TSP: Audition

There were two people already in his office when Isaac opened the door that morning, a dark haired young woman in a flannel nightgown, quilted jacket draped over her shoulders, seated on the edge of his desk, and a red-head, stripped down to her shirtsleeves, apron tucked up at her hips, absently shuffling the pile of papers he'd left on the bookcase as they held a whispered argument.
"-really leave. Not till this afternoon-" the redhead was muttering under her breath, tapping the papers firmly against the wood so that they settled into a neat stack, probably alphabetized within an inch of their life by her furious efforts at organization.
"Lady Annalise?"
She turned, startled, the inside of her knees pressed against the edge of his desk in a way that had to be painful, and pulled the jacket more securely around herself. The maid, (what was her name?) dropped the papers back on the shelf, already half in a defensive position, though what she intended to do with his least favorite novel in the face of a threat to her lady he wasn't sure.
"Oh, Sir Locke!" The lady gasped, putting one hand over her heart in relief as the maid quietly replaced the novel and retreated to the corner. "Good morning." She blinked, eyelashes fluttering, and heaved a sigh.
"What are you doing here?"
"Rogue magic, Sir." The maid said, cheeks faintly flushed and eyes downcast. "I wasn't quick enough to fully stop it this time."
"The fact that neither of us is in pieces all over the nice clean floor is more than anyone else could have done. Don't you dare be guilty." Lady Annalise snapped, eyes flashing. This was an old argument, one he'd caught snatches of over the years both she and the maid had accompanied the Lady Mathilde on her visits so that Lady Annalise could learn to do her job, and he didn't know enough of it, or them, to say whether it was affectionate or not.
"Yes, milady." She murmured, blushing harder and resolutely not looking at either of them.
"And I am very sorry about all this, Sir Locke. It's entirely ridiculous, but such things usually are." She smiled at him, and tucked her legs up under her skirt so that she wasn't straining to see him anymore. "Fortunately, we're not too far ahead of schedule, so it shouldn't cause anyone any major trouble."
The maid brushed past him, still bright pink, and vanished around the corner.
"She's gone to make sure things get settled. I was expected this afternoon, but I certainly can't stay in my nightgown until then, and it's far too warm for her normal uniform." She waved a hand dismissively. "She'll be back soon. Susannah's very quick on her feet."
Susannah, that was her name. Quiet, responsible Susannah Greenly, who spent most of her time arranging her lady's schedule and cleaned when she was nervous. Or, at least, when he assumed she was nervous. She rarely spoke to anyone other than her lady, so it was rather hard to tell.
"If I may ask, Lady Annalise, why are you applying? This hardly relates to your usual work."
"You can blame the Crown Princess for that." She laughed, smile turning mischievous. "In exchange for Master Paratore's help with the bridge, she demanded that I, or Victoria, for that matter, come and at least apply for the position, and, should whichever one of us fail to secure it, remain as the permanent diplomat for an undisclosed period of time. I'm not entirely sure why she wanted this, as opposed to other, more useful concessions, but Grandmother agreed, so I had no choice in the matter. Susannah, of course, wouldn't leave me even if the other option was the realization of all of her fondest dreams, so her presence was necessary as well." She shrugged. "And then, of course, there's the problems at home with the cult of undying light or whatever it's calling itself these days, so here we are, early and entirely unprepared."
He nodded. From what he knew of her home country, which admittedly wasn't as much as he should have, cults focused around powerful artifacts or unsavory gods were somewhat common, and often caused problems for the places they inhabited. The fact that Zan had asked her application was slightly surprising, as he didn't think they'd ever had much to do with each other, Lady Annalise being several years older than Nicole, and more focused on listening to the Lady Mathilde than making friends, especially when they were all children, but who knew what went through that girl's head half the time.
The knock at the door made him flinch, and Miss Greenly came back in, a dressing gown draped over her arm. She had changed out of her heavy skirts into the pale blue and black of the palace servants, and was even more invisible than she had been, which was probably the point.
"Milady? Lissy should be here with your clothes in a matter of minutes; she had to find her veils." She offered the garment, arms outstretched until it was secure over jacket and nightgown. "You've been given milady Mathilde's usual rooms in the east wing, and her royal highness the Crown Princess would like to see you as soon as you're dressed. Sir Locke, her royal highness the princess-consort would like to see you now if you aren't busy, but after lunch would be fine if you are." The tips of her ears went pink again as she spoke, and she wouldn't meet his eyes, busying herself with making sure her lady was entirely covered.
"Later would be better."
"I'll inform her, sir." Her fingers twitched as she stepped away, an aborted attempt at a curtsy that her current skirt wouldn't allow.
"We shouldn't keep the Crown Princess waiting. Sir Locke, until this afternoon."
Lady Annalise swept out of the room, shadowed by her maid, leaving Isaac to his work.