John shook his head in dismay. The Royal Guards would be a going concern around his daughters.
However, John did not yet know what his family had done to keep the men away from them before he had caught up to them. They were already in the service of the Merchant’s Guild when he arrived, and he had made the mistake of causing a scene on the first day he was in town.
At which point, the Guild refused to let him pay off their contracts unless he paid double.
Things only went downhill from there.
So, he was unaware that his daughters had all scarred their faces to scare away the men before they were transferred to the VIP lounge area, where they could keep a veil on without anyone asking questions.
Tena set her thick arms over the shoulders of the four younger women.
"If you’re that desperate for a woman, why not try with me instead of bothering these young ladies?" She asked.
The guard emphatically shook his head. "Madam Tena, I’m just a young whelp, I can’t handle that much woman. Pops might have the endurance of the forge, but us mere mortals aren’t so well conditioned."
That made the widow laugh and shake her head.
"Just keep your hands off the new hires until they’re used to guardsmen and their perverted antics. We can’t have you scaring them off before we get to the manor."
Then Beth, the cook, stepped between them. "How about this? Tena and I will take the centre seat in the front of two of the trucks, so we don’t need anyone sitting in laps. That will give the indoor staff time to get to know each other and the Lord.
The gardener doesn’t have anything to do until we see what condition the house is in, anyhow."
Everyone got into the trucks, and Dominic shook his head in dismay as he realized that all the maids had gathered at the front of the compartment, as far as humanly possible from where Dominic would be sitting.
"There are refreshments in the chest sitting in the middle of the floor. But that won’t matter until lunch, unless you haven’t had breakfast yet. Make yourself comfortable, it’s at least a full day still until we are at the Manor." Dominic instructed as he entered and closed the door behind him.
The trucks set off down the road, intending to make it past Darden and Castle City before camping for the night.
Alexis assessed Dominic’s choices for staff. The carpenter looked capable, and his tool kit had been mostly complete, without any essential tools sold off. The Accountant had a golden token from the Merchant Guild around his neck, marking a decade of trusted service around their assets.
That was enough of a resume and referral to get him a job in any Noble house.
But there was something wrong with the oldest of the women.
"John, why don’t you introduce us?" She suggested.
"Of course, Lady... I’m sorry, I forgot what estate we are going to." John replied.
"You were hired by Dominic, the Duke Wistover. Formerly Dominic Wavemates. Which makes me the Duchess Wistover, but also the Ninth Princess Alexis Cygnus." She replied.
John panicked, then nearly fell out of his seat as he bowed to the Princess.
"Your Highness, forgive me. I did not know. I suspect that the Duke did not wish to speak your name within the city to avoid encouraging ambushers along the way." He stammered.
Alexis motioned for him to sit upright. "How about you introduce me to your family, as they seem reluctant to speak?"
John had noticed that as well. They hadn’t said a word since they had left the Merchant’s Guild.
"This is my wife, Wendy." John began, then whispered, "Darling, aren’t you going to greet our employers?"
Wendy silently bowed, and John looked concerned. One of his daughters leaned over to whisper in his ear, and the Carpenter silently began to cry.
"Perhaps we will hold off on the introductions. Some things are better done in a less crowded setting." Alexis consoled him.
One of the girls bowed politely, then spoke up.
"Your Highness, I think it would be better if we started over completely. The last few months have not been ones we would wish to remember." She suggested.
Alexis nodded. "In that case, I will arrange new identities for you when we arrive at the Manor. The Wistover Manor is freshly reinstated, and has been vacant for some time.
So, we will be rebuilding everything, including the farm houses and the village.
You are the first staff hired for the house, but there will be more coming.
Were any of you hoping to marry soon?
If you are, I can reassign you to Ladies’ Maids when we have a full complement of staff. The position rotates fairly frequently, as the prospective ladies are married off."
The new hire hesitated, then lifted her veil, showing jagged scars across her cheeks and her nose.
They had clearly been inflicted with a dull tool, and left to heal improperly, without treatment. That could actually be treated fairly easily with any of the Royal Guards’ healing magic. But to the average lower Noble, or common man, the sight would be shocking.
Alexis chuckles. "I take that as a ’no’. But you should catch your ... too late, he’s out."
The girl covered her face in embarrassment, then panicked, flailed her hands for a second, and then picked her unconscious father up off the floor.
Nobody had thought to mention their injuries to him.
However, it gave Alexis a great idea.
Why shouldn’t she teach them to fight instead? Once upon a time, Cygnia Royalty had a veiled guard. Women who never showed their face in public, and guarded the Royal Ladies.
A few more trained guards around the house was never a bad thing, and embedding them among the staff would make security much quicker to respond to issues.
If the ladies showed some talent at combat, she would have the guards start to train them, and then obtain some trade skill cores for them.