Queensmen

Chapter 96

~A Little Scheme~

"Five dresses are missing, and ten have been added," Keziah said, after a quick count.

"Anything important?"

"We still have dresses from all of them, some just removed the ones they felt were more expensive," she answered. "Should I hide the extras before we are accused of theft?"

"It might be too late for that." Oris eyed the flashy gowns then scanned the interior of the tent. "They must have arranged someone to watch this place and tell them when we were back. Why else would we be the only ones here despite being out for so long?"

"Keziah, can you remember which is which?"

"Can't you?"

"Ah. Proud, proud Keziah. Come help me move them around."

"Yes, Mistress."

They knelt and took the pile apart, shaking out the folded dresses and throwing them to the floor until it looked like a thief had ransacked their part of the tent. By the time the other ladies started pouring in, Oris was in the middle of a sob as Keziah sifted through the mess.

"Mistress, it's alright. I'm sure they'll understand."

"This is all my fault. I shouldn't have left," a few more tears slipped down Oris' face, "but how could I have known that I would end at Lady Dianne's—"

"Mistress!" Keziah shot to her feet, as though she had just noticed that they had an audience.

Oris hurriedly wiped her tears and said with a hoarse voice, "I need to return these dresses to you. I wasn't aware when my maid collected all of these. Please take them back."

"You dare say you weren't aware? Everyone knows that you were out wearing Lady Yue's dress," came a snide remark.

"You're wearing it right now," someone else pointed out.

Oris shot Keziah a panicked look. "You didn't tell me that—"

"Mistress, you had nothing else to wear, I had no choice," Keziah replied calmly. "Lady Yue offered it, I saw no reason to refuse."

"I'll take it off right now."

As Oris fumbled to remove the laces, Lady Yue stepped forward. "Sisters, let us not be hasty, maybe there is another explanation for this."

Lady Yue, the woman the maid said she liked the most. That should have made her the kindest, but realistically, which maid wouldn't say that her mistress was the kindest? If Oris broke her word and reported what the maid said, then wouldn't the poor girl's punishment double?

The same went for whoever the maid had named as her mistress. Which maid would say who she belonged to after being caught doing something unsavory? Wasn't that just inviting trouble for herself?

So those two answers couldn't be trusted without confirmation and Oris hadn't expected them to. What she had been really interested in was the last question.

A skittish, young maid didn't have the skill to fake an emotion as visceral as hate.

"She isn't on the list," she had said, taking the initiative to offer information for the first time. "Lady Dianne."

It turned out that the maid was just one out of the many people who suspected Lady Dianne of starting the fire. Lady Ria's words had been the spark that had given life to a sea of accusations despite the fact that she herself had been accused of starting the fire too.

When Oris pointed that out, the maid had said, "But it can't be Mistress Ria."

Mistress. Oris didn't think it would be so easy to weasel the truth out of the girl, especially if her mistress was truly that shrew woman.