Chapter 46 Pins and Tornados

"Juniper?" I call as I teeter on a stool, once again surrounded by dim-witted sewing maids armed with metres of white fabric and specially sharpened pins. "Yes, milady?" Juniper answers, emerging from my study with a Russian grammar book I asked her to bring me. Yekaterina said she would help me learn some of it while I m performing my balancing act. If she must be around, at least I can take advantage of her few beneficial qualities. Malina and the Russian nuisance follow in Juniper s wake as the British Chief of Staff wades through the sea of sewing maids and white cloth. "Why are we still doing dress fittings when the wedding has been postponed indefinitely?" "Because Lady Berkeley has decided that we will finish the fashion-related aspects of the wedding while Yekaterina is staying with us." "I am delighted to help," Yekaterina recites, though not without genuine feeling; it s simply clear that she has been taught this p