Chapter 6

Serali yawned and stretched lazily. The morning sun was slanting in her window. She was pleasantly surprised at the lateness of the hour. Usually by now she would have been well into her daily routine, but apparently after last night Janus had allowed her to sleep in.

She dressed herself in a plain working outfit. Lady Valerie had insisted that she get better working clothes as well, though they were still drably colored and practical. Descending the tower stars, she emerged into the kitchen. Janus was sitting at the table sorting through a heap of little cards and envelopes. Serali peered curiously over his shoulder at the stack, wondering what they could be.

"What are those?" she asked

"Cards, letters, and invitations from various people that you impressed last night, not a few of which were delivered in person this morning."

"That many?"

"Oh yes, and I expect that a few more will trickle in before today is done with. You made quite the impression, especially on the young men present. That's where most of these come from."

She eyed the pile, not sure if she should feel pleased or dismayed. "Do I have to answer all of those?"

"No, that's why I've been sorting through them. I'm taking out the ones from people who are unsavory types, there are a few of those, and of those who want things that you can't give as yet, including, I'm afraid, a few offers from families looking to marry off an undesirable younger son or two. There are also a few that you do have to answer, people whose position makes it unwise to brush them off, and a few whose influence you may find particularly useful, I'll sort out those as well. But most of them require no particular action."

"I hope so! Tying to write back to all of those would be a real pain."

"Yes indeed! A few of these are also invitations, some of which are probably worth accepting. We'll be going to a fair number of parties in the next few months."

"After last night, that doesn't sound so bad."

"You enjoyed yourself then?"

"I did. It was a wonderful night."

"Well, I've finished tossing the undesirables and setting aside the ones that you'll have to answer. Why don't you go through the rest and find any that you want to respond to and then we can toss everything else out."

He handed the larger of the two stacks sitting on the table to Serali. She sat down and started flipping through them. Most of them bore names she didn't recognize. "Janus, who in the world is the 'Right Honorable Lord Jasper Alexo Random'?"

"One of the flunkies that's forever hovering around the royal family. Why do you ask?"

"That impossible name. 'Right Honorable Lord Jasper Alexo Random,'" she said in a pompous tone.

Janus chuckled. "He's overly fond of titles. Most of his set are. Fortunately none of his set are among those you are required to respond to."

Serali went back to her reading. Most of the cards and letters went into a growing heap of discards. A very few she set aside, those belonging to people she remembered favorably. But the majority of the notes seemed to come from people whom she hadn't even been introduced to.

"Why on earth would any of these people be interested in me?" she asked.

"I'm afraid that a lot of this is my fault." replied Janus. "While many of those are from the earnest young men who were captivated by you last night, quite a few more area almost certainly politically motivated. I've been absent from the social scene for a long time, and I've repeatedly refused to use my magic or my political influence on behalf of anyone. They see you as a way to get me involved in their causes."

She snorted. " They should know better."

"And how would they? They've never met you, how do they know that you're not some silly thing who'll fall to the wiles of the first man that happens along?"

Serali shook her head and went back to her sorting. One card almost escaped her notice. Small, plain white with a name on it in neat black print, it was just like a dozen other nearly identical cards. The name caught her eye before she could toss it away. "Galen Marten" she turned the card over. There was a message on the back, written in a neat even script. "A walk in the park would be enjoyable on such a fine day, and twice as enjoyable with such a fine lady. Would you meet me at D'Trevius Park at the third hour after noon?"

She stared at the note. Galen… He had remembered her, he wanted to see her again…then she shook her head. Silly girl, mooning over someone you've danced with once. He's probably one of the ones after Janus. Still, it couldn't hurt to go.

She had been staring into space so long that Janus remarked, "Are you going to sit there forever, or are you going to finish sorting those?"

"Huh?" Serali was startled out of her thoughts. "Oh." She blushed. "Janus, do you know who Galen Marten is?"

"No, I've never heard the name. Though Galen is a very common name for young men these days. One of the royal princes is named Galen, so of course half the people in the kingdom who had baby boys around that time named them Galen in the prince's honor. But Galen Marten isn't anyone I know."

"Too bad… I was hoping that you would be able to tell me if he was for real, or just after your influence."

"I'm afraid you'll have to find out for yourself. At least you have enough sense not to let infatuation blind you to the possibility that he might be up to no good."

"I'm aware of it yes, but well… I'd really rather that it wasn't the case. I could get to like this particular young man very easily."

"Is that an invitation from him there?"

"Yes. Do you have any lessons for me this afternoon?"

"Nothing that can't wait until tomorrow." Janus smiled. "I'm sure you'd much rather be with a handsome young man than an old relic like me."

Serali laughed. "You're not much of a relic. If it weren't for the fact that I know you have to be twice my age at least, I'd never guess."

Janus just shook his head and smiled. "You have no idea, Serali."