Know Who to Count On

Chapter 12: One for the Money

 Alexis finished straightening his tunic and turned to Simon who was entering the room. "Everything look in place? Hard to be sure without a mirror." Alexis had kindly allowed the women use of his bedroom which effectively cut him off from the bathroom, but he wasn't actually worried about how he looked. Much more was riding on what he said tonight. Every phrase, every nuance had to be just right to ensure this went as smoothly as possible.

"Clothing looks good, shame you can't do anything about his ugly mug ya got."

Alexis shrugged. "We can't all be as handsome as you, now can we?" He did one last check of the room and felt satisfied that they'd removed anything of true value. All that was left were the books Melody had gotten earlier, but Liara had those and a few other things in her care. Once the other three were off, Liara would get the other items to safety and then she would infiltrate the ball to watch surreptitiously.

While the girls had slept–though Alexis wasn't sure how much sleeping Liara had actually done–he and Simon had gotten word to the rest of their convoy to protect the carriage from sabotage throughout the night. It meant a sleepless night for a few of his men, but this was the reason they were here, to ensure nothing happened to their lord and lady. What few valuables Simon had in his room were also removed, though they were hoping Helene would keep her destruction to the one room only.

They had asked Melody if there was anything in her room that needed hiding but she insisted that there wasn't. Likely she had long ago stopped keeping anything she considered valuable in case something like this were to happen. It certainly made things easier from a luggage standpoint, but it also didn't feel right that she had nothing to bring with her from her life here. He had asked Liara privately to check Melody's room just in case there was something there that she didn't want to trouble them with. Better safe than sorry.

Alexis had also sent a letter via raven to Kiver letting him know everything that had happened today and all the changes that meant for their return to Blackridge. Primarily that they would have a very different type of countess than they had been planning for and everyone needed to be made well aware of that fact. The biggest issue there would be informing the townsfolk who only had rumor and hearsay to go off of and wouldn't understand that he'd actually managed to find a Banselva daughter that wasn't a cunt.

Alexis knocked on the door to his bedroom and heard Liara snap at him to stay out. "I just wanted to let you ladies know that I'm heading out. Simon needs to escort me there, but he'll be back as soon as he can for Melody."

"She'll be ready!" Liara replied and Alexis chuckled as he turned towards the door.

"Simon, it's you and me now. Let's go make an entrance!" The two men left the room and made their way to the Great Hall. They were aiming to be there slightly early so Alexis could do a bit of mingling before the spectacle began. He wasn't technically to enter before being announced, but Alexis needn't enter the hall itself to find people looking to gossip.

Guests of honor like himself or the family usually entered from the second floor entrance to walk down the stairs with all eyes upon them or from the front door with its own small platform. As he had already been in house with the family for the last couple days it was likely expected that Alexis would enter from the second floor but he had his own plans. He and Simon went out the main entrance and walked over to the guest entrance to the Hall. Carriages were arriving with nobles who hadn't arrived early and Alexis greeted several, trying to get a feel for who might be a potential ally and who was cut from the same cloth as Halstein.

This continued on for ten or fifteen minutes until Alexis decided it was time he made his debut. He'd already heard the family announced and so he knew the stage was set. Nodding to Simon, they made their way up the steps and startled the servant who was in charge there. He certainly hadn't been expecting to announce one of the main guests and was caught off guard by the change of plans. Alexis gave him that practiced smile and calmly went over how to pronounce his house and gave the kid a 'you got this' jab on the arm.