When Dame Cringeworthy resigned her position in the Queen’s service, competition to replace her was intense. Dame Savage wanted to become a lady in waiting to Queen Pirouette so badly she could taste it. As a cousin of Dame Cringeworthy she had an inside lead on requirements for the job. “You need to be able to dance. Queen Pirouette likes to dance with her ladies in the privacy of her quarters. Sometimes she asks her ladies to play music and dance for her. Do you play the lute? The harpsichord?” Old lady Cringeworthy asked her young cousin.

“Yes, I do. Both.” Replied Dame Savage tartly. “Let me dance for you now. You can judge if it would be to our queen’s liking.”

“Very well.”

Lady Savage began to sway in front of her cousin to some inner melody that only she could hear. Her movements were graceful as she stepped in her bare feet. Lady Cringeworthy was pleased. “Very nice, my child. She will like you. I know it. You are beautiful. Our queen likes to surround herself with beauty.”