Planning

Chapter 936: Planning

Fatima led everyone into a hall.

Eleven and Kiki sat in the hall for a while before running off to dig in the inner courtyard garden, with two servants following behind to watch over them. Hesta stood by the window so she could keep an eye on both the garden outside and the long table indoors.

At first, the girls gathered around Eucali whispered about her and Ligo's hair, but they quickly lost interest in the new guests. They played with their handkerchiefs or the ornaments on their clothes, occasionally looking up toward the entrance of the hall.

"Father!" One of the girls spotted Trion first. She dashed forward and threw her arms around his neck before he had even entered. "Mother won't let us go to the ball! She insists we waste our time here—"

"How is this wasting your time?" Trion's voice boomed. "We have important guests in the house today. Have you been keeping them company?"

The hall fell silent.

Trion frowned. Calling all his daughters over to entertain the guests had been a sudden inspiration that afternoon. After all, most Quicksilver Needles were women, and they tended to favor settings with more girls around. On his way here, he had even imagined that one of his eloquent daughters might quickly hit it off with Hesta and the others, giving the two families more excuses to keep in touch later.

But seeing the strange looks on his daughters' faces, Trion realized his fantasy had come to nothing.

"What's wrong?" he asked, displeased. "Have you just been sitting here like fools?"

"I've been talking with Hesta this whole time." Fatima rose as well and naturally took Trion's cane, turning to hand it to the servant behind her. "They're staying in a small apartment in the