“Sir? Why sir and not mister?” Not to mention that I had no idea his full name was Wolfgang von Wolfgang, and he was the twelfth one in his family to have that name.
“Because my family, the von Wolfgang, belongs to the Order of the Fallen Knights,” Wolfgang answered like I knew what that meant.
“The Order of the Fallen Knights?” I repeated, and it didn’t sound any less weird coming from my mouth than it did his.
“Yes, it is—”
“Um,” Mr. Ambrose interrupted, giving him a stern look, and Wolfgang took a step back in line with the two other women waiting. Mr. Ambrose’s gaze shifted back to Odette, but the stern look in his eyes did not let up. “Miss Wyntor, the tutors you have chosen, should be the ones to teach you history—for now, at least, as we do not have time to explain everything.”
“Didn’t we finish everything on the schedule?”
“The schedule is never finished,” he said, passing me the tablet.
2:30 – 3:00 p.m. Selection of personal staff.
3:05 – 5:05 p.m. Tour of the residency rooms and suites.
5:10 – 6:25 p.m. Preparation for dinner.
6:30 – 8:00 p.m. Dinner
8:05 – 9:00 p.m. Pašrévaka
9:00 p.m. – 7:30 a.m. Rest
Jesus, was every moment scheduled here? Actually, he had answered that. The schedule was never finished.
“P-Pas-Pašrévaka?” I sounded it out carefully before looking back at them to see if I had gotten it. Wolfgang nodded, Gelula cringed a bit but also nodded, while Thelma shook her head outright. Good to see they had a full range of opinions. “Okay, so I butchered it, but I think it means food after dinner?”
“It is the conversation held after dinner in the family room. The queen insists on it. I do not believe there is an equivalent term in English, so I left it as is,” Mr. Ambrose stated and stepped aside for me. “Now, let us begin our tour.”
My feet were killing me.
My head hurt.
And on top of that, I still had one urgent call to make. And out of everything else, that call was more important.
“Mr. Ambrose, thank you for this list, and I will do it, but I need time to speak with my mother. I am sure she has at least found out through the news, which is horrible already. If I do not call her soon, she might fly here and storm the palace gates.” I was joking, but the absolute revulsion at the mere thought of it was all over his face.
He looked at me in horror. “Very well, the tour may start at your rooms. There, you may speak to your mother.” He looked back at the three staff. “Ms. DeBree, she will need a private phone and secure line into the palace. I have already requested one. However, it was unable to be prepared this morning.”
“I will go see if it has been prepared now,” Thelma stated, then she looked at me and said, “Excuse me, miss. I will return shortly,” before turning and walking out the door.
“Ms. Mikkelsen will escort you to your rooms while Wolfgang and I wait here for your return. Please do make haste,” he stated, and when he did, Gelula stepped forward.
“This way, miss.” She stepped to the side, allowing me to walk slightly in front of her.
I nodded, not wanting to ask any questions out of fear that Mr. Ambrose would only grow even more annoyed with me.
When I moved to open the door, she whispered quickly, “Miss, you do not open doors.”
I glanced over my shoulder at her as if she were crazy. “What do you mean, I do not open doors? How do they open? Do I clap or something?”
I thought it was amusing, but my joke went over her head. She stepped forward and knocked on the double doors, and then they opened.
“Knocking makes more sense,” I muttered, not wanting to look over my shoulder because I could feel the two sets of eyes that were on me.
I thought I could relax when I was no longer under Mr. Ambrose’s watchful hawk eyes, but there were people in the hallway, maids cleaning, butlers walking up and down the stairs as well as door attendants. When they saw me, they all stopped what they were doing and looked at me as if they were waiting for some direction.
“Am I supposed to say something?” I whispered to Gelula.