I stood there dumbfounded. What were Catherine and Elizabeth doing here? They couldn't have gone home. It would have taken too long to get back here. Had they been robbed and gone to see John for help? Why not just go home? Why were they hiding their identity?

I realized that the pause had gone on for too long. Elizebeth had begun to fidget, but like a highborn lady, Catherine remained perfectly still.

I looked over at Benjamin and Emily. Benjamin gave nothing away. Emily looked surprised and a little nervous.

"Benjamin, would you mind waiting here with Emily? Lady Katrina, Eliza, please follow me."

"Forgive me, my lord. I fear I must let you know I am not a lady." Catherine said.

"I see. Follow me then." We walked towards the town hall. My mind was reeling with all the possibilities of what was going on. Each idea was more ridiculous than the next.

As we walked into the building, I could see that Elizabeth's head was on a swivel. Looking with fascination at the half-timber architecture. Catherine, however, looked straight ahead, still revealing nothing. As soon as I shut the door, Catherine collapsed to the floor and began to sob. It must have taken all her strength to keep her composure up until the door shut.

As soon as her friend collapsed, Elizabeth fell to her knees and put her head in her hands. Her sobs were softer but no less heartbreaking.

It was at least ten fractions before Catherine was composed enough to speak. She looked up at me with her eyes puffy from crying and said, "Count Bicman. I ask for your protection. Forgive us, but we have nowhere else to turn."

I pursed my lips in displeasure at her formality. I walked forward and extended my hand. "First, Kate," I said, emphasizing her name. "You will address me as Amos while in private. Second, of course, I will help you."

As I helped her up, I pulled her into a hug. She collapsed into my embrace and again began to sob, clinging to me like a desperate person trying not to drown. The tears did not last as long this time. And as soon as she loosed her hold on me, I stepped back.

I walked her over to a chair and helped her sit. Then I helped Elizabeth up. She also looked like she could use a hug, but propriety would not allow us such familiarity. Her ex-fiancé wasn't the one she needed comfort from. Where was Arimis?

"Kate, why don't you tell me what is going on and how I can help."

"I-We left Kimton and traveled North to Carok. I wanted to see Jonathan and his family before I headed home. When I arrived he-he…" she lost her ability to speak.

What the crap had John done?

After about a minute, she told me. "Jonathan said that my father had been caught working with the rebels. My whole family was executed. Everyone, Amos. They're all gone."

Once again, she burst into tears but quickly regained her composure. "The only reason I wasn't captured and killed is because they didn't find me on the back road to Carok. Jonathan put us on a ship with your men and sent us here. They're going to kill us."

"How did John know you knew me?" I asked.

"I don't think he did. I think you were the first person who came to mind since he was sending your men home. He gave me a letter to give to you. It is in my saddle bag."

I nodded, "We'll get it later. Where is Aramis?"

Catherine grimaced, and Elizabeth began to cry.

"He was the one who was spying on my family. He was sending letters to the king while we were in Kimton. When I came back to the inn to get them so we could leave, he tried to stop us."

Not good.

"Does he know where you are?"

She said nothing, just looked at the floor.

"Catherine, I need to know. If he knows you are here, you cannot stay here." I said firmly.

"He's dead, Amos."

A moment later, it clicked, "You killed an agent of the king. And now you want me to hide you. Dang, Kate, you really stepped in it."

She looked confused at the phrase. I didn't bother explaining myself. She could figure it out.

"Does anybody else know you're here besides Jonathan?" I asked.

"No."

I began to pace. How was I going to pull this off? I could dress her up as a peasant, and she would still stick out like a sore thumb. She was a noble through and through, and nobody would mistake her for anything else. There was just no way to hide her without gossip spreading like wildfire. Eventually, it would make its way south. Unless…

I suddenly had a good idea. Well, at least I thought it was a good idea. Now I just had to convince Catherine it was a good idea. Maybe I could do a good, better, best idea. Hopefully, she would pick the one I wanted.

"I'm sorry, Catherine. I don't know how to hide you."

"I'll do anything. Please, Amos. I can hide among your peasants." She said pleadingly.

I gave a long pause as if I was trying to make a decision. Finally, I said, "You stand out too much. Elizabeth... maybe, but that's because she's a commoner. You have all the bearing of a noble. A lifetime of behavior doesn't change overnight. I am sure you tried to hide your nobility on the way here, but the guards already told me that they suspect you are a noble. Do you really think you can hide your nobility?"

There was only silence. She knew she could not disguise who she was.

I gave a sigh. "Catherine, you are my cousin, and I will try and protect you. You can help tend the gardens in the manor and wash clothes. It is hard work, and the hours are long. And that isn't just me being cruel or uncaring. I truly wish I could give you an easy life, but if you don't work hard, gossip will run rampant, and eventually, people will start to suspect you are a noble. Then, they will ask why you are hiding, and that information will surely spread. We already have a few people here who know who you are. They will have to be sworn to secrecy. We also have spys which means you would have to play your part perfectly."

"I- I will do it." She said, firming her resolve.

"You will have to. You will eat like a peasant and sleep in the great hall among the other servants. There will be no comfort, and it will be a hard life if you want to hide here."

"I understand." She looked dejected. I hated to do this to her, but she had to realize that she depended on my goodwill.

"I am glad you understand the seriousness of your situation. Because if gossip reaches me that people are suspecting you are a noble, I will have to turn you in." I said firmly.

She nodded. I knew I was beating a dead horse at this point, but the more desperate she felt, the better this would go.

"Get yourself in order. As soon as you are ready, I will introduce you to…" I trailed off and put on the expression of someone who was thinking hard about something. I began to pace, muttering to myself.

After a while, Cathrine interrupted me. "What is it, Amos?" She said worriedly.

I stopped pacing and looked at Catherine sternly. "I have another role you might fill. I think it would be easier for you to act the part, but again, it would require you to play your part perfectly."

Catherine became intrigued.

"Kate, I think I spoke to you of Emily while we were down in Kimton."

She thought for a moment and then asked, "The servant girl who saved your nephew?"

"Yes, I believe I told you I requested the king make her a noble for her deeds. Well, I received confirmation. She is now a noble."

"Oh," she said. Light dawned in her eyes. "You want me to-"

"You are now Lady Katrina from some little-known barony in Hernon. Something like a fourth daughter with little prospects. Your father has done some trading with John's trading house. John heard of Emily's elevation station and sent you and your handmade Eliza to assist in educating Emily."

I could see the cogs turning in her head. Finally, she gave a serious nod and said, "Yes, I can do that. In fact, there are plenty of barons in Falmor who are not well known. I could use one of their names, and no one would ever check."

"Very good. You two take a few minutes to come up with a backstory. I am going to grab Benjamin."

If you come across this story on Amazon, be aware that it has been stolen from Royal Road. Please report it.

After grabbing Benjamin from outside, I brought him to the far corner. Kate and Elizabeth were having their own private conversation on the other side of the room.

To say Benjamin was unhappy with what I told him would be an understatement.

"This is not good, my lord." He said, trying to control his emotions.

"Ok, Benjamin. If you think we need to turn them away, then we will. I will give them as much gold as I can spare and send them to Githum. Or maybe Fraback will protect them."

"That is not what I meant, my lord. I am not happy with the situation. It complicates things. However, I find your solution a good one. Emily needs instruction, which I cannot give her, and Catherine and Elizabeth have to stay here if they want protection."

"Ok, let's introduce them to the first Lady of the barony of Bicman. Ok, so technically, there were other ladies before her, but she was the only one in my court," I said with a smile.

Benjamin left to get Emily while I had Kate fill me in on their backstory.

"I was watching the girl's faces as Emily entered. Both girls seemed surprised at Emily's appearance as she entered the room. Catherine's face changed expressions a few times, and the last was disappointment before settling back into the mask of nobility.

As soon as Emily entered, Benjamin went to hunt down everyone who had contact with Katie and Elizabeth, either in Kimton or since then. That left me with the fun duty of introducing the women.

"Lady Emily Paper, may I introduce Lady Katrina Taras and her handmaiden Eliza."

Emily's eyes immediately went wide, and she went into a deep bow.

Catherine looked shocked at first but then, realizing what was happening, said in a commanding voice, "Stand straight, Lady Paper."

Emily snapped into a ramrod-straight posture, but her head bowed, not able to meet the eyes of the woman who had just rebuked her.

"No, this will not do. Lord Amos, she cannot even look me in the eye. It is good that your cousin sent me, or Lady Paper would never be accepted in society. We must start immediately. Look me in the eyes, Lady Paper."

It appeared to take an incredible act of will for Emily to meet Catherine's gaze. But as soon as Emily looked into the stern face of her new etiquette teacher, Catherine continued, "Good. Now, Lady Paper, I am the daughter of a nonhereditary knight; therefore, you will never bow to me again. Do you understand?"

"Yes, my lady," Emily said quietly.

The expression on Catherine's face made it clear she was wondering if it would be easier to be a gardener. "I just said that we are of equal standing. Therefore, it is not necessary to address me as my lady. You must address me as Lady Taras. Though since we will be working together and are of close to the same age you may call me Lady Katrina."

Thinking carefully about her words, Emily said, "Thank you, Lady Katrina."

I think Catherine wanted to sigh, "Lady Paper, when I invite you to address me less formally, it is courteous to extend the same invitation to me."

"What?"

This time, she did sigh, "Unless you wanted to keep our relationship formal, you should have something like. Thank you, please call me Lady Emily. Otherwise, you have rejected my courtesy."

"Oh, of course you may," Emily said while blushing.

I could see Elizabeth watching her friend struggle to hold in her frustration. It almost looked like she wanted to laugh.

Emily, however, looked like she wanted to cry.

"Don't worry, Em," I said encouragingly. "Took me a while too."

"Em?" Catherine said in surprise.

"Yeah, that's my nickname for her," I said with a smile. There was probably something wrong with me giving her a nickname.

"But she's, I mean, you're…" She sighed. "Count Bicman, I believe I need some time to gather my thoughts and figure out the best way to approach the situation regarding Lady Emily's education."

"Of course, Lady Taras, and please, call me Lord Amos," I said.

"That is very gracious of you, Lord Amos. Please call me Lady Katrina," She said.

"Of course, Lady Katrina. Now, I believe it is time we travel to Bicman. We can get you ladies situated and then discuss more over dinner."

"That would be most agreeable. Lady Emily, I hope that you will come to realize that my corrections are given with the best of intentions. I was sent here to assist you. And I swore to Lord Amos that I would do my best. I will do everything in my power to help you." Cathrine said in a more gentle tone."

The carriage was meant to seat four people comfortably, so Benjamin sat up top while the three ladies rode in the carriage with me.

*********

I was going over reports with Benjamin in my study when there was a knock at my door.

"You may enter," I said.

When the door opened, Catherine stormed into the room. After shutting the door behind her, she gave me a very disapproving look.

"My lord, I am sorry, but this is just unacceptable," she said.

"Kate," I said, emphasizing her name. "Again, call me Amos in informal settings. Since Benjamin already knows who you are, we will consider this informal. I will not have my cousin calling me Lord Amos when we are not trying to create pretense. Secondly, Emily will learn. Just be patient with her."

She paused, then sighed, "Fine, but you are not going to like what I have to say. Amos, the problem is not Emily. The problem is you."

"Me? What did I do?"

"It is not what you did; it is what you didn't do. Amos, that poor girl has nothing! She has no clothes, no accessories, and no powders. She has nothing a lady needs to make herself presentable."

"What are you talking about? I bought her two very expensive dresses while in Vaspar and a very nice pair of shoes to go with them."

Her mouth dropped open, and she looked at me like I was an imbecile. "Amos, before we were forced to flee, Elizabeth had more dresses than that, and she was a merchant's daughter. How is Emily ever to feel like a lady if she has nothing?"

She is really set on the idea that Emily has nothing. It reminded me of my sister Natalie when she was a teenager. She had more clothing than the rest of the house combined but was always complaining she had nothing to wear.

"Well, now is not the time to travel, so we cannot buy things until spring. Until then, you will have to deal with what she has. She will not be out in public much during the winter, so it is better that she dress practically until spring anyways."

"She needs to dress practically for a lady." She said stubbornly.

She turned to Benjamin and said, "Please help me."

"I agree with you, Lady Taras, but Lord Amos is correct. Now is not the time." Benjamin said.

"Fine, but Amos, I suggest you set money aside because it is not going to be cheap. She is the only lady in your county, and so she will be under great scrutiny. That includes how she dresses."

"Me? I don't think so. She can buy her own stuff."

Catherine glared at me. "And where is an un-landed unmarried lady supposed to get the money."

I smiled. "She is Lady Paper. In a few years, she will probably be the most wealthy person in my county."

"How?"

"Well, just like you said. She is unmarried and has no land. When a few people kindly pointed out the problem this created, I gave her full ownership of the paper manufacturing. Well, Jackie still has her 5%, but still, paper manufacturing is our most profitable business right now. That way, if anything happens to me, she will still be able to support herself and have a very good dowry. In a few years, she may be wealthier than my barons. I am not going to leave one of my best friends in a bad situation."

It sucked to give up the paper business, but I had unwittingly caused the problem, so it was up to me to fix it. I was still making more than her off the books, and the textile business was going to explode soon.

Catherine froze with the expression of someone who was trying to puzzle through a riddle. Suddenly, her eyes lit up as if she had come to a realization. Then her mouth dropped as she stared at me. I had no clue what she was thinking, so I decided to wait until she spoke.

"That's how you are going to do it." She said, pursing her lips in disappointment.

Her words caught me off guard, "Wait, how I am going to do what?"

"How you're going to marry her?"

"Marry who? Emily?"

"Of course, Emily." She suddenly looked furious. "Curse my father."

I had no clue what her father had to do with this. "What are you talking about?"

"Don't play dumb, Amos. Any noble could see right through your plan."

So I didn't seem as clueless as I felt, I said, "And what exactly did you figure out?"

"It's obvious. You gave her the business so that it would build her wealth. But that still wouldn't allow society to accept her as a worthy candidate for marriage to a count. So she sells the business to you for the title of Baroness. You give her much more land than she pays for. Maybe everything south of Kerisi. Once she is a Baroness, she would be fit to be your wife. Of course, not your first wife. But your second wife would be perfectly acceptable. The only issue is the plan is obvious, so you will get some criticism, but others have done similar things, so it will all blow over."

Wow, I really didn't understand the minds of nobles. Did they seriously have to make everything so complicated?

"Benjamin, please help me out."

Emily

Why did she have to be so perfect? She was everything a lady should be. Even her handmaiden would be a better noble than me. Would Amos rather have her? She is so pretty. She has all the features of a noble. Everybody could look at me and tell I was nothing more than a commoner in a dress.

With her here, I am sure Amos would realize that there were women out there who would make better wives. I may not be good at being a noble, but I wasn't blind. I saw the way Lady Katrina looked at Amos. She obviously liked him. She and her handmaid both. They are going to take him away from me.

Tears started to run down my cheeks as I thought about what a disappointment I was.

My thoughts were interrupted by a knock at my door.

"Hey, Em, you in there. Um, sorry, of course, you are in there. Your guards are outside your door." There was a pause, and then he got a more serious tone. "Hey, I saw that, Greg. No laughing at your lord even when he says something stupid. It was a slip of the tongue." This made me smile.

"Anyways, Em, can I come in?"

I didn't want to let him in, but at the same time, I just wanted to hear his voice.

"You may enter, my lord," I said while whipping tears away from my eyes.

As Amos entered, I put my eyes down so he wouldn't see I had been crying.

"Hey, you didn't come to dinner. I was worried about you. Well, that and I miss the conversations we have. Are you doing ok?"

I had to be careful about how I answered. If I said I wasn't feeling well, Amos would freak out, but if I said I was fine, he would just dig for more information. Maybe I could change the subject and get more information.

"Wasn't Lady Katrine there? You could talk with her."

"Sure, but I enjoy your company, and I thought the dinner might be less formal, and you all could get to know each other better."

Why did he want me to get to know her better? Was he going to keep her around for a long time? Maybe he was already thinking of marrying her.

"Do you think she is pretty?" I almost covered my mouth as soon as the words came out but resisted. There was no way I could keep the blood from rushing to my face.

Amos looked confused at first, but then something clicked, and he gave me one of his winning smiles. or was it a mocking smile?

Please don't make fun of me. Please don't make fun of me.

Instead of making fun of me, he surprised me. He walked up to me and wrapped his arms around me. I just stood there stiff as a board. "They aren't here to replace you, Em."

I stiffened further. Embarrassed that he saw right through me.

He sighed as he stepped away, and I was mad that I hadn't taken the opportunity to hug him back.

He ran his fingers through his hair in frustration and said, "I really need to address the elephant in the room."

The statement completely confused me.

"Look, Em, I..."

He paused as if not quite sure how to say what he wanted to say. It made me nervous. People didn't pause like that unless it was bad news.

"I... You...Ugh, dang. Look, Em, I can't give you the exact reason, but I brought those girls here as a favor to my cousin Jonathan. I don't know how long they will be staying, but they are not here for any other reason but to help educate you. It is ok to be friends with them because they aren't here to replace my best friend. OK?"

My heart clenched. He wasn't saying what I wanted him to say. Should I just ask him? He already knew what I wanted. He just wouldn't say it.

"So, you won't marry her?"

That caused him to blink a few times. "Wow, Em, way to be blunt."

I blushed but couldn't say anything.

Fortunately, he didn't let the silence drag on. "No, both of those women have their own baggage, um, I mean issues. And I... Look, nothing will change about our friendship or anything else because they are here."

I looked into his eyes. I gave a half-hearted smile.

Would things ever change?

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