“No! I don’t want to go!” Marco almost seemed to pale when his mother reminded them that they would leave the next day.
“School doesn’t start for another two weeks!” Mateo seemed to try to appeal with logic. “We can stay for two more weeks! There’s no reason for us to go back now!”
Tori watched her two little twin cousins desperately plead to their mother. They were dripping wet and wearing swim pants. Over two weeks of playing at the delta every day had given them a decent tan. Tori reclined on a wooden lounge chair along a sandy embankment across the river from the encampment.
She lifted her cup to her lips and took a drink of the chilled berry juice as Marco attempted to flee from Auntie Lucia by rushing back into the water.
It seemed that guests of the delta never wanted to leave.
That was a good sign. Tori took another sip of her juice. That’s very promising for tourism.
The Bishop had been reluctant to leave. Sebastian didn’t want to go home. And now the twins were trying to get as far away from them as possible. All of them had different reasons for wanting to stay, but that was a good thing. For tourism, a wide variety of things to do and see was important to keep people’s interests.
Some people may get tired of bird watching and daily walks. Others weren’t very physical and would likely have no interest in swimming and would rather lounge around the beach, like Auntie Lucia.
The Bishop also had that heavy interest in crystals and their experiments.
Sebastian had a heavy interest in Lady Idunn and Tori had to ask him not to make a scene when he left. He had scoffed and looked at her as if what she was insinuating was ridiculous. The moment Lady Idunn appeared to see him off, he didn’t seem to want to let her go.
Tori had stood there with the knights, awkwardly waiting. Axton had shaken his head and declared he was done. He had turned around and left with Ewan following him to escape the situation. The Guevera knights had looked to Tori to try to curb Sebastian’s enthusiastic good-bye and so she was forced to step in.
Eventually, Sebastian had pried himself away from Lady Idunn, got into the carriage, and left.
Lady Idunn left for a project further north of the Central Corridor while waiting for the seeds and seedlings to arrive from their foreign associates. She would return to study to see if they were suitable for the climate and soil when they arrived. She still talked to Sebastian every night, according to Kasen, who spoke of it with disgust.
Tori’s summer had flown by and while the days could still get quite hot, the nights were starting to grow cooler. In another month or so, fall would settle in and it would mark a full year since the villagers were relocated to the delta. Their situation then was far more dire; living in a shoddy camp on the water’s edge without any guidance; just a weekly delivery of grains and preserved vegetables and cured meat. They had had no idea what to expect.
Tori looked across the river from beneath her straw sun hat. The village was seen further upriver; a sprawling little town of tents organized into zones, connected by wooden walking paths. She looked out towards the water; there were dozens of boats weaving between the islands as workers prepared them for building and habitation.
The test island was relatively complete with all the basic necessities, and several families who were willing to become fishermen had moved in. They were slowly transitioning, but were pleased with their homes and the utilities.
Tori hoped that by this time next year, there would be more completed islands and buildings on the shore.
“I’m never going to get them out of the water,” Auntie Lucia said as she frowned and fell into the lounge chair beside Tori.
“At least they learned to swim a little,” Tori said. She had brought the boys to the coarse-sanded beach when a swim class was happening and they ended up joining and befriending many of the village children.
Auntie Lucia sighed and reached for a drink on the remnants of a stump-turned-table between them. “They were complaining that they wanted to go with their father to Alpine Valley, but now they’ve forgotten all about it.”
Tori chuckled. Uncle Maurizo was going around the islands with some of his students who volunteered over the summer, marking off places to put mosquito-repelling plants. Various potted ones dotted construction sites to help ward off the insects, and workers all carried around a small satchel of dried leaves with a citrus scent that drove them away.
“They can always come back next year. I hope we will have more to offer then,” Tori said.
“It’s already quite different than what I expected,” Auntie Lucia told her as she looked around. “It’s much busier than I thought. I expected the islands to be busy with construction, but not the shore.”
“A significant portion of the village voted to settle on the strip of shoreline allocated,” Tori told her. “So, we reworked our construction phase a bit to put priority on settling the shoreline.” The sound of the pile drivers hammering logs into the soil practically echoed around the area, but like everyone else, Tori had grown used to it and didn’t pay any attention to the steady, hollow thumps.
“Lady Idunn said that you are hoping to get additional land allocated for farming,” Auntie Lucia told her. “Is there any word on that?”
Tori shook her head. “I haven’t applied yet. I want to answer the big question: what is going to be planted. I’m expecting some seeds and possibly seedlings from merchants and dignitaries I met at Cousin Siobhan’s succession ceremony. The Tona Kingdom and Zhu Empire traders are also sending some experienced farmers for guidance.”
“That couldn’t have been cheap.” Auntie Lucia looked at her curiously. “What did you offer in return?”
Tori barely held back her smile. “Cooking plate technology. Instructor Ignatius and I have access to a far wider market.”
Auntie Lucia nodded, approving. She looked towards the island in the distance. “That boy is living on the island, isn’t he?”
Tori pursed her lips. Except for occasional forays into the encampment, Instructor Ignatius hadn’t left Anahata Island. He hadn’t left the delta since he arrived.
“Well, with Sebby gone, he’s helping oversee the placement of the crystal pillars.” Crystals would shatter under the granite block of a pile driver, so in order to protect them, they were instead inserted into stone pillars that were painstakingly buried into the sediment. The pillars were massive pieces made up of knee-high stone discs that were as wide in diameter as she was tall.
They had grooves that locked them into place once they were placed on top of each other. The center of the pillar was hollowed out for the crystals. After some testing and due to practicality, it was decided to fill the pillars with a mix of large and small pieces of five different crystals of varying amounts.
Thick metal rods were hammered into place through smaller holes in the pillar to keep everything in place. The pillars protruded out of the water at twice Tori’s height and were capped with granite cylinders layered with additional crystals and carved with Old Sulfae. Instructor Ignatius said that the entire island could explode and the pillars would absorb the energy before it could reach the next island. At most, the other islands would get an above average wave.
Tori hoped they would never have to test that out, though the miniature Master Ramos made to show her how it worked was amazing in itself. The pillars essentially absorbed the energy and returned it to the earth from where it was taken.
The process to install them took far longer than driving logs into the islands. It took almost a day to place a single ring of the pillar in place and so far, there were only three fully assembled pillars in place. However, Master Ramos assured her there was no rush. It was better to take their time and do it correctly than rush it and make a mistake that could throw the formation off.
Instructor Ignatius agreed, but he was counting down the days to when all twelve pillars were placed around Anahata Island.
“Thank you for letting your uncle build another greenhouse on one of the islands,” Auntie Lucia said. “He was hoping that you would be able to spare a place.”
“Some of the students had brought up housing particular plants in the delta to see how they fared and if they’d be of use. When it was brought up, the village thought it was a worthwhile endeavor. In addition, Université would pay them as caretakers,” Tori said. “It’s useful to have medicinal plants here.”
“If you ask your uncle, it’s useful to have medicinal plants everywhere.”
Tori chuckled. Her aunt had been of great help as well in reconciling invoices and payments. Since Auntie Lucia worked in procurement for the imperial knights, she had an excellent sense of what needed to be reported back to the empire and Tori took pains to learn as much as possible.
She wanted to look into more vocational schools for villagers, as they would need someone to do the work when she was no longer able to.
Auntie Lucia also knew many more vendors around the area and made suggestions on lowering costs that wouldn’t have a negative effect. Tori had a rough estimate on a budget for the next three years, but she didn’t want to recklessly burn through it.
While there was a small purse for emergency funds, a large and long-lasting emergency would wreak havoc on her budget.
“Boys!” Auntie Lucia finished her drink and pushed herself up. “Come on! We have to pack! I’m not going to tell you again.”
She narrowed her eyes and the twins slumped forward, as if knowing this was the final order from their mother. Quietly, they bid their friends good-bye, and gathered their things to trudge back to the encampment.
Tori couldn’t help but feel bad for them. They were quiet all through dinner and seemed listless as they poked at their food. They barely touched their dessert, which was alarming in itself.
The next day, the house valets who accompanied them loaded up the carriages and the twins said their final good-byes to their friends. Tori stood with Ewan, who was seeing them off.
“Boys,” Auntie Lucia put her hands on her hips and looked at the two children. “Stop wasting time. We have to go so we get home before sunset.”
The children moved on to say good-bye to Ewan, who they liked to drag out to play, and Axton, who they admired as a swordsman.
“Don’t worry, we’ll be back to play again,” Marco said to his younger brother as they walked towards the carriage. “We can just come when Cousin Tori comes back.”
Tori narrowed her eyes. “We never made such an agreement.”
“We’ll talk!” Marco said. They climbed into the carriage and Auntie Lucia gave her a hug before climbing in after them. The carriages, one with the family and the other with their valets and luggage, set off.
“All right,” Axton said as he clamped his hand on Ewan’s shoulder. “They’re gone. It’s time to get back to training.”
Ewan took a deep breath and gave him a determined nod. “Yes, Sir Nassaun.”
“I thought we discussed that when I am training you, you are to refer to me as Master Nassaun,” Axton said, proudly. Tori closed her eyes and shook her head. Ewan had immediately addressed Sebastian as ‘Master Guevera’, but, likely because he was used to it, addressed Axton as ‘Sir Nassaun’.
“Sorry! I mean, yes, Master Nassaun!” Ewan stood up straight, as if ready to receive orders.
“Good. Do a lap around the encampment to warm up, then head to the yard, by the grove.” Ewan let out a yell and nodded, before taking off.
“Didn’t he already run this morning?” Tori asked.
“That was for conditioning, in order to build up his stamina,” Axton said. “Lord Sebastian and I worked on a strict training regimen to start with. We need to get Ewan’s body to its peak, as when you’re evenly matched with an opponent in terms of technique, strength, and speed, what do you need?”
“Endurance to outlast them,” Tori answered without thinking. Axton nodded. “Just don’t wear him out.”
“Don’t worry, it’s strict, but it’s a gradual process. We increase and add something new every week. Lord Sebastian has also made allowances in his time in consideration of his academic work. That can’t be neglected.” Axton told her.
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“We’ve already talked to Ilyana and she agreed to work on a plan that focuses on the topics on the La Garda test that Sebastian mentioned.”
“It’s always good to have support when you’re working towards something,” Axton said. He smiled and patted her head. “I think Ewan has a great chance. He’s enthusiastic and has a lot of promise. He’s certainly willing to work harder than the second prince’s knight.”
Tori let out a little snort and crossed her arms over her chest as she turned around and walked back to the encampment. “I think that he’s so used to being told he’s the best, that it’s gone to his head. Deep down, he’s become too confident and won’t improve.”
“He could barely keep up at the Amber Fortress.” Axton frowned. “He had no real trouble when it came to his technique, but when it comes to endurance, he was struggling. We found that if someone was technically worse than him at a certain point, as long as they could outlast him, they could wear him down and strike him when he was losing focus.”
“It sounds intense,” Tori furrowed her brows and looked towards where Ewan had run off to with some worry.
“Your brother has repeatedly told him to pace himself and not to overexert himself, lest he gets injured,” Axton told her. “I’ll also remind him. And I’ve started telling him to take care of himself after his training. Stretching, massaging his muscles, getting enough sleep....”
Ewan was essentially an athlete now. Tori looked over at Axton and gave him a small smile. “You know, you should rest, too.”
“When my pupil isn’t watching. I need to maintain a level of respect,” Axton told her. “You know, when I was very little, I didn’t think the General slept. He always seemed to be awake and full of energy, doing something.”
“The General is very attentive towards you.”
Axton’s face softened and he looked ahead of them, smiling a bit. “He doesn’t say it out loud, but I know he thinks of me as his son.” He paused for a moment. “And if I’m being honest, he is who I’d consider my father. He’s always watched over me and taught me what he could. Even as a child, I would call him weekly to let him know my sword progress.”
“Sebby told me that the General loved your mother,” Tori said as they walked. She looked down at the wooden walkway.
Axton let out a small hum of acknowledgement. “She often said that she wished she married him. Unfortunately, they were heirs of a march and duchy respectively. My mother was an only child; it was just her and my grandfather before he died. Godmother was engaged to His Majesty, so the General was expected to take over as Marquis von Schwert.”
Tori pursed her lips and nodded. “To marquis families, the family and the march are priorities in one’s life.”
“That’s what my mother said,” Axton drew in his lips. “She talked to him often during her final days. I’d hear her crying, telling him not to come on the comcry. She said he was needed at the border and there was nothing for him to come see. She was just a sack of skin and bones.” He narrowed his eyes as they reddened. “I remember hearing the General’s voice telling her that to him, she was still the most beautiful woman he’d ever seen and would ever love.”
Tori smiled softly. “Did he see her before she died?”
Axton shook his head. “He didn’t make it in time. Godmother had Mother’s body brought back to Horizon and he saw her there. I’d never seen the General cry until that day...or since. He was with us when we buried my mother in the Mezzaluna mountains.”
Tori knit her brows together and cocked her head. She looked over at him. “She’s buried in the mountains? Doesn’t the Alvere Duchy have an ancestral burial ground?” Most landed nobility, especially the ones from ‘ancient’ lines, like theirs, did.
Axton took a deep breath. “We were all worried that my birth father or his mistress would desecrate her grave.” Tori inhaled sharply as her eyes widened. “Mother arranged with your mom to be buried in the Mezzaluna mountains, in Sur territory. There are very few people who know the exact location. There weren’t any knights with us when we buried her.”
Tori let out a low breath. “I see....” She narrowed her eyes. “I didn’t think such an extreme measure needed to be taken.”
“Once I take back the duchy and resettle, we’ll move her to a final resting place,” Axton said. “I think once that happens, the General can move on a bit. The von Schwert family still needs an heir.”
Tori nodded. “Is he going to get married?”
Axton shook his head. “No, he’s discussed this with me quite a bit, actually. He plans to get a surrogate to carry his child. She’ll get suitable compensation.” Axton let out a small chuckle and laughed. “I doubt he’d even need to offer one. That man is insanely popular. The moment he announces he’s looking for a surrogate, there will be a line across Osten.”
Tori tossed her head back and laughed. “I believe that,” she said with a nod. “I hope you’re able to get your duchy back soon.”
“I’m giving it some time, but the other duke and duchesses have been pressing me to hurry up. Having a man wandering around, pretending to be Duke Alvere apparently reflects badly on all the duchies,” Axton said. “Everything should be settled in another year or two. I don’t expect him to let go of the position without a fight.”
Tori was certain of that. “Do they have anywhere to go once you take Sun Garden back?”
Axton’s eyes narrowed once more. “I’m not going to take Sun Garden back. I know that’s my ancestral estate, but it’s also where they ruined my mother. My worst memories are there, Tori. I can’t live there again.”
“Then where are you going to live? In Horizon?”
“I was thinking of building a new estate closer to the city. One that doesn’t take almost three days to get to,” he said. “I can bury my mother there.”
“Well...if you need construction contacts, let me know.”
He laughed a bit, but his face became serious. “Tori, eventually, the current Duke Alvere will start to feel the pressure from my work to take it back and remove him from the title. When that happens, I’m sure it will affect Montan. He may lash out at you, as you are a known friend of mine.”
Tori nodded. “I understand. I’ll watch him carefully.”
[https://static.wixstatic.com/media/334114_6091e4325c304c4d9804d3c53f9887d3~mv2.png] “I think it’s quite an honor. It’s as if you’re the representative of the school.” Constantine pounded a pestle into a mortar to crush some garlic.
Tori scrunched up her face. Her hair was up, and she and Constantine were in the corner of the staff kitchen. As the native of the region of Karap, Constantine knew what the cured meat was supposed to taste like. He also had plenty of experience working in the communal kitchens of Temple Mountain and knew how to prepare the meat.
“It’s an honor to do so well and be in the top ten of my class, and then get more work,” Tori said, in a dull voice. Constantine laughed and reached for a bottle of Karap olive oil. “We have to be guides for the incoming students for hours on the first day. I heard that once you get to your position, you don’t leave until they relieve you. At least on the weekend, we just have to wander around.”
“How long are you supposed to stay there?”
“Mid-morning to around sunset, I think.”
“That is long.”
“In addition, we have to know where everything is and be able to give proper directions and answer questions,” Tori sighed as she flipped the meat on the pan.
“But you’ve already had a school year to familiarize yourself with the campus. By now you should know,” Constantine pointed out.
“But there are some places that I don’t normally go to,” Tori said. “I got lost going to the stables once.”
“I’m sure they’ll give you a map to remind you,” he said. “Although, it is a rather large campus for less than 700 students.”
“It’s because of all the facilities on campus that cater to specific niches.”
“Do you know where you’re being placed?”
“I think they’ll assign us at the meeting the day before.” Tori motioned for him to come closer. “Flip it?”
“No, you want the skin to be darker.”
“Okay.” She let the meat continue to sizzle. “At the very least, I’ll see Ilyana sooner since she’s number one.”
“I should start studying with her, too,” Constantine said.
“When are you going back?” Tori asked.
“The end of the move-in dates for upperclassmen, so the day before Lycée has its orientation week,” Constantine said. “Although, technically, since we upperclassmen don’t have classes the first few days, I can move in later. But I don’t want to carry my things through the gate in the middle of orientation week.”
“I heard it’s always chaotic.”
“It’s not as if I won’t be back soon. That reminds me, don’t forget to let the Bishop of Karap know when the foundation work for Rois is done. He will arrange for additional builders - flip it.”
“Oh, right.” Tori quickly flipped the piece of meat and looked at him curiously. “He’s going to send builders?”
“There is a branch of the Belcoy Church that focuses on the upkeep of Temple Mountain and other, very old sites. They also train a guild of laymen builders on how to build Belcoy structures, specifically churches and temples. Shrines are easy and anyone can make them, but for larger buildings, there is a methodology that must be followed.” Constantine leaned against the preparation table behind them and began to list off things. “There is the placement of the altar, particular building materials must be used, iconography and tilework needs to be placed in a specific way. They’ll also bring in other religious artifacts.”
“I see. That’s more complicated than I thought. I’ll need to arrange for tents for them, as well.”
“The builders supply all their own things. They will just need a space sectioned off and water. There are two wells planned in the main plaza, I think.”
“Mr. Zisos, if there is an entire guild that builds religious structures, can they not help the Sisters of the Saphira Order and their orphanage?” Tori asked.
Constantine cocked his head to the side. “You mean Miss Hart’s project? They can, to an extent, but it would mainly be repair work and only to the actual site of religious use, that is, the church. It is a rule that they only build these structures. Anything else would be considered ‘profane’ and they could not return to working on religious structures.”
“Then that means they can’t build the living quarters of nuns and other cloistered groups or orphanages?” Tori asked. Constantine nodded.
“Normally, such buildings are taken care of by the orders that support them. Of course, other outside parties can assist with the upkeep of religious structures and their buildings as part of the community. In most places, once the initial building has been built, most communities it supports assist with its upkeep through donations of money, material, or time and skill. For example, I heard that the orphanage run by the Saphira Order had quite a donation made on behalf of Miss Hart and one of her friends. They have quite a surplus of building material.”
Tori took a deep breath to sigh and instead inhaled the aroma of the cured meat.
“Is it ready yet?” a hopeful voice asked behind them. Tori didn’t need to turn around.
“I told you Ewan, this is a test batch to make sure I get it right for brunch. You have to wait until everyone is there to try it.”
She heard him almost whimper as he lumbered away, disappointed. Constantine chuckled. “You could’ve given him a little.”
“I have to be fair to them. He can’t get an advantage just because he’s here. I’d never hear the end of it from Henrik.”
“I got some.”
“You’re technically the instructor,” Tori said. “Sebby and I cooked this several times and I followed the recipe you gave me, but it tastes different. I didn’t have this problem with the dishes the chefs at Moss Hill helped me with and they had adjusted the recipes to be more simplified and easier to source and cook.”
“It’s likely the particular herbs we use when we season them. They are harvested and prepared in a particular way that may make them distinct in flavor from others sourced elsewhere.” Constantine had generously shared some herbs he had brought with him. “It could be the same seasonings, just different preparations. The test lamb we had last night was quite authentic.”
Tori sighed. “I used the olive oil from Karap to try to make it taste the way I remember....”
Constantine laughed. “There is nothing wrong with that.”
“It would be good for the delta to develop its own signature taste, but that’s a bit in the future. For now, I just need the village to be able to support itself, even just a little. We only have a few months before the supplies from the empire end.”
Constantine gave her a reassuring smile. “I’m sure it’ll be fine. You have the gods’ blessing; I’m certain of it.”
Tori almost wanted to laugh. Instead, she puffed out her cheeks to hold it in and tried not to grimace at the thought.
After finishing the meat and being satisfied that it tasted the way she wanted it to, Tori returned to her tent to pack up her things. The next day, Constantine saw her, Ewan, and Axton off. Since Axton, who was teaching Ewan, was escorting Tori, Ewan didn’t have a reason to stay at the delta if he left.
They reached the city gates in the early evening and the carriage dropped off Ewan first, then Tori at her aunt’s, before it left with Axton, who would return to the Imperial Palace.
Tori ended up sleeping through dinner and didn’t wake up until dawn. That afternoon, she headed to Cafe Fortuna to meet with the others. Axton and Piers picked her up on the way to the Academic Quarter, as they were also returning to their apartment.
Tori happily entered the familiar cafe and relished the scent of warm coffee as she walked through the door.
“Lady Tori! Welcome back!”
“Hi, Mama J! I brought you some cured meat and olive oil from Karap!” Tori carried her bag over, beaming. They gave Tori her favorite drink and she settled on the chaise. Since it was still warm out, there was no fire in the hearth, but it had sort of become ‘their spot’. Huh, we have a couch...like Friends.
She was halfway through her iced coffee when a ringing bell and a voice filled the air. “Tori!” She looked up and smiled, placing her cup on the table, and standing just in time for someone to run into them, wrapping her slender arms around Tori’s body and squeezing her affectionately.
“Ilyana.” Tori closed her eyes and hugged her friend tightly. “Welcome back.”
Ilyana sniffled and nodded; her head buried against Tori’s shoulder. Tori couldn’t help but notice she’d gotten a bit taller.
“Welcome back!” Sonia and JP chorused as they walked in with Henrik, Albert, and Ewan behind them. “Ewan says you brought meat and wouldn’t share.”
Tori scoffed and looked towards Ewan, who avoided her eyes and instead made his way to the back counter to order. “That was a test batch. We got the recipe and Mr. Zisos was kind enough to share some spices, so our brunch will be authentic. He’ll be there; he will vouch for me.”
Sonia pried Ilyana off Tori. Ilyana had red eyes and looked as if she’d burst at any moment while Sonia spoke. “We just dropped off some of our things at Lycée.”
“I arrived yesterday,” Ilyana said. As decided after last winter, Ilyana had stayed at Sonia and JP’s rather than at an inn when she returned.
“Good, I’m glad you got here safely. Go and get a drink and relax for a bit. We don’t have to check in for another half hour,” Tori said. “When are the rest of you guys moving back in?”
“Day before orientation week,” Henrik said. Ewan and Albert nodded as they followed him to order drinks.
“Sonia and I need to get there early to move in the horses and prepare for orientation week, so we’ll move in the first day the upperclassmen return,” JP said before telling Ewan to get him a coffee with milk. Sonia called for a pastry.
“Are you just nervous about guiding students tomorrow?” Sonia sat on the overstuffed chair next to the chaise, where Tori and Ilyana had sat down. “I heard it gets challenging when they start to explore and get lost. You guides have to help the whole weekend.”
“I’m not so much nervous as it just feels like more work,” Tori said. “You’d think with all the instructors, there would be enough people.”
“They’re also working on getting ready for the school year,” Ilyana said. “I’m excited, but since we’re only second years, we’ll be assigned to a far corner of the school that first years probably won’t go to at first.”
“Since we have to be there for hours, we should put in an order to pick up lunch and snacks,” Tori said, looking at her. “I brought the picnic blanket bags I told you about. At the very least, we’ll have somewhere to sit and food to eat.”
Sonia wrinkled her nose. “Now I want to go, too.”
“Do you?” Ilyana asked, giving her a knowing look. “Let’s not forget who is ranked eighth.” Sonia immediately frowned and narrowed her eyes ahead of her.
“Hart.”
“Oh, speaking of Hart!” JP scooted his chair over and leaned forward. His eyes were sparkling as he smiled. “She and her father have been staying at an inn in the eleventh district.”
Tori looked surprised. “Did you see them?”
“We caught sight of her a few times, but that’s not what’s interesting,” Sonia said. She looked towards her brother.
“We heard that Baron Hart was trying to sell his horses and carriage through one of the consignment shops.”
“What? Then how is he going to get home?”
“You’re asking the wrong question,” Henrik said as he returned and he and Ewan handed the other two their drinks. Ewan handed Ilyana her favorite sandwich, which she bit right into. “It should be why.”
“Then, why?” Tori looked back at JP.
“Miss Hart apparently lost her father’s money betting on the polo tournament’s final match.”