Elise nodded and curtsied low. “Welcome to your new home, Your Grace,” the young woman said, still with no trace of a smile.
Evidently, Lia was the only one who heard the hint of sadness in her new sister-in-law’s voice because no one reacted. Still, she understood the girl, having gone through some difficulties herself recently. Lia knew that adjusting to a change as big as having a new mistress come into your home took time. She hoped the attitude she saw in her new sister-in-law now didn’t foreshadow a difficult time ahead for the two of them. Softening her voice, she said to the girl, “Please, call me Lia.”
Lady Elise nodded, turning her head away to inspect some imagined thing on her skirt.
Next to Elise, cross-legged on the floor, sat an impish golden-haired child with a riot of c
