The next morning as Rosaria had her. morning breakfast, she heard a knock coming from the door
"Come in"
As the door opened, a tall man entered into the room. It was the secretary who she meet when she first entered the castle.
" Greetings Madame, Once again, I like to reintroduce myself. My name is Cesar Alphonse, I'm the Duke's secretary and will be your guide till you learn all the ethics of been the duchess of the Eklostead family."
"Oh my, Thank You Sir, I am under your care" said Rosaria as she bowed as a greeting. The Secretary checks on her and sees her as a frail looking lady, she wore loose fitted dresses and wore a long floor length hair which was sweeping around as she walked.
"There's many changes to be kept" he whispered He then advises the maids on the dresses and things owned by the lady.
"Sigh!..."
" Is there a problem Sir"
" Madame, you are a duchess now, and what I see is only dull and white dresses, I need to call the designer to make your measurements "
"It's.. okay sir "
"No, I have learnt on your origins of you been in the Mellakou House and investigated on the performance shown in that house and feel pity on you Madame, but now you are the next Duchess of Eklostead and prefer to wear like the women of the house"
"Is that it"
"Yes if you may, in order to be the Duchess of the Eklostead Housez you need to learn to be a proper lady and should maintain your looks "
" I'm sorry for been like this"
" It's not your fault Madame, I have learnt your history and prefer to teach you the ways"
"I see, I look forward to it"
"I would like to call the dressmaker and take in your measurements and after that we will proceed with the teaching of the Eklostead family"
"Yes"
As Sir Cesar Instructed, the dressmaker made an appearance and took in the measurements. As Rosaria had a very slim body it was quite difficult for the dressmaker to make the dresses. But sir Cesar was an expert and chose carefully the dresses which would fit the duchess of Eklostead. As Rosaria was given to check each dress, she was given to choose jewelry and accessories. As he checked on all the dresses he was still bothered with the way she keeps her hair.
"Madame may I excuse you"
"Yes sir Cesar"
" When was the last time you trimmed your hair"
"I don't really know as a matter in fact, I never went to the parlor to get my hair done nor the maids in my house took care of it.When I was eight, I feel heavy and tried to chop off once but my Uncle scolded me as I cut my hair badly and look like a hag, which is why I never cut and started loving to keep my hair long.
"I see, that is a problem"
As Rosaria expressed her feelings, The secretary felt pity on her as the marquess did not take care of his neice and never took her outside and kept her insociable. As Rosaria looked at him, she felt confused
"Is everything okay sir"
" Ah.. yes, let's carry on to the next task in the schedule."
In noon, He taught the history and methods of been a duchess as Rosaria, though was a noble lady did not learn the ethic as Lord Aaron did not pay attention and her previous teacher would beat her and slyly take in her money which left Rosaria not learn anything.
Now that she's a duchess of the house, she was given proper education though she lacked in some things but Sir Cesar made sure that she was in right position. He was somehow impressed with her mathematical abilities as she told that she loved reading books and learnt mathematics and science from the library. He had a feeling that she may surpass as the next Duchess of Eklostead and the Duke has chosen the correct lady for the house .
As the classes ended, The secretary thanked Rosaria for spending the time with him
" That concludes our session here Madame ,I hope you have taken notes"
"Yes Sir Cesar,, I look forward in learning more"
"splendid, I will assign a lady in waiting for you and will send you a list in the evening. Please have a look and chose the right candidate"
"Certainly, Thank you for the corporation"
" Good, I will take my leave here Madame, I need to the main palace and report to the Duke, the list will be in your chambers"
"Thank you for your cooperation " said Rosaria as he left.
In the chambers, Rosaria sat for tea as she checked all the candidates for the lady in waiting but couldn't find much.
"Miss, may I come in" said Penelope as she came with snacks
"Come in Penelope "
As Penelope came in she saw the candidates and was curious as to who the lady would check but looking at Rosaria,she could see the lady tired and looked kind off upset.
"My lady, may I wash and massage your legs. You look tired"
"oh it's okay" she replied but Penelope insisted. Taking as a yes, the maid tended the lady.As she took care of her, Rosaria kept checking the list
"None of them matches the criteria"
" Please take your time lady"
She looks at Penelope and runs her head,the maid blushed as she was patted but felt the soft feel of the lady's fingers.
"Thank you for comforting me Penelope"
" It's my duty to serve the lady. You are very kind and you remind me of my big sister who died when I was four"
" Are you a commoner"
" No, I'm a daughter of low noble, I ran from the house as my father forced me to marry the fat count and for my record he was a womaniser and used to ill-treat his wives but they stayed because of his money."
" So how did you get in this house"
" I was chosen by Sir Cesar after he found me in the alley eating a fallen bread and gave me the maid job and now I serve you my lady."
Rosaria as she sees a smiling but a upset looking child, she comforts her and spends the evening telling stories of their childhood.