Depending on how crowded it was, perhaps she and Melissa might even be able to get a private room for dining. But even if they ended up sitting on the woven matting in front of the fireplace, that should still give them enough privacy. Kay had noticed previously that the Roasted Lamb was a place frequented most often by commonfolk, so it wasn't likely that they'd run into anyone she'd rather avoid.
Melissa came into the Roasted Lamb, and was greeted by the smell of ale and cooking food. It reminded her of how hunry she was - Castle food was good, in fact, often very gourmet - but it ws no substitute for a home-cooked tavern meal every now and then.
She looked around for Kay, and didn't see her. "Excuse me, mestra." she asked one of the servers. "Are there any private alcoves available this evening?"
"No, I'm sorry -we're booked solid - so many families celebrating tonight", came the answer. The woman shook her head. "You can sit over there - it's the most quiet table we have in the main room here."
Melissa thanked her and hurried to the table in the corner - she enjoyed being out sometimes all cloaked and covered - Domna this and Domna that was sometimes not a good thing. She sat, ordered a cup of shallan, and waited for Kay.
Just then a group of about five red-headed Comyn lads walked in dressed in the finely made clothes that Comyn parents usually provide for their sons. Melissa watched the boys with a wry expression on her face. Well hopefully, being at the ball, and getting a little experience around the comyn would have helped Kay a little with her skittishness. Hopefully.
When Kay finally arrived at the Roasted Lamb, she paused in the entrance (to take off her black wool cloak and hang it over her arm. This time, she'd dressed to fit in with the tavern's usual clientele. Ideally, nobody should even look twice at her this time --- not in her leaf-green tunic and MacDonald tartan kilted skirt.
She began looking around the room for Melissa, and suddenly frowned in dismay as she spotted a group of lads who very obviously did NOT fit in. Their clothing was much too fine, and they positively reeked of the youthful arrogance found in young men who've just gotten away from the supervision of their elders. A couple of them looked half-drunken already, and seemed to paying more attention to the Lamb's server Margali than to the excellent food or to the conversations of their companions. And one of them had a silk pouch hanging off a chain around his neck (and so was almost certainly some kind of sorcerer).
Then something else caught her eye. Over there, at a corner table, was a woman sitting alone. Taking a closer look, she recognized Melissa. she walked over to join her. With a warm greeting, Kay then slid into the chair on the other side of the table.
Melissa smiled as she recognized Kay. Aside from a glance, Kay wasn't bothered outwardly by the cadets...that was a good sign, she thought."Thank you for the note." she said. "I was glad to hear from you."
"I'm glad you were willing to come", came Kay's reply. She indicated the cadets' table with a flick of her eyes. "This _used_ to be such a nice, quiet place ... it's too bad _that_ sort are here", she complained in a much lower tone, then added with a shrug "But hopefully they'll leave soon and give us a bit more privacy".
Melissa slid the package of clothes over to Kay. "Here, I think that's everything from the house." She took a sip of shallan. "Would you like a drink?" she asked.
A drink sounded like an excellent idea. It was a bit of a chilly day. And anyways, if she didn't, then it might attract attention. Especially since they were two women alone at a table, and neither one of them looked like a Renunciate. Such things sometimes gave men the wrong sort of ideas. And _that_ was the opposite of what Kay wanted right now.
One or two of the lads made a curious glance at Kay and Melissa but then turned back to their previous conversations. Kay chuckled softly to herself, pleased to have been overlooked by the rowdy lot. Idly, she wondered if it been her very ordinary appearance, or maybe the coldly-unwelcoming frown she'd given them ? Ah well, let the rich brats go back to their talk of whores, family, cadet life and horses --- as long as they didn't bother her, she'd tolerate their presence. But hopefully they would leave soon. She didn't care to discuss private matters so near to uninvited curious ears.
It was too bad that neither Gwenn nor his friend Jake were among the group of lads. Kay made a note to herself that she wanted to speak with both of them about last night as well. Gwenn was so down-to-earth that anything HE hadn't experienced, was likely not real. And there had been that interesting comment from Jake, that Kay hadn't dared to ask about at the time ... something about animals and fey talent.
After Lerrys had refilled the cadets mugs, he went over to the table where Melissa and Kay sat. "G'day mestra'in. May I get you a drink?" He smiled at Kay, and wondered where her guardsman escort was this time.
Melissa smiled, thinking to herself that the boy had to at least be given credit for being cheeky. "No, thank you. But thank you for asking". Lerrys looked a little downcast until Kay spoke.
"I could fancy a small pot of hot, spiced shallan, young Lerrys", said Kay, smiling at the boy she recognized from the last she'd been there. Lerrys grinned widely when she showed that she remembered his name.
"And you may tell mestra Mergali that she need not hurry over too quickly --- 'tis not a full meal we're seeking ... just a small plate of fruit pastries a little later", Kay continued.
Melissa said, looking away from the boy, and talking to Kay, "so I hope that the dress is fine - it took ages to do, and well, you know how sometimes you have to do the double stitching on the inside of the hemline? Well, I made a mistake, and I had to go back and do it all over again..." She hoped that Kay would pick up her cue, and continue to talk about the most boring thing in the world...
Lerrys waited politely until Melissa finished speaking, then replied to Kay, "Yes, mestra. I'll be sure to tell Mestra Margali your wishes."
With a grin, Kay fished a small coin out of her pocket and handed it to the boy. "Ah yes, was THIS what you were waiting for ?", she said teasingly (but not unkindly) to him, "I doubt that it's talk of sewing and fashion that was holding you here with such patience". Then touched by a mischievous idea, she added "And no, my brother's not here with me this time, if that's what's sparked your curiousity ... I'm sure he has better things to do with his time then to follow me around as if I were some fine lady. Though I enjoy his company greatly, I can manage just fine without it".
Lerrys grinned even wider when she handed him a coin. He rushed off--walking! since he'd been told many times not to rush in the inn--to fill Kay's order
As Melissa realized that the lad was a server, she blushed furiously, and tried to sink into her chair. She had to settle for cringing into her cloak,until it looked as though Kay was sitting with a shadow.
"More wine!", Kay heard one of the lads called to a bar maid. The bar maid brought more drinks for the five lads and they continued devouring their food and continuing their conversation of women, their homes, horses, and the like.
Kay frowned. Didn't these lads have anything better to do with their time ?
Lerrys came back a moment later and placed the pot and mug on the table. He waited for a pause in the conversation and said, "Mestra, Mestra Margali has your order and will bring it in a short while--just signal her or me when you are ready."
Much to his surprise, a sekhal was then offered to him. "For such prompt and excellent service, lad", Kay said softly, "so take it and enjoy it, with our thanks". Lerrys gave a wide, surprised grin and sketched a short bow. "Many thanks, mestra!" he said before he left. He then hurried away and refilled the cadets mugs again. After that, he made his way around the restaurant, re-filling mugs as needed.
After he left, Melissa began to giggle hard. Poking her head out of her cloak, she leaned over to Kay. "Oh dear, I really made a mistake there - I look like the idiot now!", she was still laughing. "I was so worried about those cadets possibly harassing us,because I know they worry you a bit, that I automatically thought that boy was one of them!."
She shook her head, adding "It's a good thing you're quicker than I am, but I'm afraid he still probably thinks I'm a bit daft." Wiping a tear from the corner of her eye, Melissa took a sip of her drink, then continued "Well, it won't be the first time, nor the last, I imagine. I'm sorry about that! Perhaps even the one drink is too much for me these days!"
Kay now began to giggle as well. When she could finally catch her breath, she shrugged, commenting "Don't worry about it ... I can see how it can get confusing to be in a strange place where you can't easily identify all the serving staff ... I'm sure Lerrys has seen many things more odd than that -- and I'd guess he'd likely even take it for a compliment if he knew you thought he'd fit in with the first-year cadets".
"As for the rowdy lot over there, I'd guess they're wise enough to know when they're not welcome", she continued in a lower voice as a mischievously-nasty grin spread across her face, "eventually they'll get bored and wander off. I certainly don't intend to do (or say) anything they might possibly find more interesting than a trip to the Red Sun House".
And with her shielding layered the way it was (a useful trick she'd picked up during her semester with the Wiccans at university), any further casual glance would continue to give strangers the mistaken impression that she was just another head-blind commoner. It wouldn't stand up to a close inspection by someone deliberately looking for unconventional lightweight shielding. But then again, it wasn't meant to do so. As Kay had learned early in her adolescence, misdirection could be a very useful tool for hiding things in plain sight -- most people tend to assume that things were as they superficially-appeared.
She laughed softly, thinking that once the cadets left, she'd feel more comfortable about bringing up private matters. The room was loud enough with so many other conversations that (as long as she and Melissa kept their voices down) the ambient noise would keep their words from reaching anyone else's ears without being garbled into nonsense. But that wouldn't stop eavesdropping by sorcery.
Melissa chuckled. "Did you see the Darkovan Inquirer? The Red Sun House actually printed up special coupons to give cadets a congratulatory discount! No wonder they're in such a good mood!"
"Especially after all that strong stuff they've been drinking. I'd say we were wiser in our choice of beverage", Kay replied. Idly killing time, she went on in a more normal conversational tone, "Shallan is a nice light refreshment, for when a person doesn't want to get intoxicated. This one's rather quite nice, and it's got the right amount of spices in it ... just the thing for this sort of weather ... almost as satisfying as hot milk with small amounts of chocolate and firi in it".
"Yes, I missed it a terribly when I was on Terra with my sister." Melissa sipped her drink, remembering how she and Morgana had tried, in vain, to duplicate the recipe for a basic shallan, with disastrous results.
Finally the five Comyn lads finished their food and drinks and left their money for the meal (and tip) on the table. They got up and walked past fairly close to Melissa and Kay's table while singing a very rude drinking song that had something to do with a drunken Christophoro monk that had forgotten his vows, a milk maid, and catman that had wandered out of a ghost wind.
As the group of lads passed, Kay frowned icily in their direction, and straightened her posture to the point where she might as well as have been wearing a tightly-laced corset. The expression on her face was so cold that it would have rivalled a winter wind blowing down off the Hellers. Time and experience had proven that such obvious-but-unspoken hostility was usually sufficient to discourage even half-drunken young men. Afterall, one of the easiest ways to confuse potential predators, was to not appear to be prey (and especially not easy prey).
The boys finished their song and a couple of the boys saw Kay's icy expression. One of them said with a laugh, "That's the same look I see on ol' Lt. Crankypants' face most of the time. You think she's his cousin?".
It took all of Kay's self-control to hold back the laughter that threatened to bubble up (and spoil the effect she was trying to maintain). Silently she congratulated herself. If these lads were thinking of their superior officer when they looked at her, that was good enough discouragement. She VERY much doubted that any of them had lustful thoughts about HIM, and idly wondered if any one of them dared to use that nickname in his presence.
The boys all laughed and another one said, "She ought to be careful. My mother always said not to make faces like that because it's likely to freeze that way, specially if you live in the Hellers." They all had a hearty laugh and they weren't phased one bit by her icy expression, and did not care at all that they spoke this all loud enough for her to hear over the noisy crowd.
This was even better for her purposes, though it did make it more difficult for Kay to keep her giggles from escaping. One began to slip past her lips, but she quickly turned it into a snort of pretended disgust instead, then lightly bit her lip to keep any more from slipping out. Then she turned her head away and pulled up the hood of her cloak, as if the lads were simply too offensive to look upon any longer --- though it was actually to hide her growing amusement.
As a further distraction, she gave a small wave to Lerrys, thinking that now might be a good time for the plate of snack food. He saw Kay's signal and waved to let her know that he had seen it, then hurried into the back and told Margali, who finished readying the platter she had begun.