From a Ristar to a Lady
- Chapter 50 -[]
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Dueling Socialites[]
Haynes Palatial Manor, Inman
Milligan PDZ, Woodbine Operational Area
Federation Suns
13th November, 3061
1900 hours (1100 hrs on local 28 hr cycle)
“My lady?” Venice’s gentle call seemed to bring the Countess’s mind back from whatever she was reminiscing about.
“Oh, I apologize,” said the Countess graciously, “My mind had wandered for a bit as I was gazing at the roses in front of me.”
As sycophantic as ever, Richelle Aubert quickly agreed, “Considering how beautiful your garden is, it’s a wonder anybody can focus on anything else.”
Jesslyn Xiomara tacked on, “The roses in full bloom are certainly something to behold, my lady.”
The Countess laughed lightly. “It recently occurred to me that even though I’ve been living in the palatial manor for over twenty years, I had yet to organize a single gathering like this.” She looked fondly at each of the ladies. “So I invited all of you here today to have a friendly chat over some tea.”
Anastasia maintained the slight smile on her face, but pondered over the words. Twenty years and not a single gathering? Why? She glanced sideways at Venice, who very subtly shook her head. Some scandal?
“I’ve heard much about how exceptionally beautiful the roses in the palatial manor’s gardens are,” gushed Francine Cruz. “I see now that it was all due to the attention and care you show them, my lady.”
“Thank you, that’s very sweet of you to say,” nodded the Countess gently. She turned to Anastasia. “Anyway… how have you been, Lady Kalinska?”
Anastasia jolted a bit in her seat, surprised at being called out. She recovered quickly, and replied, “Oh, I’m truly grateful for the invite, my lady. I’ve been looking forward to today ever since I received your invitation.” As she talked, she could just see a slight smile on Venice’s face, hidden behind the cup of tea she was taking a sip from. Well, I do try my best to follow what you have taught me!
“Oh my! As have I. I was disappointed that we weren’t able to converse much during the Landing Day hunt.”
“Ahh…” Anastasia stiffened, knowing what was to come.
“I only heard secondhand, but needless to say, everybody was rather shocked to see you go as far as pilot a mech into the flooded forest out of concern for Viscount Rason.”
Anastasia could not help the blush that swept over her face.
The Countess continued, her tone mildly chiding in a motherly manner, “I completely understand why you did so, but I’m sure Viscount Rason was worried about you.”
Is she being sincere, or trying to ridicule me? Ugh… Anastasia could only continue to smile weakly.
“Come to think of it, that was quite an eventful day, wasn’t it?” remarked Lady Xiomara.
“Really? Did something else happen?” One of the other ladies asked. It took Anastasia a moment to remember her name, Lydis Blanchett.
“Haven’t you heard, Lady Blanchett? Sir Spencer Larouche also presented Lady Kalinska with a brooch that day.” Jesslyn Xiomara filled in some of the details. “I was utterly shocked. Just when did Lady Kalinska and Sir Larouche become so close, I wonder?”
“My goodness! I hadn’t heard of this.”
“I must say, I too am curious.”
Anastasia gritted her teeth and clamped down on an immediate retort. This clearly was what that stravag Pence intended. An outright denial now would only add fuel to the fire.
“Sir Larouche seems to care for you quite a bit,” Richelle Aubert added with a sly smirk, “How did you come to have such an intimate relationship with a social recluse like him?”
“I believe you’ve said quite enough,” said the Countess sternly. Her tone suddenly made all the ladies stiffen in surprise. “In the future, I’d appreciate it if you would refrain from dredging up such base gossip in front of me.”
Venice added, “Indeed. How dare you raise such a vulgar subject in Lady Haynes’s presence?”
Anastasia blinked. Venice doesn’t seem quite like her usual self today.
Jesslyn was trying to explain herself, “M… my lady, we were just…”
“Lady Jesslyn Xiomara, I’m sure you must be aware that Lady Kalinska flatly refused Sir Larouche’s token at the hunt. And as for you, Lady Aubert, I am very curious to know what knowledge you yourself possess about Sir Larouche. I’d love it if you shared it with me.”
The two chastened ladies looked downwards, their faces pale at the rebuke. “We… apologize for our impertinence, my lady.”
“Then let us enjoy our tea in peace.”
What just happened? Anastasia thought as she bit into a pastry. Could it be that Lady Haynes actually has a favorable opinion of me? Hmmm…
Even at a tea party hosted by the consort of the Count, the topics of conversation still veered towards fiances, husbands, and the latest fashions in clothing and jewellery. Anastasia found it all terribly dull, and focused on evaluating the quality of the pastries and made a mental note of which ones she would like to eat again.
“Speaking of, have you set a date for the wedding yet, Lady Kalinska?” asked an excited Lydis Blanchett.
“Pardon?” Anastasia jolted in surprise.
“Yes! I’m curious as well!” An eager Francine Cruz joined in. “It’s been a while since you announced your engagement, hasn’t it?”
Anastasia quickly tried to deflect the questions. “Oh… I believe it will take place soon.” But not too soon, I hope! I really do not feel ready!
“Oh my! But the exact date hasn’t been decided upon yet?”
“No, Viscount Rason is very busy these days. He still needs to go back to Delacambre to ensure things are in order.” Momentarily lost in thought, one hand reached up for the brooch on her chest. After the hunt, she had decided to wear Finn’s token after all. She could not explain why exactly, but was she really in love with him? Impossible.
“Oh, I see.” Lady Cruz chimed in. “There must be a lot of work for him to do, especially with regards to those barbaric Clanners he had taken in!”
“My thoughts exactly!”
Anastasia stiffened in her seat with those remarks.
Richelle asserted. “Those nasty Clanners were responsible for starting all this war in the first place. Viscount Rason is too nice to them.”
“Yes, the nerve of these people to take advantage of his hospitality,” added Lady Xiomara. “Speaking of which, Prince Victor…”
The Countess cut in again, “I think it’d be best not to bring up the former Prince in conversation, Lady Xiomara.”
“Ahh… I apologize, my lady.”
Anastasia blinked in surprise. When she received the invite, she had assumed it was the Countess’ way to try to drum up support for Raymond, but if she did not even want to talk about the deposed Prince, then what was she after?
Francine tried to get the conversation back on track. “Once Viscount Rason returns from Delacambre, I suppose you’ll be quite busy…”
“My oh my!” A voice cut in. “Here you all are.”
They looked up to see Renard Haynes, dapper in a business suit, walk towards them. He carried a bouquet of roses, obviously just plucked from the garden from the messy way it was arranged in his hand.
“Hello mother,” greeted Renard.
“Greetings, my lord,” she replied, though Anastasia could detect a tinge of tension in her reply.
Renard smirked. “I heard there was some sort of gathering taking place here.” He continued to step forward towards their table, emanating a menacing aura. “I see faces that I hadn’t seen in a while, and my dear family too.”
“Mind if I join you?” He plopped the roses on the table. “Of course, I did not forget to bring you some roses from the garden, Mother.”
As the ladies shifted to stand, he added, “No need for everyone to stand at ceremony. Please remain seated.” Despite his words, the mood was becoming tense.
He turned to Venice. “Come to think of it, how long has it been since we’ve last seen each other, Lady Codina? Or should I say… sister-in-law?”
Anastasia glanced over to see Venice trembling, trying to control her fear. This surat is just stirring up trouble!
He continued, “Life in the palatial manor is so interesting, wouldn’t you agree?” He chuckled. “How funny that I once expected to call you my wife, but now it seems you’ll be my sister-in-law instead.” He picked up a cup of tea from the table.
He looked over at the Countess. “My goodness, mother, why do you look so dour? Wasn’t everybody smiling and laughing just moments ago?” He swirled the tea in his hand. “And I even picked these roses for you myself. Isn’t the mood here far too gloomy for a garden party?”
The Countess sighed. “My lord, I’m not quite sure what you mean…”
He took a sip of the tea, and abruptly flung the cup, where it shattered on a pillar. “Damn it! This tea is too hot!” One of the attending maids screamed in fright, and the faces of the ladies were all pale with fear.
Anastasia gritted her teeth, her fists clenching. Should she step in? She was not entirely confident she could take Renard down, even after improving her strength and fitness, but if this went on…
“How dare you disrespect me like this” He loomed over one of the maids.
The Countess interjected. “Disrespect you? Whatever do you mean?”
Renard turned his head to face her. “Do you truly expect me to believe that one of your maids can’t brew a pot of tea at the proper temperature? The only possible explanation is that she means to cause me offence!”
What utter nonsense! Anastasia gritted her teeth in anger. It is clear he came here with the intent to ruin our tea party! What should I do? Even if I attack him physically, there would be severe repercussions for me to attack a member of the ruling family.
“My lady,” Venice spoke up, “Perhaps it would be best to resume our tea party elsewhere.”
Anastasia perked up. It seemed Venice had an idea.
“This garden is indeed magnificent, but I must say I’m rather curious to see the famed Cynthia Hall you’ve told me so much about. I recall hearing that the entire room is made of marble, so it remains cool all the time. No doubt even our hot tea will cool quickly in such a room.”
The Countess beamed. “Cynthia Hall… I must say, I rather like the idea. In that case, why don’t we all adjourn to my sitting room to wait while preparations are made? We can continue our chat there.”
“Ahh…” Anastasia realised what Venice intended. Only women could enter the Countess’ private sitting room. With a simple suggestion that they relocate, Renard was excluded from the gathering. How was she able to come up with such an idea quickly? It is equally amazing that the Countess was able to pick up on her intentions so quickly and suggest the perfect place to retreat to.
Anastasia prided herself on her tactical skills in combat, but she would readily admit this sort of thing was beyond her. There is still so much I can learn from them!
Richelle remarked, “But my lady, only women are allowed to enter the Countess’ sitting room.”
“Lady Aubert!” Lady Blanchett exclaimed in shock, putting voice to what the rest of them felt at that moment, that the plan would fall through with Richelle’s thoughtless comment.
“What?” Renard twitched. “What exactly do you think you’re doing, mother? I see you’ve become quite bold now that Raymond’s all grown up.”
The Countess replied calmly. “I am simply trying to move the party elsewhere, as you can clearly see. You’re more than welcome to rejoin us after a short respite in a separate room.”
“As if!” snarled Renard. “Come to think of it, none of you said a word about it, only all too happy to go along with mother’s little scheme! Such insolence… how dare you lot try to take me for a fool!”
“Renard, you seem unwell.” The Countess said to him gently, as though trying to calm a wild animal down. “It’d be best for you to calm down…”
“Enough!” Renard roared, flinging more teaware to the floor, eliciting more whimpers of fear from the gathered ladies and maids, making them all stand up, ready to make a run for it if necessary. “You dare address me by name?”
The Countess maintained her decorum. “I am your mother, Baron Renard. How else should I address you?”
He glared at her, “Spare me the lip service. I know you don’t consider me your son. But more importantly…”
“Cynthia Hall?” Renard stabbed a finger at Venice. “You’re the one who came up with this little ploy to be rid of me. It’s too bad, really. Had I known you were such a cunning woman, I would’ve had my way with you sooner!”
A surge of rage swept through Anastasia with his words, and she saw how Venice trembled as she replied, trying to maintain her composure, “I must beg you to refrain from behaving so rudely in front of the Countess, my lord.”
“What! You forget your place!” He stepped menacingly towards Venice. “Why you little…”
Anastasia moved to block his way, her eyes fixed on him. She felt very exposed, but she was already trying to assess her chances, her options, and the optimal course of action.
“Ana…” Venice whimpered.
“Truly, I had no idea I was surrounded by such arrogance!” Renard shouted at her. “The audacity… you must have made some friends in very high places, Ana!”
He moved in close to her, their faces almost touching. “How come you never contacted me, not even once, after meeting Viscount Rason? Aren’t you the one who jumped into the manor’s lake in an attempt to prove your love for me?”
Is he drunk? I can smell alcohol on his breath. Anastasia shot back, “I decided, my lord, that I’d never again do something as foolish as love somebody who asks me to jump into a lake to prove my love for them.”
He frowned, backed up a bit, then smirked cruelly. “I hear Sir Larouche is trying to court you as well. I cannot help but wonder why have all these men become so interested in the woman I abandoned! Answer me, Ana… did you not miss me at all? You’re unhappy with me because I was trying to become engaged to Lady Codina, aren’t you? How adorable.”
Anastasia did not waver. “I was taught that words that elicit discomfort can also be considered rude, my lord.”
“Now you even have the nerve to talk back to me like this?” He circled around her, but Anastasia easily shifted her footing to continue facing him while staying between him and Venice. “Truly, the world is no longer what it used to be.”
You do not know how appropriate your words are, thought Anastasia. She reassessed her chances if it came to a fight. Surely, just restraining him would not get her into too much trouble, right? And she was now fairly confident to get him on the ground and restrained with a joint lock, especially if he was drunk and his judgement impaired. But it would be an absolute last resort, and she resolved not to make the first move, no matter how much her instincts screamed at her to do so.
“Indeed, everything had changed. Just yesterday, Father told me he was strongly considering Raymond as heir.” His eyes burned with anger. “He plans to depose me soon.”
Anastasia jolted a bit.
“Come to think of it… all this nonsense started happening after you threw yourself into that lake.” A hand shot out, grabbing her by a wrist. “This is all your doing, isn’t it?”
He held her in front of him, exerting strength to shake her. “You told Finn Rason everything, didn’t you? That must be what spurred father to act! How could you, when your own father is working for my sake!”
“Baron Haynes!” The other ladies stood around helpless, aghast at the scene before them.
“Ana!”
Anastasia narrowed her eyes and resisted slightly, just enough to gauge his intentions, and to hold her strength in reserve in case she needed it. Besides, she had already figured out a dozen ways to free herself and put him on the ground if really necessary. But for the moment, she would let things play out.
“Viscount Rason must really care about you.” Renard continued to rant. “But are you really so naive as to think that he’ll love you forever? I wonder what would happen if he were to find out exactly how intimately you and I know each other?”
The Countess finally lost her composure. “That is quite enough, Baron Haynes! Release Lady Kalinska at once and apologise for your callous words! Otherwise, you leave me no choice but to summon the guards!”
“Ha!” Renard laughed bitterly. “Shouldn’t this woman be the one apologising to me? She dared to lay her hands on a member of House Haynes! Besides, she shall be put to death for committing a crime against me soon enough anyway.”
“Renard!” The Countess shouted at him, to no avail.
He pulled Anastasia closer, and said, “There is a part of you that only I have seen… how lovely it was. And once I tell the Viscount all about it, he will end up casting you aside too. Hahaha!
Anastasia wrinkled her nose. He reeks of alcohol. Is he going to just talk and talk, or is he actually going to do something? If so, get on with it, you stravag freebirth!
“What do you say, Ana?” Renard chuckled. “He hasn’t seen that hidden side of you yet, has he?”
“Hidden side?” She echoed.
“Don’t you remember? You were trying to run from me…” His tone was mocking and dark. “How difficult it was to grab you and keep you still! Hehe… I still remember every single thing about what happened that day in vivid detail…”
The original Anastasia’s memories flooded her mind, and she reeled inwardly with the revelation. Why am I only recalling all of this now? The first memory that surfaced in my mind after inhabiting Anastasia’s body was an overwhelming feeling of betrayal toward Renard… how could she love him even after what he did to her?
In her mind’s eye, Avryl took hold of Anastasia, and she asked her, “Did you really love that man? Can you honestly say to me that what you felt for him was love?”
Anastasia did not reply, but only gave her a sad look.
Avryl blinked, and then she was facing Renard again. She somehow knew what to say.
“Do you really find such a memory that scintillating, my lord?” She sighed. “Does it thrill you to think you have some great weakness to hold over my head?” Then she glared at him. “And is what transpired that day truly something that will irreparably damage my reputation?”
“What?” He was taken aback at her sudden confidence. Meanwhile the other ladies were murmuring away in the background, no doubt shocked at his revelations.
“You… you!” He seemed unable to force words out through his anger.
Anastasia continued, “Are you boasting the fact that you used violence against me? Is that a deed for you to be so proud of? You should be ashamed of yourself!”
She stood before him resolutely. “Well, I’m not ashamed.” And neither should you be, Anastasia. “Nor do I feel I should be ashamed in front of my fiance. Besides, I’m well aware that my fiance has his own problems to contend with.”
“What are you…”
“How utterly laughable he would find such words coming from a resentful former lover. If anything, he would wonder how lacking in confidence you must be to resort to such pathetic vitriol.” Meanwhile, she congratulated herself on using the words ‘scintillating’ and ‘vitriol’ in conversation. Avryl’s vocabulary had never been her strong suit. That was probably Anastasia’s influence.
“You dare!” He finally shoved her hard against a pillar with all his strength. She slammed into it, but thankfully its surface was smooth, and the blunt impact was spread out over her entire back, so the pain was minimal. “Once I am Count, I swear I’ll kill you!”
She heard the Countess shout at the guards, “What are you waiting for? Restrain the Baron at once!”
“Shut your mouth!” Renard roared at the Countess, then turned back to Anastasia. “And simply killing you won’t suffice! I will first make your life a complete misery, then take my sweet time killing you! I swear it, you’ll pay for this!”
Anastasia scoffed. His bark is worse than his bite. A weak-willed coward like him will never beat Raymond, let alone Finn. He is a fool not to realise it is already over for him. I do not even need to fight back, his actions will bring doom upon himself.
A movement in her peripheral vision made Anastasia glance back. “Veni…”
But it was Finn behind her. When did he get here?
He bowed to the Countess. “Greetings, my lady.” Then a shorter perfunctory bow to Renard. “My lord.”
Renard looked a bit scared now.
When Finn took hold of her hands, Anastasia said, “Viscount Rason! What are you doing here in the garden?”
“Are you all right?” He looked her over, and Anastasia could not help but feel a bit of relief, even though another part of her was a bit affronted that she actually felt relieved at his presence at all.
“Uh, yes. But… what brings you here?”
Renard asked, “Viscount Rason, since when were you…”
“Since earlier?” Finn’s reply was flat, but Anastasia knew he was furious.
“Ear… earlier?” asked Renard.
“Since you began insulting my fiancee, my lord.” Anastasia could feel the fury rolling off Finn, his face contorted with rage.
- Author's Chapter Note
- Reason why the Countess did not organize a gathering for twenty years - she was initially only the mistress of the Count, taken soon after he actually married his first wife (Renard was only about a few months older than Raymond). But after his first wife died (when Renard was only seven years old), he officially married Raymond’s mother and brought her to the palatial manor. The minor scandal it caused made her decide to keep a low profile.
Recent events forced her hand - to try to find out more and see how she could support her son if at all possible, but she wanted a diplomatic solution, not a violent one, hence she didn’t want to hear talk of Victor, since that would only lead to violence.
Of course, she was also intrigued by Venice and Ana, two very different ladies who had been so prominent in recent events.
Venice knows this, but didn’t convey it to Ana. Richelle and Jesslyn also know, but not the other two.
Cynthia Hall was named in honour of Alexander Davion’s wife Cynthia Varnay, who chose her husband over her family. Cynthia Davion nee Varnay is viewed as an inspiration and role model for the female nobility of the Trivet. The hidden subtext is also that women should honour their husbands before their families, which Venice understood implicitly, but not Ana.
Throughout this chapter, I wanted to convey the sense that Ana really wanted to plaster Renard, but held back because of the political ramifications. But if he really gave her a reason, e.g. openly striking one of the ladies, especially Venice, Anastasia would have just counterattacked and damn the consequences.