Festival of Roses

As predicted, Elwood had been in a foul mood after the joust, and Rayley had spent the afternoon trying to appear tired and despondant to her servants and ladies-in-waiting. None of them were surprised when she announced at supper time that she wished to retire early, and sent them all away, leaving her chambers once more silent and deserted.

As they had arranged, Jynessa arrived after a quick supper of her own. She knocked gently on the door and then stood there waiting with her hands folded. "Lady Rayley, I heard tell of what happened. I was hoping to comfort you in your time of need," she stated with a heavy amount of prim and proper.

Rayley came to the door, more confident than last time, hushing Jynessa playfully as she let the young woman in “they all think I’m going to bed. I suppose they aren’t entirely wrong.”

The Tremaine woman nodded and dipped inside with a quite, ladylike grace. "Life often calls for gentle reprieves, no?" She then smirked with a devious, teasing stare. "I would not have taken you as a good liar."

Shaking her head, “I’m not, that much is for certain, but my ladies are all so willing to please, I think they’d believe just about anything.”

"How loyal of them, though I doubt they are able to please you to the extent that I can," she said with a demure smile. She then flushed pink and looked away as if surprised by her own words.

Rayley blushed brightly, "they... aren't," she admitted. The girl chewed on her lip for a time, as if working up her courage. "Jyn, there's something I wanted to ask you."

Jyn fidgeted with her hair and took a breath. "And what would that be, Rayley?"

Rayley took Jynessa’s hands. “Stay. Stay at Grassfield as one of my ladies. It’s an honourable role for a noblewoman, and we’ll tell Lord Bromley and your father that you have better chances of finding a husband here.” She sucked in a breath and forged on, “and there’s nothing strange about being close to one’s ladies-in-waiting, no one will notice anything.”

"Oh. Oh, I would need to discuss this with my father and my sister." She looked down, her scheming mind completely overwhelmed by the proposition before her. "I had not even thought of such a thing being possible. I did not," she trailed off, her cheeks still flaming red. Her fingers were interlocked and strained as she thought more on the matter. "I want to. I just need to think."