Next to the fire, Jessamy and Mistress Anjelica were pulling a tawny gold under-tunic over the head of a child — revealed to be Krispin, as his tousled head emerged from the neck of the garment. Nearby, a somewhat recovered Marie was braiding the hair of Jessamy's youngest daughter, now eight. Both children looked to have grown a handspan since Alyce last had seen them. Krispin grinned at her as his mother turned aside to retrieve a comb from the mantel. Now nearing five, he was turning into a handsome young man.

«Look, Mama!» he said, pointing.

«Well, good morning», Jessamy said, as she and the others turned and saw Alyce. «We were going to let you sleep awhile longer». She grimaced as she tried finger-combing Krispin's tangled hair, and handed the comb to Anjelica.

«Good heavens, Krispin, did you stand on your head while you slept? Jeli, I'm about convinced that this child invites mice to nest in his hair when he goes to bed for the night. God alone knows how he manages to get his hair so tangled, just from sleeping».

Alyce smiled bravely and came to crouch down beside Krispin, who had his boots on, but with the laces dangling. The boy grimaced as Anjelica began working the tangles out of his hair.

«Good morning, Krispin — and Seffira», she said.

Seffira broke away from Marie to come and give Alyce a welcoming hug.

«Cousin Alyce, I'm so sorry. Mummy says your papa has gone to be with my papa. I'll bet that makes you sad».

Marie pressed her lips tightly together and turned away, obviously schooling her own composure, and Alyce felt her throat start to tighten. She spent several seconds returning Seffira's hug before gently propelling the child back to Marie's ministrations.

«It makes me very sad, Seffira», she agreed, turning her attention to the lacing of Krispin's boots. «And my brother was hurt, too. That also makes me sad».

«Where did he get hurted?» Krispin wanted to know, yelping as Anjelica worked at a particularly troublesome tangle.

«In Meara», Alyce replied without thinking. «Oh — it was his knee that was hurt», she added, realizing what the boy was really asking. «But it happened while he was helping catch some bad men — and he was very brave».

«What did the bad men do?» Seffira asked.

«Well, some of them had killed our papa. And some of them had tried to kill the king's brother».

«They tried to kill Duke Richard?» Krispin asked, indignant. «He's the bravest knight in the world! When I grow up, I want to be just like him!»

«Well, that's a very fine thing to want», Alyce agreed, as Anjelica finished combing the boy's hair, only just controlling a smile. «Duke Richard is a very brave knight».

«Mummy, I want to wear my page tabard today!» Krispin declared, sliding from his stool to head for a trunk against the outside wall. «Duke Richard likes us to look smart!»

Jessamy captured him before he could get very far, and Anjelica came after him with a fur-lined over-tunic.

«Well, Duke Richard isn't here right now, dear, so let's save the tabard until he gets back», Jessamy said, as she and Anjelica pulled the garment over Krispin's head.

«When will that be?» Krispin demanded.

«In a week or two», Jessamy replied. «That's after we've been to Mass next Sunday, and maybe after we've been to Mass another Sunday».

«Oh». Krispin set his hands on his hips and gave an exasperated sigh, then grinned. «That's all right, then. If it got dirty, he wouldn't like that». He looked up engagingly at Anjelica. «We get something to eat now, Jeli?»

«Yes, we get something to eat now, love», Anjelica said, taking the boy's hand. «Seffira, you come as well. Prince Brion will be waiting for both of you».

As she left the room, both children in tow, Jessamy sighed and settled on Krispin's stool, turning her gaze toward Alyce and Marie. «I think Anjelica and I are getting too old for running after little ones», she said. «Mothering is a job for the young. Alyce, it's good to have you back, even under such circumstances. How did you sleep?»

Alyce ventured a bleak smile. «Well enough, all things considered». She shook at a fold of her skirt, mud-spattered along the hem. «Would you look at the state of this gown?»

«There's a brush behind you, dear. And after we've broken our fast, we shall ask among the other ladies and see what can be assembled in the way of essentials». She went to one of the large coffers in the room and lifted the lid to rummage. «Meanwhile, let's see if we can't find something suitable in here. The first thing we'll need will be proper mourning for both of you. The king has ordered a Requiem Mass at noon, for all those slain».

«I hate black», Marie said bleakly, as Jessamy produced an armful of fine black wool from the depths of the coffer and shook it out, testing the length against one, then the other of her charges.

«I'm sure you do», Jessamy murmured, one eyebrow raised, as she pressed the gown into Marie's arms and continued her rummaging. «Unfortunately, the two of you are no longer children. This is the royal court, and all eyes will be upon you in the days to come, and especially once your brother returns to Rhemuth.

«Therefore, both of you must wear mourning», she concluded, hauling out another black gown for Alyce. «And with your fair coloring, you'll both look quite stunning — though that is hardly the purpose of the exercise. Now, go and try those, and then go down to the hall for something to eat. This afternoon, we'll have the sempstresses up to take measurements for a few new things. Off with you now».

In the coming days, while they awaited Ahern's return, along with the body of their father, Alyce noticed a subtle change in the way they seemed to be perceived at court. Whether out of sympathy for their bereavement, or the queen's personal intervention, or simply because they were now older, both the sisters found themselves far more readily accepted than when they last had lived at court, four years before.

Which should not really have surprised them. Because of the nature of appointments to the queen's household, faces came and went, some girls staying only for a season, with many a nubile young lass coming from as far afield as Carthmoor, Marley, and Rhendall in search of suitable husbands — a crusade whose excitement was usually shared by all the younger members of the royal household, often in the form of new wardrobes.

Perhaps because neither of the demoiselles de Corwyn yet entertained aspirations of matrimony for themselves — and had an unmarried brother who was the very eligible future Duke of Corwyn — most of the girls now serving in the queen's household rose eagerly to this latest challenge, bending their efforts to the assembly of suitable gowns. Some of the garments were made afresh, a few gleaned from others' coffers, but the result was a modest wardrobe for each in the allotted time.

Among the instigators of this energy and largesse was a baron's daughter from Cassan, called Elaine MacInnis, some two years younger than they, whose cheerfulness and sense of style had already made her the petted favorite of most of the older women.

«It's a pity that you must wear black for a while», Elaine said to Alyce, as she and Lady Megory, one of the queen's permanent household, adjusted the hem on one of the new gowns taking shape in the hands of the sempstresses. «But we've given you something else for Christmas and Twelfth Night at Cynfyn. It's almost black — a very deep green — but it will have rather nice embroidery at the neck. If we get that part done, of course. Lady Jessamy is working the pattern».

Elaine's good nature was contagious, and Alyce soon found herself relaxing a little — which, in turn, seemed to enable others in the royal household to relax as well. This boded well for the future, if the goodwill persisted when they returned from Cynfyn.