Rewriting Memory

Chapter 5

The next morning, Lysandra checked her windowsill for notes. Zephyr always left them on her windowsill - she never dared put it in the post or give it to the servants at the Ferry estate, because she knew if she did that it might never reach Lysandra. But there was no note from Zephyr this morning. Disappointed, Lysandra turned away and left her room to go downstairs.

Ismene ambushed her as soon as she reached the bottom of the landing. "Oh, Lysandra! There you are! I had hoped you wouldn't stay locked in your room for long."

"I was sleeping," Lysandra said, but Ismene ignored her.

"Remiel is coming over for lunch," Ismene said. "And his whole entourage is coming with him. We've only a few meetings left before we can secure the engagement. Vasu and Nereus are getting everything ready outside. Isn't it exciting!"

"Remiel?" Lysandra echoed in disbelief. "You mean Dragon?"

"What do you mean by calling him that!" Ismene snapped. "He is a perfectly pleasant young man, and you would do well to address him as such. Your union would secure much in the way of wealth, you know."

Lysandra refrained from making any further comments. Ismene probably wouldn't listen to her, anyway. She walked past Ismene into the dining room, where she found Vasu, the older of her father's other two servants, setting the table.

"Ismene said you were outside," Lysandra said.

"Mistress Ferry," Vasu said and bowed so abruptly he almost dropped the plate he was holding. "Good morning."

Sometimes Lysandra wondered if this was how they had always treated her father. She didn't know how he could stand it.

"Morning, Vasu," she said. "Is Dragon really coming over?"

Vasu had already turned back to the table, where he arranged plates and silverware next to each other on a piece of cloth. "Dragons don't exist," he said absently.

"Never mind," Lysandra said. She pulled out a chair and sat down, setting her chin in her hand. "What about Nereus? Where is he?"

"He is - "

Before Vasu could finish his sentence, the back door creaked open, revealing Nereus. The door nearly crushed the third servant's thin frame, but he won the fight against it with a few hard shoves and stumbled into the kitchen. "Hey, Lysandra."

"Morning, Nereus," Lysandra said.

The servant ran his hand through his mop of light brown hair self-consciously. He was about Lysandra's age, and fairly good-looking. "Good morning."

Vasu picked up more dishes and shuffled out of the room. Lysandra beckoned Nereus over to her and whispered in a conspiratorial voice: "Is Dragon coming over, or not?"

Nereus nodded. "He's coming over, all right. Him and all his family members and everyone they ever made physical contact with."

"Are you kidding?" Lysandra asked, raising her eyebrows.

"Well, yeah, about the last part. It's just that they're bringing a hell of a lot of people with them. Sorry," he added under his breath as Vasu came back into the room, this time bringing Ismene with him.

"What are you two whispering about!" Ismene demanded. Not bothering to wait for an answer, she continued, "Nereus, you have your own tasks to attend to."

"Yes, ma'am," Nereus said, bowing.

"I have a task for you, Nereus," Lysandra said, standing up from her chair. "Make me breakfast."

"At once, Mistress Ferry," he said, and, when Ismene and Vasu weren't looking, winked.

Vasu stacked some more dishes before rushing out of the room. Ismene stood in the doorway glaring at Lysandra and watching Nereus very carefully with her gaze. After a few minutes without conversation, she too vanished into the next room, leaving Lysandra alone with Nereus.

"Lysandra," he said without looking at her.

"What?" she asked, a little startled.

"Maybe if I create a distraction, you can get out."

"Oh, Nereus." She sighed. "That's not necessary. I don't hold the Collingwoods in high estate, that's for sure, but I can stand them for a few hours."

Nereus finally looked over his shoulder at her. "Are you certain?"

"Yeah," Lysandra said. "And . . . I got out yesterday. That earned me a nice talking-to from Ismene."

"Really?" Nereus finally turned to face her. He had a knife in his hand, from cutting up fruit, but the sight of it made Lysandra uneasy. "Don't you usually come talk to me when things like that happen?"

"I do, but . . ." She shifted in her chair. "I wasn't in the mood to talk to anyone after what she said."

"I'm sorry," Nereus said. Lysandra thought he would say more, but he didn't. He just went back to cutting up fruit on the counter.

The silence between them felt empty, and though Lysandra knew she hadn't directly done anything to Nereus, she felt his unease hanging over her like a cloud. He handed her a plate, and she ate everything on it as quickly as she could before disappearing to her room again.

Her room didn't offer the quiet and solitude it should have. When she opened the door and found Ismene standing at the mirror with a stack of gowns, Lysandra resisted the urge to roll her eyes.

"Ah, Lysandra!" Ismene said at her entrance. "I found these gowns in your closet - it seems you have not worn any one of them."

"Brilliant," Lysandra said.

"They were all tailored just for you, remember!" Ismene said. "You will not even need to try them on. Just stand right there a minute."

Lysandra stood still by the far wall of her bedroom while Ismene fussed over her clothes, all the while checking the windowsill out of the corner of her eye to see if Zephyr had left her a message. She could see no trace of paper against the glass.

"This one," Ismene said, holding up a bright red gown. "You'll look absolutely stunning!"

Lysandra stared at the window, willing Zephyr to send her something. It didn't work.

"We hardly have time before lunch!" Ismene said. "I'll need you to change into this dress right away, Lysandra. Oh, and Vasu and Nereus are already working on their tasks. Things are absolutely chaotic without Master Ferry here."

This time Lysandra met her eyes with a glare, and Ismene pressed her lips together, looking chastised.

"I did not mean to bring him up," she said. "Now, will you please step out of your nightgown and change into this one!"

Lysandra hated the stiff apologies that were never apologies, the veiled threats and the secret references to Simon that were common among not only Ismene and Vasu, but among the members of the Collingwood family as well. Only Nereus consistently abstained from participating in their lethal exchanges of words.

She changed into the red gown and winced as Ismene laced it up too tight. If only Zephyr were here, she thought and checked the windowsill again, but still she saw no note. She'd just have to ask Nereus to keep her company this afternoon.

"There," Ismene said. "Now, go downstairs and wait for Remiel. The Collingwoods will be here any time now."