Sunil

After she had left the garden she’d gone to see to her own things, getting her clothes and personal items situated in the chambers that she had been granted, and making sure that her people were comfortable and such. After she was finished with all of that she had gone to the kitchen, having gotten an idea from wandering the gardens and watching Alasdair eating the berries. Once she got there she would speak to one of the cooks, trying to convince them to let her use the kitchen after they were all finished for the evening, which wouldn’t be long now. She wanted to bake a pie or something; she usually wasn’t so girly but she knew how to bake and it was actually quite comforting, so she was currently trying to reassure the cook that if he would just let her use the kitchens that she wouldn’t leave it a mess, nor would she set it on fire or something. “Look, I’m really not that incapable of cooking,” she would assure the man, only to sigh and close her eyes as he began to talk about the risk of letting an unknown person into the kitchens by themselves, especially not a Grand Duchess who might burn herself and blah, blah, blah. The man just droned on and on as if it wasn’t going to irritate her.

When Alasdair suddenly appeared she would perk up, grinning as he demanded that the cook let her use the kitchens if she wanted to. She almost felt like sticking her tongue out at the cook, but didn’t think that it would go over very well with the Marquess. When the man commented that she was a grown woman and that she could take care of herself she would beam, “Exactly!” she would say, looking at the cook but gesturing towards Alasdair as if she was telling him that even his boss agreed with her. When the man held up his hands she would snicker softly, turning to glance as Alasdair just as he smiled at her, “Thank you,” she would say, only to shake her head as he started to walk away. She would follow after him, knowing that she had time before the cook would be finished with the kitchen. When he spoke about getting her vest back to her she would laugh and shrug, “There’s no need to worry about it. She’s probably chewed holes into and such, so it’s better used for her than being thrown out because I can’t use it anymore,” she would say, reaching into the crate to gently scratch behind the pup’s ears, “Isn’t that right?” she would coo down at the little creature.

When he said that the pup would still need a blanket she would laugh softly, “I know, I was just saying that she can keep the vest as well,” she would say with a shrug, watching as a servant rushed over with a blanket. She would blink, kind of surprised at the eagerness expressed by the individual. She would let the thought drift away, though, as she followed Alasdair over to where he was setting the crate down on a table. When he handed the pup to her she would laugh softly, “I would never mind holding a puppy,” she would say with a grin, snuggling it against her chest before shifting to kiss the top of the pup’s head. When he turned back to the crate to arrange the blankets and vest she would watch him for a moment, noticing that he seemed rather focused, before grinning and quietly turning around to walk the other way, scratching behind the pup’s ears to keep her quiet and content. She wondered what the Marquess would do when he turned around to find them gone, though she figured it would be hysterical. She would move quickly and quietly into the kitchens though she wouldn’t spend much time in there before she was walking out into the Gardens, quickly walking through the area before crouching and crawling in between a couple of bushes, clutching the pup to her chest. She wondered briefly if the man would catch on to the fact that she was just messing around, though she wouldn’t worry about it too much.

Treise had to struggle to keep from giggling as she heard him moving through the Gardens, though she bit her lip and kept quiet until he eventually called out that he saw her. She wondered briefly if he was just doing it so that she would come out, though when he parted the bushes she would laugh, the look on his face rather amusing. “Uhm…no, not really? I figured it would be fun,” she would say with a shrug, though a grin had spread out over her face. “I didn’t think that you would be able to find me,” she would admit with a laugh, her eyes twinkling with mischief. Though, when he reached out to pet the pup she would shake her head slightly, suddenly sobering as she wondered if he was upset over it. She would swallow, glancing down at the pup for a moment before holding her out towards him, “Here, you can hold her if you’d like,” she would say.

Honestly, she wasn’t quite sure how she was supposed to act around the Marquess; she was usually pretty outgoing and such, unless she encountered something or somebody who’d been an idiot. And from what she’d heard and he seemed to have admitted, he had acted like an idiot. And she was supposed to be here to get him to start behaving better, but she found that she didn’t quite want to be stern and disapproving; she’d rather be more friendly and playful. She would bite her lip for a moment as she watches him, trying to think of what to say before she would suddenly grin, “So, I’m gonna make a pie,” she would say randomly, “Would you like to help?” she would ask with a tilt of her head.

When he laughed at her topic change she would beam at him, watching as he stood before offering his hand to her. She would grab it and stand, though managed to stumble as he helped to pull her up and had to reach out and place her hand on his shoulder to keep herself from falling on him, which of course was absolutely embarrassing. She would laugh softly and shake her head once she was stable, hoping that he wouldn’t notice the red tinge in her cheeks, removing her hand and tempted to take a step back, though she knew that if she did she would walk right back into the bushes, “Sorry. Not used to letting people help me up,” she would laugh with a shrug, reaching up to brush her fingers quickly through her hair. When he said that he should probably just watch she would laugh and shake her head, “Or I could teach you! I think you’d love it!” she would exclaim eagerly, her brown eyes wide and hopeful as she stares at him, waiting for an answer. Whether or not he said yes she would be happy; she’d gained his presence which would be enough. While she would bake without it, she did prefer to have company.