Iylaine sees Margaret christened

Iylaine yawned. She was already bored. The great window with the picture of Saint Margaret at the feet of the Lord was interesting to look at for a while, but she thought she had looked all she could. And the rest of the chapel was rather bare.

The priest droned on and on in Latin. She hated Latin. Bertie and Dunstan and young Malcolm would talk to each other in Latin if they didn’t want her and Wynnie to understand what they were saying. And then they would look at the girls and laugh. What nuisances the boys were!

Iylaine leaned forward on her bench and looked across the aisle to Dunstan, who sat alone behind his parents.

Aye, he still had that holy expression on his face. He always got that way in the church. Not like Bertie—she could trust Bertie to be making faces at her whenever she turned around to look at him. But Bertie was not here today, and instead the Baron Theobald and his daughter, who was looking rather holy herself, sat behind her.

And they three were the only children in the small chapel. She didn’t know why Bertie couldn’t come, if his own Ma were here to be godmother to the little ladyship. Gunnie said it meant that it should be an honor to Iylaine that she was invited herself. Iylaine thought it was more of a bother. She was looking forward to the feast afterwards, but then all of the children were invited to that, and they didn’t have to sit through a long and boring ceremony.

Would Dunstan not look at her? “Dunstan!” she whispered.

Dunstan turned his head to look at her—but so did his parents. Oh!

Her Da scowled at her. “Don’t make me sorry I brought you,” he whispered.

“I’m sorry you brought me,” she whispered in reply, but he looked back at the front of the chapel. Oh, he looked a wee bit angry. She would see what she could do about that.

“You’re so handsome!” she whispered.

“Quit your blethering!”

“You are!”

“Whisht!”

Oh, if he was hushing her in Gaelic then he was angry. She was only trying to pay a compliment!

The Queen turned her head and smiled back at her.

Iylaine smiled a reply. How pretty the Queen was! It seemed to Iylaine that it was a finer thing to have a Queen as a godmother than just old Gunnie. She saw Gunnie every day. It was a shame she hardly ever got to see the Queen any more. Her daughters were too young to play with properly, but oh! it must be a fine thing to live in a castle, and have servants and nurses to do for you, and so many pretty dresses, and more dolls than you could ever play with, and ponies of every color to ride.

Iylaine sighed and turned to look back at Athelis and her father.

Athelis smiled at her once, but she did not look at her again. And that old Baron wouldn’t look at all. He had an awfully mean face.

Athelis lived in a castle too, but Iylaine had never seen it. It seemed like everyone lived in a fine house except for her and her Da. Well, the Ashdown girls didn’t, but their father was lazy. Her Da wasn’t lazy—he just didn’t care, which was worse.

Iylaine leaned forward. The Queen was whispering to the King. What might she not be saying?

Young Malcolm said that the Queen and the King didn’t like each other very much. He didn’t understand why would they be married if they didn’t like each other. Iylaine understood—or she knew, at least, that it was possible. But she knew that the lovely Queen was not mean like her Mama. So it must be the King that was mean.

That mean King was trying to hush the Queen. Oh, she understood how that was! The Queen must be bored too. Iylaine tried smiling at her, but the Queen did not look around.

The baby sounded like it was starting to cry. Iylaine tried to see why. Perhaps this was the part where Father Brandt had to put water on her head. Her Da had told her that when she had water put on her head, she did not cry at all. She was a better girl than that ladyship.

“Quit your squirming!” her Da whispered.

“I can’t see!” she protested. He was too unfair. “Did he put the water on her head?”

“Aye.”

“Is it almost over?”

“Aye. Now hush!”

And then the Duke and Duchess looked around at them. The Duchess seemed annoyed, but not the Duke. He just smiled at her and—she wasn’t sure, but it looked like—he winked. Iylaine winked back at him and gave him her biggest smile. Oh, he always understood!