The garden steward closes the ledger and leaves the pruning knife, measure, and hoe arranged neatly for later inspection. Sofia remains beside Makeda, considering the work.
The Garden Steward
The household offices can answer what I cannot. The overseer handles appointments, pay, and complaints, all of which must be recorded.
Makeda
Please direct us to the household offices. Sofia should understand the full arrangement before deciding.
He leads them through an adjoining service passage, past plastered walls, stacked baskets, and discreet doors where servants move about their morning duties.
The Garden Steward
Garden work follows my direction, but the palace recognizes it through the overseer. Voluntary service must have stated duties and an agreed payment.
The passage opens into the household offices. Clerks bend over account tables, account chests stand beneath sealed household instructions, and a senior woman looks up from a register.
The Garden Steward
Madam, these are the queen’s guests seeking information about garden service. Sofia wishes to know the terms before she accepts anything.
“Makeda explains patiently while this is explained.”
SUCCESS (Legendary Oratory, rolled +0)
The senior woman rises behind the register. She is an elderly woman with a narrow, upright frame, silver hair covered by a dark kerchief, and a keen, unsmiling face.
The Senior Woman
I am the household overseer. Garden service is voluntary, recorded, and paid according to its duties. What does Sofia wish to know?
Makeda
She wants the full arrangement plainly: her hours, authority, payment, supervision, and how she may leave if the work does not suit her. Her farming knowledge should be respected, but she must choose freely.
Makeda explains patiently while the steward confirms each point. The overseer listens without interruption, then opens a fresh page and writes the terms in a clear household hand.
The Senior Woman
She would work under the garden steward from first inspection until the midday meal, with occasional afternoon duties. Payment will be recorded monthly, and either side may end the arrangement after notice.
Sofia
That is clear. I may work under those terms, provided I can learn the garden’s methods before taking responsibility for a bed.
The overseer records Sofia’s condition and marks the appointment as provisional. The garden steward accepts it, and Sofia now has both the duties and the choice required to decide.
“"So, is your mind made up? Or do you want to learn about the housekeeping work?"”
SUCCESS (Legendary Oratory, rolled +1)
Makeda
So, is your mind made up, or would you like to learn about the housekeeping work?
Sofia looks from the garden ledger to the household register. The question gives her a clear choice without urging her toward either duty.
Sofia
I want to learn about the housekeeping work before I decide. The garden suits me, but I should understand the other place as well.
The Senior Woman
Then I will explain it. Housekeeping includes stores, servants’ schedules, kitchen requests, and household accounts. It requires order and discretion, not merely hard hands.
The senior woman closes the garden register and leads them to a second table, where duty lists, supply tallies, and payment records lie arranged beneath weighted tablets.
The Senior Woman
The work is performed during the morning and before the evening meal, under my direction. Duties and payment are recorded, and either side may end the arrangement after notice.
Sofia
I understand. I will compare both kinds of work before choosing, and I appreciate being allowed to decide.
“"Is there anything else you would like to know?"”
SUCCESS (Legendary Oratory, rolled +1)
Makeda
Is there anything else you would like to know before you decide?
Sofia studies the duty lists and payment records once more. The senior woman waits beside the table, giving her time to consider without treating hesitation as refusal.
Sofia
I would like to know whether housekeeping workers may refuse a task outside the written duties, and who hears a complaint if there is a dispute.
The Senior Woman
A task outside the record may be declined until I approve it. Complaints come first to me, then to the queen’s household officers if we cannot settle them.
Sofia
That answers what I needed. The garden remains my first choice, though I will consider the household work carefully.
The senior woman adds the clarification to the register, while the garden steward nods. Sofia now knows both duties, their supervision, their payment, and how either arrangement may end.
“"I'd like to go see how Daria is doing in the stable. You can come along if you wish."”
SUCCESS (Legendary Agility, rolled -3)
Makeda
I’d like to see how Daria is doing in the stable. You may come along if you wish.
Sofia
I will come. I have seen enough of the household work for now.
Makeda leads Sofia through the service passage and down a sloping stair toward the palace stable. Moving quickly around a laden servant, a young adult man in a cream tunic and brown vest, balancing a stack of folded linens, she catches her shin against the stone edge, leaving a bright scrape beneath her hem.
The stable opens warm and dim beneath heavy beams. Daria stands beside a broad chestnut mare, a leather currycomb in one hand, while two grooms, two young adult men in worn brown work clothes, one broad-shouldered with dark curls and the other lean with a cropped beard watch her examine the animal’s hooves.
Daria
There you are. The horses are sound, the tack is serviceable, and these boys know their work. I am showing them how to judge a mount before trusting it.
Daria notices Makeda’s scraped shin but does not interrupt her demonstration. She lifts the mare’s foreleg, checks the iron shoe, and sets it down carefully.
Daria
The stable suits me better than court ledgers. If the queen approves, I can teach riding and keep the animals ready without troubling anyone.
“Makeda addresses the grooms, who seem a bit nervous. "Daria is a Cossack. If you ask nicely, she will show you how to fire a rifle from a galloping horse, while standing on the saddle."”
SUCCESS (Legendary Oratory, rolled +0)
Makeda
Daria is a Cossack. If you ask nicely, she will show you how to fire a rifle from a galloping horse while standing on the saddle.
The two grooms exchange startled looks. The broad-shouldered one lowers his gaze, while the lean groom glances from Daria to the stable doors as if measuring the claim.
Daria
That is a lesson for an open field, not a crowded stable. But yes, if you ask properly, I can show you.
The Broad-Shouldered Groom
Mistress Daria, please show us. I have ridden since I was a boy, but never seen a shot made from the saddle.
The Lean Groom
Please, Mistress. I would learn how to keep my seat before I tried such a thing.
Their nervousness loosens into eager attention. Daria rests the currycomb against the chestnut mare’s stall and gives both men a stern, assessing look.
Daria
Then you will learn in order: the horse first, the saddle second, and the rifle last. No one fires until I say he is ready.
“Wow, thinks Makeda, I was just making a joke! I didn't think she could actually do that. "Well, you seem to be getting along fine here. I guess I'll go see how Angela and Julia are doing."”
SUCCESS (Legendary Oratory, rolled -2)
Makeda
Daria can actually do that.
Makeda
Well, you seem to be getting along fine here. I guess I’ll go see how Angela and Julia are doing.
Daria
Go on, then. But you started this. I expect you to arrange an open-field lesson, and the boys will remember that you promised it.
Makeda leaves the stable before the grooms can ask more questions. Behind her, Daria resumes the lesson, while the two men watch Makeda depart with newly respectful attention.
She follows the service passage back toward the household offices. The senior woman directs her to a small writing room, where Angela and Julia sit with ledgers, correspondence paper, and an ink pot.
Angela
There you are. The accounts are orderly, but the household uses three different hands for supply records. I am deciding whether that is incompetence or concealment.
Julia
And I have begun the family letter. The names and addresses are ready, though the route toward Warsaw will require careful choices.
“"We can ask the bookkeepers about their system. I wouldn't assume dishonesty without some better evidence. The letter is tricky. The Bosphorus is shut to Western vessels. Also Venice is at war with Turkey and is blockading the Dardanelles. The eastern route is more promising, because Persia has diplomatic relations with Poland. It might take a long time for a letter to get through, though. It would be quicker to get a letter to Moscow, because there is regular trade between Persia and Russia. But then, the Persian representative in Moscow would have to pass the letter on to a Polish diplomat, which could be chancy, because of the war.”
SUCCESS (Great Reasoning, rolled +0)
Makeda
We should ask the bookkeepers how these records are organized before assuming dishonesty. Three hands may reflect separate duties, not concealment.
Angela
Agreed. I will ask who enters each account, who checks it, and whether the changes follow a consistent pattern.
Angela gathers the ledgers and leads them to the adjoining account tables. Julia remains with her letter, listening as the household clerks prepare to explain their system.
Makeda
The Bosphorus is closed to Western vessels, and Venice is at war with Turkey while blockading the Dardanelles. The eastern route is more promising.
Makeda
Persia has diplomatic relations with Poland, though the letter may take a long time. Moscow could be quicker through Persian and Russian trade, but passing it from Persia’s representative to a Polish diplomat is uncertain during the war.
Julia
Then we should prepare both possibilities, if the court permits it. A slow reliable route and a faster route dependent on several officials give my family more than one chance to hear.
The bookkeepers explain their separate ledgers and verification marks, resolving the immediate suspicion. Angela must spend the afternoon comparing entries, while the eastern correspondence routes still require diplomatic confirmation.
“"Why don't you prepare two letters. When we have the opportunity, we can ask the king about it. You understand, though, either route would probably have to go through Isfahan, because I doubt Kartli has direct relations with either Warsaw or Moscow. If you like I could wander around the market and try to find a merchant who could carry a letter for you, but it's unlikely."”
SUCCESS (Legendary Oratory, rolled +0)
Makeda
Prepare two letters, then. When we have the opportunity, we can ask the king about the routes. Either would likely pass through Isfahan, since Kartli probably has no direct relations with Warsaw or Moscow.
Makeda
If you wish, I can search the market for a merchant willing to carry one, though such a person may be difficult to find.
Julia
Two letters are wiser than one. I will prepare the family details for Warsaw, and a second version suitable for a Persian or Russian intermediary.
Angela
I can copy both carefully and prepare translations where needed. Isfahan should be treated as a junction, not a guarantee, until the court confirms its contacts.
Julia draws fresh paper toward her while Angela sorts the correspondence notes. The bookkeepers continue their afternoon comparison nearby, leaving the women room to work without interruption.
Julia
Ask the king before approaching merchants. A letter bearing his authority may travel farther and face fewer questions than one carried under my name alone.
The two letters become the agreed plan: one addressed toward Warsaw, one prepared for the Persian and Russian channels. Makeda’s offer to investigate the market remains available if the king approves it.
Obtain royal approval to send Julia’s two letters