Keeping a Promise... of Mischief

[Lady Hilda Elisabeta von Arles]

What research Elise did was proprietary information and not to be divulged, else her usefulness would wane and then where would she be? Never mind that she'd had several extensive conversations on fashion with the Lady Natalie, spent plenty of time observing the Demerian ladies and modifying a gown of her own. Pesky, inconsequential details that simply had no bearing on the moment. "Good. I'm glad, and if you're satisfied with it after our test, then we can see about preparing several others so you have a variety."

Just the place to test it? She had to see this! Nodding eagerly, Elise beamed in perfect conspiracy with Rosalie and fell into step behind, the better to see this place and discover what the test was. Frederick was off being official, leaving his sister at her own ends to seek occupation. How better to spend a lovely, late summer afternoon than in putting her newest design through the paces to determine its efficacy? "Let's go, then!"


Lady Rosalie St. Claire

[Lord Dominic Halton]

Dominic said little as they walked towards the lake, occasionally acknowledging someone as they passed, but listened as Christopher announced his impending departure for Twinport on official business. He nodded, his face turning grim as he understood the unspoken concern - with Christopher taking leave, that left Jasen, Katalin and Sebastian somewhat vulnerable. They needed a pair of watchful eyes and a hand that was ready to draw blade if needed. "When do you leave? And if you are asking me to do what I can in keeping watch over them, you need not ask."

He tugged absently at his tunic, then settled his sword-belt as if already girding himself for the role of guardian. Not that he hadn't already, but Dominic was shifting his thinking in that direction accordingly. "How is Jasen feeling, anyways? And Katalin? Is she improving?" He had not wanted to intrude on the family during their recovery, though his concern was legion.

Sir Christopher de Winter

[Lady Rosalie St. Claire]

The place in question, of course, was her favorite tree. She’d discovered it earlier at the festival and was used to going there all by herself, by foot or by horse, when she could, though right this moment, by foot was preferable. Experimenting, after all, began with a simple walk, or so was Rosalie’s thought. Having noticed that her new friend was following along, Rose resisted a skip to her step because part one was pretty much a success, and her new dress just begged to be tested in a proper manner.

“Just a bit further than this,” she chirped, quite happy with her find. The tree in question had branches both large enough at the base and thick enough, hopefully, and just her luck would have it, one of them stretched well out over the lake. The bad thing about this place was that she hadn’t tested how deep it was that far out, but Rosalie suspected the pair of them were well versed in swimming, should they need it.

Pausing by the tree, she grinned and spread her hands out, demonstrating the place. “This is going to be our testing spot, and this up there would be the perfect place to climb to,” she explained, pointing out the branch. “What do you think, can we manage it?” A challenge that was, in her opinion, just the thing to see if the gown stood the praise it was given, as well as satisfy both their curiosities. Turning to look to Lady Elisabeta in curiosity to see what she thought, Rose waited for the other to give her opinion on the matter.


Lady Hilda Elisabeta von Arles

[Sir Christopher de Winter]

“Later today.” Just how late of course depended on how ready his group was to move out, and Chris himself was stalling for time to ensure his siblings were safe. Perhaps his worrying was for nothing, but it was best to be safe than sorry, thus an incline of his head in thanks to Dominic as he offered to keep watch over the three. Whether or not there was sufficient reason for it remained to be seen, yet he’d prefer he was mistaken.

A mildly amused look was given at the question to the health of two siblings most affected by poison. “Both are recovering from what I could see, and I think my brother decided paperwork was a good solution to his boredom. Apparently there’re things he can’t leave to a secretary there that need his attention.” Trying not to roll his eyes at the comment, Chris gave an amused snort. “At least he knows when to give in and rest.” Then again with the pair of them it was sometimes pot calling kettle black, for Christopher himself could be as stubborn as Jasen at best of times.


Lord Dominic Halton

[Lady Hilda Elisabeta von Arles]

Happily tagging along gave her a chance to see other Demerians, to be friendly and smile or appreciate a handsome face from the safety of obscurity. There were some terribly handsome fellows in Demeria! Jerking her attention back to Rose, now somewhat ahead of her, Elise scampered to keep up, laughing at herself. When they reached the tree, she grinned openly, finding it ideal for their purposes. Broad, tall, shady, with some branches that hung out over the lake, it was perfect.

Could they manage it? What sort of question was that? Elise looked over at Rose incredulously, then laughed as she reached to begin pulling herself up into the tree's network of branches. "If you can, I can! Come on, then... let's see how the gown works for you!"


Lady Rosalie St. Claire

[Lord Dominic Halton]

A nod acknowledged the intended time of departure, already mentally re-arranging his schedule to better keep an eye on the Duke. He was as obstinate as his siblings, though someone more inclined to being sensible about his health. "Would it be in poor taste to wish you happy hunting when you arrive in Twinport?" Removed as he was from the situation, Dominic's sense of patriotism and honor was offended by the shabby treatment bestowed on the Royal Family by this one young, arrogant foreigner.

He grinned at Christopher, shaking his head. "I haven't had time to get Robin here yet, but at least it keeps him occupied and out of trouble. Half of being a landed noble is paperwork, I swear. Walk away from the desk too long and the papers breed." He had seen this phenomenon first-hand. Shooting his friend an arch look at the quasi-hypocritical statement, Dominic said nothing further. The look was sufficient - Chris looked like he should get a little rest himself these days.


Sir Christopher de Winter

[Lady Rosalie St. Claire]

Noting with a grin that it hadn’t taken her new friend long to figure out the branches and start climbing despite her claim of not being able to do so in a while, Rosalie did so herself, having found several places where one could climb up with relative ease and safety in her previous visits. This one was slightly steeper than the one the other young lady was using, but all the better, in her opinion, for the gown she was ‘testing’. Thinking with amusement that Lyn and Julia’d both die to hear of her version of testing a brand-new gown, she checked around for visitors, tails, and listeners she and Lady Elisabeta may have gathered while going, but found none, much to her relief, least none that she could see yet.

Tugging the skirts in place once she found her way up in the middle of the tree, her, arguably, most favorite spot, she grinned at the other lady. “Well, I have to say, it feels great. It’s entirely not in the way when I do not need it, unlike the other gowns I attempted to climb in.” Like her regular dress, for example. Her elder sister heard her from a mile away, and from what Rose could tell, this one wasn’t giving a whisper yet. So far, so good. Eyeing one of the thick, sprawling branches that she thought would be able to handle a pair of them dropping on it, she gave a challenging look toward the other lady. “Are you up to see the view from here?” And mentally, Rosalie crossed her fingers, hoping the branch would hold. Well, so long as they were careful, it just might.


Lady Hilda Elisabeta von Arles

[Sir Christopher de Winter]

Chris allowed a grin to slip across his expression, lightly shaking his head. No, it won’t be in poor taste, at least not in his opinion, but he doubted others would consider it so. Still, not many others were aware what exactly he was going to hunt, so he supposed Dominic was quite safe on that point. “No, it won’t, just be careful yourself.” One just never could be certain who could be listening, and whether it’d play against them later on.

As for the papers, he could swear the same thing each time he saw his elder brother’s desk, making him quite grateful that he wasn’t in danger of becoming the Duke himself, though well aware should anything happen with Jasen, he was next in line for now. “Indeed. I swear the devil himself’ll break a leg in that mess of papers last I saw it.” More accurately, his problem was his brother’s form of organization of them rather than their numbers.

The look given was interpreted correctly, causing a snort of amusement. “Don’t worry, not only will I enjoy a break from everything during the ride there, but my friend at Twinport won’t let me anywhere near trouble should I have less than a clear head and sound body.” That meant he’d be taking a rest whenever he could. He’d been told to prepare for cunning prey, and that was what he was going to do.


Lord Dominic Halton

[Lady Hilda Elisabeta von Arles]

Elise wasn't as nimble or practiced as Rosalie when it came to climbing but she did her best. Frederick wasn't going to be pleased when he heard about this, and he inevitably did. Sometimes she wondered if he didn't set someone to keeping an eye on her, but she pushed the thought from her mind as she reached Rosalie's height in the tree. Pleased by the reaction to her design, she grinned over at her friend. "Then it's just as you wanted? It was my hope that you would have freedom of movement in the dress..." She was concerned that the skirt was too full, but Rosalie showed no signs of being hindered or hampered by it.

Eyeing the branch, it seemed a little flimsy. Caution had her studying it carefully before she glanced to Rosalie. "I'm up to it, but please be careful. I am not sure I like the look of it. It does not seem very sturdy and I have no wish to see either of us hurt. Not only to avoid the discomfort, but more to prevent needing to explain to our families how we came to be hurt."

Lady Rosalie St. Claire

[Lady Rosalie St. Claire]

Rose herself had no wish to explain to her father, or sisters for that matter, how she got hurt, if that came to be, but she hoped she’ll have a cat’s own luck of landing on all fours unscathed, that is, except for a bath that would come up. “I’ll be right back,” she grinned and inched forward, not looking to see if the other young lady followed her or not. It was, after all, up to her whether to do so.

Cautious, Rosalie still couldn’t resist going further than was probably wise and look around. She thought she saw movement out of the corner of her eyes and turned to investigate, the view of the grounds behind them being not as good as that of the lake. Of course, at that moment the tree branch she was sitting on chose to snap and drop into said lake, complete with all the smaller branches it had and one curious lady, if not two, along with it. Rose had time for a shriek of surprise and a gulp of air before she hit the water. Question was whether the lady Elisabeta was in much the same straits (literally) or if she was observing it. Well, she’ll know soon enough, just as soon as she managed to untangle the skirt from the tree branch and swim back up. It really was a good thing she knew how to in the first place. Tugging said skirt free, she made for the lake’s surface.

[Lord Dominic Halton]

Chris's advice was sound and Dominic took it in the spirit with which his friend gave it. Occasionally, he needed the reminder that the area, however bucolic, was surrounded by eyes and ears, some of which weren't always so kind, forgiving or generous enough to share their perspectives. "I will be. I forget how easy it is to forget where I am at times." The caution had come at just the right time, a pointed reminder that his style of playing the game needed to reflect his location. Not everyone was as open and honest as he was, least of all in the Court.

He started to reply to the rest when a woman's shriek rent the air and a resounding splash caught his ear. Frowning, Dominic glanced at his friend, then in the direction of the sounds before he broke into a run. Trusting that Chris would follow, he bolted for the lakeshore to see what had happened and to lend what help he could if it was needed. They were compelled to do no less as gentlemen, and with Chris as a Knight of the realm, it was his duty! Dom only hoped no one was injured.

[Lady Hilda Elisabeta von Arles]

No sooner had the words of warning left her lips then a loud crack ensued and first Rosalie, then she herself plummeted towards the water. Luckily for Elise, she fell free of the branch, but her friend was not so fortunate. She quickly pushed down the wish to panic, grateful that Frederick had made sure she was a good, strong swimmer before she went to help untangle Rosalie from the branch so that both could break the surface and resume breathing. The fabric that comprised each gown was sufficiently light enough that neither needed to fear being dragged down; still, being fully dressed and soaked to the skin was far from a pleasant feeling.

As her head breached the surface, Elise gladly gulped in hair and pushed some of her hair from her face, looking around to be sure that Rosalie had done the same. Only once she was sure that Rose was free and able to swim would she begin to make for the shore and the tedious process of wringing herself out.


Lady Rosalie St. Claire

[Lady Rosalie St. Claire]

It was indeed well that the fabric of her dress was as light as it seemed, and far from see-through, for being in process of breaking the water surface and gulping air took some doing, and Rose knew her shrieking must’ve attracted attention. As it was, she was rather grateful that their unexpected swim did not seem to hurt either of them more than perhaps a superficial tear in their skirts – or at least, in Rosalie’s skirt, for it certainly was an unexpected sort of adventure.

As it was, she grinned to see the lady still in the water but seemingly uninjured, though mildly dismayed to recognize that there were indeed observers. “Well, now we know these will also be suitable for swimming, should we undertake such an attempt with more deliberation than this,” she remarked with a bright giggle, turning to Lady Elisabeta, and knowing voices carried over the water, waved to those on the shore to show at least one of them was all right and turning her attention back to her friend. “Are you all right?”

Threading water, she moved closer to the other young lady, waiting for acknowledgement of her own. Once upon the shore, they’ll be more able to see if they were scratched, certainly, and Rose was rather grateful the figures there seemed familiar, at least to her. To her credit, she looked sheepish. This was most certainly not what she had in mind for a simple test to see if the dresses pass the muster!


Lady Hilda Elisabeta von Arles

[Sir Christopher de Winter]

They were of a kind in their dislike of Court and courtiers, both limiting their appearances there if they could and in some cases forgetting they were dealing with sharks. For Chris, however, this forgetting was almost nonexistent, thus the warning. “Good,” was all he said on the matter, leaving it up to Dominic to follow up on that. His siblings, he knew, could use an ally, and this was one of the best they had – Chris would rather the man didn’t get killed if he could help it.

He spared a barely-there grin at the image of Dominic with his mouth open at the start of next sentence, aborted in favor of the man bolting down the remainder of their path to the lakeshore, and followed along. Truly, he doubted there could be trouble found by the lake, but it seemed there was no end of creativity in case of some courtiers. As it was, Chris took in a hand waving from the water's surface, no doubt belonging to one of the ladies unexpectedly taking a swim, a tree conspicuously missing a branch, and raised his own hand, acknowledging the fact that on the surface, things looked to be all right.

“I believe there’s less trouble than what it sounded like,” he observed in the mildest tone he could, though he did move closest to the water possible. Help might still be needed once the pair, who seemed to be capable swimmers both, reached the shore, and that was where they might be of assistance.

[Lord Dominic Halton]

Dominic reached the shore as two female heads broke the surface, one dark and one fair. Neither female seemed to be injured, judging by their shared looks of glee. Coming to a halt, he closed his mouth abruptly and folded his arms over his chest to study the two ladies as they floundered towards the shore. He stood ready to help haul them out and make sure they returned safely to their respective tents, but glanced over at Christopher with a look heavily weighted by irony. "Fortunately, but the question begs to be asked? What were they doing in that tree in the first place?" Dominic did not need to point out to Christopher that it was hardly a ladylike thing to do, nor the most easily accomplished task in the world to climb a tree in a full skirt if he was any judge.

He sighed, recognizing one of the ladies. Rosalie St. Claire. Of course, he ought to have known she'd be up to her pretty neck in this. The other girl, he wasn't so sure of and arched a brow at Christopher to see if his friend recognized the girl. "How we're going to explain this to their fathers and guardians, I am not sure... any suggestions?"


Sir Christopher de Winter