Yuè took a deep breath, squaring his shoulders as he descended the stairs. He could already hear talk and laughter coming from the dining room as one of the maids escorted him. He dreaded being faced with someone even worse than Lord Peyton and he knew women could be especially cruel. He'd experienced it enough with the women back home.
Entering the dining room, he nodded his head in thanks to the woman who escorted him, wanting to follow her as she scurried off, leaving him along with the guests and Lord. "I apologize for my tardiness, my Lord and Ladies." He said, bowing his head to Peyton, and then two unfamiliar women. He could tell they were related. They all had the same mustaches.
The blonde woman with her hair spun up in ringlet pigtails that didn't match her age, played with her mustache just like Lord Payton often did. That must have been his mother, cause the other lady was old, back hunched, and looked more close to death than life.
