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((Triple Wednesday -- Page 1 of 3))
Amelia tried to think. Honestly, she hadn’t given much thought to the issue of how to earn the young lord’s trust. Mostly because she’d thought that she’d already had it.

And perhaps that was strange. Why had she thought that? She was having difficulty thinking of the reason, but there must have been one. She couldn’t have been so naive as to overlook something like that, right?

What an odd thing to be asking herself. Where was her head, right now?

Ah. There was a reason, she realized.

“The Queen,” said Amelia. “If you are finding yourself uncertain with regard to trusting me, then perhaps you should ask those who know me better for a character reference. And I can think of none more appropriate than the Queen, considering she was the one who offered me this position in the first place. Have you spoken to her yet?”

“Not since getting back, no,” said Hector.

“Perfect, then. I imagine she will be wanting to hear from you, if for no other reason than to know that you have returned safely. Perhaps you can take that opportunity to ask about me.”

Hector was quiet again.

Hmm. Perhaps her young lord had already been planning to do that.

“...I’d like to meet your family,” said Hector.

Amelia pressed her lips together flatly as she thought about that. “If we move forward with the bank, then I am sure that they will like to meet you, too.”

“I mean before that.”

“Yes, I thought you did. And perhaps that would be for the best. Meeting them before we give them every reason in the world to ingratiate themselves toward you might give you a clearer picture of their true characters.”

The young lord looked abruptly remorseful. “...I don’t mean to reopen old wounds or anything like that. I just need to know more about you before we commit to... all of this.”

“I understand,” said Amelia. “Caution is an admirable quality in a lord. And I have nothing to hide, though you should be forewarned that my family is not likely to speak very fondly of me.”

“Yeah, I figured they wouldn’t,” said Hector. “I remember you calling yourself a black sheep.”

“Ah. Well, I shall attempt to arrange a meeting, but in the meantime, might I have your permission to begin preliminary hiring proceedings?”

“...What does that mean, exactly?”

“With the banks collapsing, there are a number of highly skilled individuals who are now looking for a new job--so skilled, in fact, that I imagine some of them have already found one. The rest will likely not remain unemployed for long, so I would like to, at the very least, send them... an expression of our interest, let’s say. Hopefully, that will give them a reason to stay in the country while you and I... figure things out.”