Brechalon Read Free

disgrace to the family name
and the sooner I can forget about him the better. Wastrel. Coward.”
She pressed her lips together to say the other word. How she wanted
to say it. Murderer. But the word stayed in her mouth. She stared
at Zeah, daring him to ask something else.
    “ Yuh… yes Miss.”
    It took a full ten minutes to walk to the front
of the house, that portion which was in use, and once there it took
far too long to reach her boudoir. She had to detour around the
hallway where workmen were busy installing an elevator. It was the
last of many improvements that Iolanthe had made to the house in
the past two years.
    Yuah was waiting in the boudoir. Yuah was
Iolanthe’s dressing maid, as well as being Zeah’s daughter. Two
years younger than Iolanthe, Yuah had grown up with her and her
brothers. There was a time that Iolanthe had thought of the younger
woman as a sister. Without a word, she turned and shrugged off her
jacket, which Yuah caught and immediately placed on a hanger. Then
she was back to unbutton Iolanthe’s day dress and help her remove
it. This was followed by the large rear bustle made vital by modern
fashion and the Prudence Plus fairy bust form corset. And for the
first time all day, Iolanthe was able to take a deep
breath.
    “ I won’t need you for a few hours,”
she said, as Yuah draped her day gown over her shoulders. “You may
retire.”
    “ Thank you, Miss.”
    “ I’m going to write Augie. Do you
want me to send him your regards?”
    “ Yes, Miss.”
    As Yuah left the room, Iolanthe sat down at the
small desk in the corner and pulled out a sheet of her personal
stationary and her fountain pen. In her best hand she wrote her
letter.
    Augie,
    I read with interest your description of
Birmisia. It sounds like just the type of place for our enterprise.
I was especially interested in the fact that there are as yet no
other parties interested in establishing a colony there. It is
distant, but that may very well end up being an advantage. Terrence
has put forth Cartonia as a possibility, but with your experience
in Birmisia, we will have first hand information and expertise.
Continue to learn all you can. You know what we need. I don’t have
to tell you. In any case, I have a meeting with the Prime Minister
later in the week and hope to begin negotiations.
    On a personal note, Terrence arrived yesterday.
He looks as well as can be expected. Yuah sends her regards. As
always, return with your shield or on it.
    Sincerely,
    I. Dechantagne
    * * * * *
    Yuah Korlann arrived in the servants dining
hall just a moment after her father and Saba. Half a dozen kitchen
workers under the supervision of the head cook, Mrs. Colbshallow
scurried around preparing for the luncheon. Mrs. Colbshallow had
been the head cook since Yuah was a little girl. She was a wonder
in the kitchen. She was also Saba’s mother and she gave him a big
squeeze as she passed by.
    “ There’s my handsome boy,” she
said.
    “ Mother!” he whined
back.
    “ Are you looking for something to
eat, dear?” Mrs. Colbshallow asked Yuah.
    “ Yes, I’d better eat while I have
the chance. You know how she is.”
    “ Don’t get cheeky,” said her
father.
    “ I’ll get you a nice plate,” the
head cook replied, waving over one of the kitchen staff. “You know
I think you need to put on a bit of weight. You can’t catch a man
if you’re all skin and bones.”
    “ Don’t worry about that,” said
Yuah, sitting down across the table from Saba. “I’m not likely to
run into a man around here, and if I did, no man is going to be
interested in me.”
    Saba’s adoring gaze, which Yuah chose to
ignore, said as plainly as words that he thought he was interested
and he thought no other man worthy of the position. But it was her
father who spoke.
    “ You’re far too young to worry
about a man. Why, you’re barely twenty.”
    “ I’m twenty three, Papa. Another
two years and I’ll be an old maid.”
    “ Nonsense,” said Mrs.