"So… Felicia, do you have a sibling? Sister or maybe a brother?"
"I have no brother or sister, My Lady… but my mother did wish to have one. She said she would work on it if I'm away from the barony."
Eh? Diana almost spat out the tea Felicia had prepared. This girl's words were so innocent. She must be more careful if she wants to continue her work as a lady in waiting. Indeed, she should be looking for another lady in waiting.
"So, Baroness Aubrey sent you away so she can hm… ?"
"Yes, it seems like that. After all, she is still a young woman, she is still in her early thirties. I hope she will succeed." Yes, good luck for Baroness Aubrey.
A maid knocked on the door and announced that the royal designer had come.
The two noble ladies entered with several sets of gowns and boxes of jewelry.
"Good morning, Lady Evans. My name is Mia Carter, the royal tailor. I'm in charge of the queen's dress and wardrobe. This is my assistant, Rory Lilibeth, she is in charge of jewelry. I will also glady congratulate you on your engagement to Prince Lucas."
"Thank you. It is a pleasure to welcome you here Marchioness Carter, Lady Lilibeth. This is Felicia Aubrey, my lady in waiting."
Diana liked Marchioness Carter's demeanor, her attitude exuded the noble lady should be. Unlike the woman who came with her, Rory Lilibeth. She was the daughter of a count, so she is on a par in status with Diana but look at the way she said "Aubrey? I just heard that there is a noble family with that name in the royal capital."
"Ah.. Naturally you won't hear much about it, Lady Lilibeth. I come from Middleton Barony. It is an area in the northwestern county of Cheshire. It's quite a distance from the capital." Felicia came to explain peacefully. She also instantly noticed something was wrong with this Lady Lilibeth.
"Oh, just a baron's daughter?" Even though Rory Lilibeth said it slowly, the condescending comments still sounded.
Marchioness Carter glanced at her but she didn't even notice and boldly carried on. "So you only have one lady in waiting? Oh, it should not be. You must be in so much trouble, Lady Evans."
"Lady Evans won't be in any trouble, My Lady. Even though I am alone, I believe I am competent enough to help Her Highness. Besides, I'm not completely working alone here."
Felicia clapped her hands twice and a dozen palace maids entered the drawing room. The maids brought new tea and snacks for the guests, helped to arrange the dresses and opened all the jewelry boxes for inspection. They moved efficiently and deftly under Felicia's instructions.
Diana also acknowledged that, although a little innocent it seemed Felicia would be a useful person for her. That should be enough to silence Rory Lilibeth for a while.
"Very good, you have a reliable lady in waiting, My Lady."
Mia Carter takes over to clear things up between them. She recommended several styles of dresses that would fit Diana to wear to next week's tea party and then they took measurements. In the process Marchioness. Carter was amazed that Diana chose a dress and a set of jewelry so quickly and precisely, she knew what was needed.
"Now, since you are officially the fiancé of his highness Prince Lucas, from now on I will provide the dresses for you." Marchioness Cater handed Diana a royal dress catalog. All of the dresses were by her design and they would only be made if Diana desired.
"Lady Evans… I heard the dress you wore at the engagement party yesterday was designed by Madam Darwin. Did you really meet her in person at the fitting?" Apparently Rory Lilibeth hasn't given up yet.
"Yes. But we didn't meet in person, the queen had already chosen the design and sent away my measurements. Then Madam Darwin sent the dress through her assistant."
"Oh, I see, it must be very difficult to keep up with Madam Darwin's schedule. She is the best taylor in this empire. I heard she had traveled to some other countries and made dresses only for distinguished noblewomen. Not just anyone can meet her or be able to wear a dress designed by her. You could only dream about it if you weren't his highness Prince Lucas's fiancé."
Even though Diana had made it clear that it was the empress's arrangement, this young noble lady in front of her still seemed to be quite clueless.
Rory Lilibeth had a simple thought. She flattered Madam Darwin for showing that it was incomparable to Diana's status as the daughter of a lowly count. Diana was just lucky that she was chosen to be the prince's fiancé.
But luck is also a talent.
Diana should not be afraid or feel inferior. Now her identity was indeed only a daughter of a count with commoner blood but she was also the fiancé of the second prince and more she was half-sister of the third prince of Rocchetta Kingdom.
"Of course, I am very grateful that His Highness Prince Lucas was my fiance. If you mind to be princess, maybe I can introduce you to my half-brother. He is a third prince after all. Maybe you can also wear a dress tailored by Madam Darwin at your engagement party. Would you mind it, Lady Lilibeth?
"Eh, no, I am…"
"Oh, my apologies, you should already be acquainted with him right?"
"It so thoughtful for you my lady but I'm not match with his highness the third prince." If only William wasn't an illegitimate son of the late emperor, maybe Rory Lilibeth would gladly chase after the third prince… What a pity.
"And, I know Madam Darwin is a wonderful tailor, but I believe the dresses Marchioness Carter has made are much better. Her dresses are always classy and exude a royal elegance that is perfect for royalty. For that Marchioness Carter's dress design can not be bought with money and only members of the royal family can wear it. I'm sure that's also what the late emperor thought too."
In fact Mia Carter was chosen as the royal dress designer because Albert II loved it when Ariana wore the dresses. That recognition means she is the best fashion designer in the whole country.
Impossible to argue with that unless Ariana issues a new decree and appoints another tailor but Mia Carter has been working for almost 20 years which means the empress loves her work too.
"Thank you very much Lady Evans. If you want to wear something different you can tell me. It will be my pleasure to make something special for you, My lady."
"Sure, I will look forward to it, Marchioness Carter."
It's a victory for Diana, she won the heart of Marchioness Carter and Lady Lilibeth was sure not to dare to make any further fuss.
"Now after your dress and accessories are complete. I have prepared a few things that you need to learn in preparation for the tea party."
Again Felicia clapped her hands and several maids with piles of books in their hands came over. Was that all Diana had to learn today? Too much…
"Let go to the study room, My Lady." Felicia happily led the way.
…
The tea party was held at the empress' greenhouse.
Diana will be the main character in this tea party. She knew it was an opportunity for her to get closer to these noble women.
Seating arrangements had been made, the maid who greeted Diana ushered her into a chair according to her position. Diana was given the second seat on the right row of the empress' seat. Not too far or too close, but something comes in Diana's mind.
After the waitress left Diana just decided to sit down.
"Lady Evans… I believe the seat is not reserved for you. Dont you hear what the maid said?"