting. He bowed in response. His mother continued to speak to her, and Robalt realized the girl hadn’t introduced herself to him. She had gone back to speaking to his mother like she was one of them, an adult, and not a child like him or Fenix.

She pointed out the different plants in the strange garden they were in, telling the queen the details of where the plants came from. Lord Kaldor looked surprised at his youngest daughter, continuously speaking about deep botany as if it were the most normal thing in the world.

Hedith focused her attention on the king. Whatever the queen said, the final say would be up to the king.

“Your majesty—,” she said, chiding herself on the mistake she had made again. “Sir, would you like to retire to the music room? Laureline is an exceptional harpist.”

“Yes, I think it would be nice for the boys to get out of the sun for a while as well,” the king said. His wife was not being a gracious guest, focusing all of her attention on the child the Kaldors seemed least proud of. Baronet Kaldor had told him that his youngest child was feeling poorly, but the odd little girl looked hale and hearty, albeit a bit small for her age.

They took more refreshments in the music room while Laureline played her harp. Hedith was glad to see her in better spirits. In the music room, she was the star of the show, the one who held everyone’s attention. Ardisia sat on one of the armchairs, her hands folded across her lap, respectfully listening and clapping when each song finished.

“Does your youngest not play, Lady Kaldor?” Queen Verista asked.

“I do not, ma’am,” Ardisia answered. Hedith hated how she kept taking over the conversation.

“When you come to the capital in the summer, I will acquaint you with a nice teacher I know,” Queen Verista said. “You have a voice that deserves to be taught to sing.”

Hedith realized that the queen was right. She had focused on the pianoforte, the harp, but never thought of singing. Laureline had not liked singing, and so she had never considered it for Ardisia.

“Thank you, ma’am,” Ardisia said. In truth, Queen Verista thought that the girl had a voice that deserved to be heard. She was insightful, and when she was passionate about things she was thorough. Verista had not expected to learn about rock gardens and be interested about them. She had asked the girl about politics, about economy, and while the girl’s responses were simplistic, they demonstrated genuine thought and consideration of more than superficial problems.

The Kaldors were an interesting family. Their eldest son and heir was a typical young lord, and seemed to get along with Robalt. Their older daughter was treated like a priceless treasure. Meanwhile, their youngest was not even an afterthought. She hadn’t missed the way the girl walked slowly due to her ill-fitting shoes, or the way the clothes she wore hung on her frame. The Kaldors were wealthier than many in the nobility, yet they might as well have dressed their younger daughter in rags.

“In fact, would you like to become a lady in waiting for my daughter?” Queen Verista asked.