Not Another Reincarnation Story!

Chapter 3

That night, Estella Ridgehoff was dressed once again in fine clothes. Her auburn hair was freshly coiffed and her makeup was done to perfection. Diamonds dripped from her ears and throat. Amy had never been anywhere near so much extravagance in her previous life and felt deeply uncomfortable wearing it. She traveled by carriage to the Lancey Manor with her father and older brother. Coming up to the manor was like riding into the courtyard of the Palace of Versailles. No wonder the Ridgehoffs were raving with jealousy. She had thought the Ridgehoff estate was grand, but it paled in comparison to the palace-like manor before her.

"Their manor is as obscene as always," her father sneered as the coach pulled to a stop.

They were led inside through grand hallways of marble and into an impressive dining room. A massive mantle supported by rampant lions consumed the far wall while tall windows and heavily embroidered tapestries covered the other two.

"The Count of Ridgehoff, his heir, Marrick, and Miss Estella Ridgehoff have arrived."

At the butler's polite introduction, Amy let her eyes move to the long, rich table of polished mahogany in the center of the room where sat the Lancey family. At its head were the current Duke and Duchess. To their right sat Blaise, the eldest son and heir, beside him the beautiful Jocelyn, and finally the younger son, Alain.

I can't believe I'm going to get to see the main characters!   Her eyes swept over the duke and duchess as Estella's memories of etiquette reminded her to courtesy. The duke and duchess were exactly as she had pictured them from the author's descriptions. The duke with his dark hair and stormy gray eyes had a stern, but not unkind look to him. Whereas his wife with her lighter hair and gold eyes seemed to project an air of kindness despite the lack of a smile on her face. Amy turned her attention to Blaise, the main love interest of the story, and was not disappointed. His looks were everything she had hoped for; golden eyes that you could drown in, a tall, muscular physique that exuded power. His face looked chiseled and hard, but that was possibly due to the sharp scowl he took no pains to hide.

I better not let my eyes linger on him too long.

Quickly, her eyes passed over to Jocelyn, who was just as beautiful as the author had written her to be. Her blonde hair seemed to glow in a halo around her and her sapphire blue eyes reminded Amy of a cloudless summer day. She smiled brightly, but shyly and Amy couldn't help but offer a small smile back.

If I can befriend her, then that will be half of my troubles solved!

Her eyes then passed to Alain and her breath caught in her throat. She had thought Blaise to be the most beautiful man she had ever seen, but somehow he paled in comparison to the young Adonis before her. His dark hair glimmered and his stone gray eyes, so like his father's, seemed to hold unexpected sensitivity in them. His body was well muscled, like his brother's, but seemed to have an energy to it that the elder Lancey's did not. As if he was just seconds away from movement despite sitting completely still.

I didn't know such broad shoulders and a lean waist could exist outside of a manga and his thighs look really muscular... Get it together, Amy! She admonished herself, tearing her eyes away from her soon-to-be husband.

"I trust your journey was pleasant," Duke Lancey said addressing Count Ridgehoff politely.

"I had rather thought that, as our two families are being joined together in marriage in a few days, only members of the family would be in attendance at dinner tonight." The count sneered, completely dismissing the Duke's comment as he eyed Jocelyn meaningfully.

Amy could feel the entire Lancey family bristle at the perceived slight to their beloved Jocelyn.

"Jocelyn is my ward, and therefore a member of my family: Duke Lancey explained, "She resides here at my manor, so Lady Estella will be seeing quite a bit of her. Given all that, it seemed prudent that she should attend tonight's dinner."

"I see," Count Ridgehoff countered, "then to young lord Alain she must seem as no more than a younger sister."

Both Alain and Blaise stiffened visibly at the remark. Alain opened his mouth as if to respond, but was cut off by his mother.

"Please, sit. You've come a long way and must be hungry. Dinner will be served in just a moment."

As if her words were a signal, a parade of servants carrying silver trays entered the dining hall. The Ridgehoffs were escorted to their seats and food and drinks were served to all. Amy had never seen such delicious food before outside of magazines and cooking shows. The smells wafting to her made her mouth salivate and she had to remind herself not to drool. She had rarely had the luxury of eating out and certainly had never had the means to eat at five-star restaurants in her old life. She was glad to have the memories of Estella's dining etiquette lessons so that she didn't embarrass herself.

I'll just focus on the good food for now. It would be a shame to let it go to waste!

After everyone had been served and the majority of the servants left or retreated to their posts by the wall, a quiet silence filled the hall. Count Ridgehoff cleared his throat before taking a sip of wine and addressing the table.

"How difficult it is for a doting father to give the care of his only daughter to another." he bemoaned

"I can assure you she will be in good care." Duke Lancey replied looking uninterested.

"Surely Duchess you brought some of your own maids with you when joining your husband's household?" the count continued directing his attention to the duchess.

Amy glanced up from the excellent duck pate she had been enjoying and took in the deep scowls of the Lancey men gathered around the table. The request was not unreasonable, but it was clear that the Lanceys were unfooled as to the true nature of the Ridgehoff maids' "talents". She remembered from the novel that Estella's maids had all been expert assassins and spies and that the head maid Heather had been a key coconspirator to many of the underhanded deeds the villainess had committed.

I won't be needing any of that. She thought to herself before continuing out loud in a light-hearted tone, "Oh Father, you worry too much! I'm sure I'll be fine here. The Lanceys are said to hire only the most exceptional as their personal attendants."

"Indeed." muttered the duke believing the matter to be settled.

Count Ridgehoff hid his fury well, but she knew there would be repercussions to her words here tonight. Amy tried to focus her attention back on the excellent meal, but she suddenly lost her appetite. The meal progressed with only a few minor exchanges after that and the Ridgehoffs graciously retired to the villa where they were staying for the next three days while the wedding preparations took place. As soon as the clip-clop of horse hooves hitting the cobbles signaled their departure from the Lancey estate, Count Ridgehoff exploded his anger at his daughter.

"What were you thinking you useless girl! I warned you there could be no mistakes tonight!" he raged.

"Father, please listen." she said in the calmest tone she could muster, "the Lanceys were clearly suspicious of your request. If I had entered their house with multiple servants of the Ridgehoff household there would be no chance that they would ever trust me with information that might benefit you. Allow me time to settle in and earn their trust. Then I can request maids claiming homesickness or some such thing."

The count sat back apparently contemplating her words. "What do you think, Marrick?" he asked addressing his heir and eldest son.

Marrick, who had uncharacteristically been caught daydreaming shook his straw color locks gently before returning his full attention to the conversation.

"I'm sorry to say that her plan has merit. They were obviously uncomfortable with your request and probably would have locked down their secrets even tighter had you been able to pursue them. But," he said looking meaningfully at his sister, "you had better deliver something worthwhile, and don't think for a minute that being in the Lancey's house will make you unreachable from ours."

Amy suppressed a shudder and managed to hold her newly amber eyes steady with his cloudy blue. Surprisingly, he looked away first and turned his gaze back out the carriage window and into the dark night.