"Bless you for being such a dear sister," Ehlissa said, placing her
hand on Joydhee's shoulder and giving her a kiss on the cheek.
"I will ask you to return the favor and then some, someday, so make no
saint of me," Joyhdee said with grim eyes, but a playful smile.
Joyhdee was not smiling and her discomfort looked transparent as she
sat next to Welmer. Ehlissa's happiness at being introduced to Hertha
was, in contrast, so great that she might have expected Hertha to just
hand her a spell on the spot. Indeed, she was so eager to get down to
business that she almost forgot to make small talk first and found
herself having to excuse herself for an awkward pause in the
conversation.
"I'm sorry," Ehlissa said, playing with the skirt of her best dress as
she sat across from Hertha. "You were saying?"
The outfit itself was posing something of a challenge for Ehlissa, as
unaccustomed as she was to wearing a dress. Joyhdee had helped with
the corset with almost sadistic gusto and Ehlissa was having trouble
breathing. The dress itself was a ***bersome thing that she was less
wearing than being crushed beneath by its own weight. She was also
accustomed to more head movement than the headdress she wore to match
the dress allowed and it threatened to tip over and fall off every so
often. She was also unbearably warm and thought she might faint if
this visit went on too long.
"You look terribly flushed, if you don't mind my saying," Hertha
repeated politely. "Welmer has been given a bottle of spiced wine to
share with your sister for the occasion, but I am sure we could take a
small sample of it first – to make sure it is adequate for the
occasion, of course."
"Of course," Ehlissa answered.
Hertha returned shortly with the bottle of spiced wine and two cups.
She was careful not to pour too much.
Ehlissa's share proved to be depressingly little. "That is quite
good," she observed.
"Isn't it?" Hertha agreed. "I suppose it wouldn't hurt to have a little
more."
Ehlissa was not drunk by her third cup, especially since Hertha was
still loathe to pour more than half a cup at a time, but it was a
potent wine neither watered nor vinegary and they were both turning a
little giggly when they heard footsteps coming towards the kitchen
they both panicked.
"Welmer will be furious!" Hertha said and then cursed in so loud a
whisper it barely qualified as a whisper. "Come on!"
Ehlissa had the presence of mind to grab the wine bottle, or at least
presumed that would have been Hertha's intent had she not panicked so
much.
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