After they were let in and shown to a rather large room, and the servant left to inform Dolo and Melissa of their arrival, Gwenn said to Kay, "Don't be nervous, breda. She really seems quite nice." He smiled nervously. Kay wasn't quite sure what to say. So, for now, she said nothing and just gave a weak grin in reply. She HAD been trying not to fidget. Was it really THAT obvious that she was nervous ? There was quite alot of rumour and gossip she'd heard about the nobles. But how much of it was TRUE ? And how much of it was simply tales full of fanciful nonsense ? This would be her first experience of actually MEETING one of them, which certainly wasn't the same thing as seeing them from afar.
Then Dolo and another woman entered the room. Gwenn had placed his bundle in his lap, and when he stood to greet them it fell to the floor. Kay blushed bright crimson as she saw it fall. Part of that bundle was her dress. Instinctively, she started to reach for it, then abruptly corrected herself and hoped nobody had noticed. It still grated against her Terran sensibilities to NOT help him. But social customs were diferent here, as he'd already reminded her. And politeness dictated that they be followed.
"Oh..." he said as he stooped to pick it up, then looked for a place to put it, finally setting it on the chair he had just vacated."It's alright, bredu ... no harm done", Kay told him softly, hoping that Gwenn would make no slip of the tongue tonite. Or at least, no slip that she wouldn't able to plausibly explain away as being something else. As far as anyone knew, she was just another ordinary headblind Terran. and that's just the way she wanted things to stay.
Taking a deep calming breath, Kay firmly reminded herself NOT to even THINK of taking even the slightest *peek* with her talent. Doing so on Terra among the headblind was relatively-safe as long as she kept her mouth shut about what she sensed. But on this planet, things were different. Doing so in the local shops (and with some her fellow Terranan at the base) was a calculated gamble worth the risk. But if the rumours were correct, then trying such an action HERE, would betray her secret as surely as if she openly confessed to it. Instead, she would simply have to trust in Gwenn's word that there was no danger to her from these two young women.
Dolo found herself confronted by a very nervous oath-brother and a pretty girl whose features seemed a little familiar. "Hello, Gwenn," she said, "This is my breda, Melissa Ridenow". "Hello, d-Dolo", Gwenn answered. He bowed to Melissa and said, "Hello Damisela Ridenow. A sister of my sister is my sister...if you've no objections, of course," he added nervously, not realizing just how awkward that last sentence sounded.
Echoing Gwenn's behaviour, Kay bowed respectfully low, "Damisela Ridenow ... It is a pleasure to meet the sister of my brother's sister", she said softly, hoping she had the mode of address correct. Grandmother had always said that it was far better to be too polite rather than not polite enough, and that was the rule Kay had followed all her life. But she wondered whether she was expected to greet Dolo, or to wait for her to say something first. Feeling unsure of herself, she paused, not knowing what to do next.
Melissa was surprised at the sight of the boy and his companion. They both looked so scared! She covered up his awkward greeting with a warm smile, saying "Welcome, both of you. Please come into the parlour ...". As Melissa stepped back to allow the two guests to rise and follow her, the maid-servant bustled back in to take Gwenn and Kay's cloaks and apologized for having forgotten to collect the outerwear earlier. Melissa asked her to send up some fresh jaco and cocoa to the parlour.
Gwenn noticed that Melissa hadn't mentioned kinship, so he decided to treat her as a very good friend of Dolo's and to address her as "Damisela Ridenow".