Chapter 108 - To The Pond, Once More

[At the Palace ♡ Continuing from Chapter 102]

The next morning, Yvonne awoke, refreshed. 

She hummed a merry tune as she got out of bed and slipped on her bathrobe as she remembered the events of last night.

The reception had ended early since the guests were itching to leave.

"Why not stay for a while?" the Emperor asked as the Duke stood up, signaling his family to do the same. Aspen remained seated. 

The Duke smiled patiently, not trying to appear rude in his haste to save his tail. 

"It was a most delightful soirée, and we wish we could extend our stay," the Duke said as he exchanged glances with his wife, "but I'm afraid we can't be in your presence for much longer. We have to reach the Lands by tomorrow morning in any case, and it'll only be possible for us if we head out by carriage as soon as the circumstances permit us to do so. The duchy has been left unattended for far too long, in my opinion."

Beside Yvonne, Aspen let out a low chuckle. By that single sound, Yvonne knew the Emperor was being lied to. Duke Huxley was in no hurry to get back to the duchy; he knew he was far safer if he remained hidden in a foreign empire rather than returning to the place loaded with enemies.

"Then we shall see you off," the Emperor announced grandly as he stood up. Promptly, the mistresses stood to their feet as well. Yvonne sighed and followed their example, being the last one of the mistresses to rise on her heels.

Even then, Aspen crossed one leg over his other and didn't budge an inch. 

"Open the doors, Carsten," the Emperor announced to his Butler who stood to attention and scurried off. Not a moment later, the doors were thrown open and the hustle-bustle noise of busy palace staff flooded in. It was a merry atmosphere, and Yvonne smiled as she suddenly remembered the quiet corridors of King Irvin's palace, where pin-drop silence was observed by each member of the faculty.

"Come, let us see you off to the front gates," the Emperor gestured everyone to move. Finally, Aspen, too, took to his feet, groaning as he did so. 

"If you don't mind me asking, Mister Yelwynn, may I ask how old you are?" Yvonne asked as everyone followed the Emperor and the duke to the door. 

Aspen, who walked beside Yvonne for a reason best known to himself, turned to look at Yvonne with an eyebrow arched. 

"Why the sudden inquiry?"

Yvonne shrugged. "Just wondering."

"28," he replied after a stretched moment of silence. He smirked. "What do you make of that? Too young? Too old?"

Yvonne shrugged again. Who was she to judge?

"It's quite unexpected of Duke Lucan Huxley to take on a young advisor," Yvonne commented as everyone crossed the threshold. 

He chuckled, his eyes scanning the extravagant corridors of the imperial palace, leading to the exit. "I'm what you call a 'Young Prodigy'. I bet you've never heard of me before, but I have quite the pleasant reputation back in the Lands."

Yvonne stifled a chuckle, maintaining a cold demeanor. "As a supporter of the notorious family of the liege lord?"

"Good God, no!" Aspen defended himself at once, turning to Yvonne with a surprised expression on his face. "Whatever made you think that? The fact that I work under them doesn't mean I don't support the cause of the revolt."

"Oh?" Yvonne raised an eyebrow. Now this was interesting.

He looked both ways, making sure his voice was unheard by anyone except Lady Sumner. "Yes, I thoroughly dislike this snobbish family, and I'd twist each of their necks if I could. But sadly, how else would I pay my expenses? Anything for a decent wage."

A frown came over Yvonne's pretty face. "But aren't you still aiding them by advising about managing the riots?"

"Who says I am?" Aspen chuckled as he moved closer to Yvonne, allowing a panicking maid to pass through. "Letting them get away with their sins was never on my bucket list."

Frankly, Yvonne wanted to hear more about it, but as they all emerged from the palace and out into the moonlight, Yvonne knew it was time to bid each other farewell. 

"How can I contact you again?" Yvonne whispered furtively to Aspen, who made no effort to join the Duke's family as they relayed their thanks to the Emperor.

Aspen though for a moment. "We're staying at the Duke's friend's place for a while, but I'll be in trouble if word about it gets out. But I'll meet you at the Pond tomorrow morning."

"That's fine by me," Yvonne said as she watched Aspen follow the Duke's family out the front gate. Soon, their carriage disappeared into the distance and everyone headed to their chambers, turning in for the night.

Now, as Yvonne selected a rather plain dress from her wardrobe to imitate the common people on Eyress' streets, she could barely wait to ask the Duke's close advisor a few questions still lingering at the back of her head.

Stace was late yet again today, but Yvonne had too much on her mind to care about that. She headed to the bathroom for her daily bath where Wessey and Tmara stood to attention. Yvonne smiled upon noticing how the two young maids had not forgotten this time to prepare the things needed for the bath in advance.

"A simple lavender scented bath would be sufficient today," Yvonne said to them as she looked at herself in the mirror. "Oh, and I need to head out soon, so I'd rather the bath is a quick one, please."

While the maids scurried around to prepare, Stace casually strolled in, inspecting around as if she had done nothing wrong. 

"Is this how this's going to be?" Yvonne asked, putting her hands on her hips and frowning. "Are we going to be meeting in the bathroom so on and so forth?"

Stace chuckled. "Please. It's just been two days." Shesighed and hopped onto the sink counter, not caring about any decorum as she spoke. "We were getting chewed out by the Emperor for not keeping the noise down last night. Give me a break, will you? I'm tired as is."

Eventually, Yvonne softened down. "It's fine. I was just stressed because I have to meet someone important today." She regretted her words as soon as they left her mouth. 

Stace leaned in, suddenly interested. "Meeting who?"

Yvonne didn't answer and stepped into the warm bath. 

"Tell me!" Stace pestered her. "Who are you meeting?"

Yvonne kept her mouth shut. She was not going to say a word, or else by the time she returned, the gossip would have already reached far and wide. 

Giving up on it, Stace left the bathroom and brought back her lady's dress just as she stepped out of the bathtub. 

"Why choose such a plain dress?" she asked, puzzled, as she stared at the long, anchor grey dress. It was plain, aside from the ruffles at the sleeves and a neat line of buttons going down to the waist. Yvonne had brought it along just in case, and to think it was becoming of use in such a situation…

Quickly, she got dressed and tied her hair in a low bun at the back of her neck and wore a wide-brimmed hat to shadow her alluring features. Today, her mission was to be as low profile as possible. 

If someone found out that the latest addition to the Emperor's harem was roaming around with a random man, hell would break loose. 

Yvonne asked Stace to borrow a pair of maid shoes, since the shoes Yvonne had in her keeping were all extravagant and stylish. 

"Nice, these fit perfectly," she breathed as she slid on the black buckled shoes on her feet and stared at them in delight. "Thanks for fetching them for me, Stace.'

"'Stealing', them for you" Stace corrected. "It's only one pair of shoes per maid. I had to risk my job getting these to you." Yvonne wasn't paying attention to her anymore. Instead, she was staring at herself in awe in the lengthy mirror. Stace sighed. "How are you going to explain your leave from the palace?"

"Don't fret," Yvonne reassured as she turned around on her heels. "I've got everything planned out. Shall we head out, then?"

Stace followed Yvonne out the back door of the palace and out into the gardens where several gardeners were attending to the flowers. They didn't even bow to her since they were yet to recognize the lady because of the ordinary get-up. They must've thought it was just another maid retiring from the palace staff, which was more common than you would think. 

Yvonne didn't even flick an eyelash in their direction as she headed to the courtyard where the carriages were kept. These were strictly for the use of the Royal Family, and no one else was allowed to board them.

Carriage coaches stood by, laughing or talking to one another, ready to be of use. 

Yvonne approached a lovely black carriage with golden details on the doors and waited to be attended to. Stace stood beside her with her chin stuck out, ready for anyone to challenge her lady.

"Yes, may I help you?" a man in his 40s approached the woman in the long, grey dress. Yvonne smiled under her wide-brimmed hat. 

"I'd like to visit a dressmaker in town," Yvonne said sweetly.

"I'm sorry, but this carriage is only for members of the Royal Family," the man said, sounding genuinely apologetic. 

Yvonne lifted her hat from her head and the man bowed at once upon realizing who stood before him. 

"Right away, Your Highness," he mustered as he opened the door to his carriage. Other coaches blushed as they caught close-up sight of the rumored extraordinary beauty within the Emperor's harem. 

Yvonne put on her hat again and boarded the carriage. Even though Stace wanted to accompany her lady, Yvonne had to leave her behind. If she wanted to be furtive, she had to learn to make no exceptions. 

The coach sat up front and his horses neighed and stamped their feet against the cobble stone as their reigns were pulled. 

"Which dressmakers shall I have the honor of driving you to?" the coach asked through the little window that looked into the carriage. 

Yvonne tried to keep a straight face, but failed as an accomplished smile spread over her lips.

"Anywhere near the Pond of Divinity."