Tor blushed and ducked his head. “Sorry…”
The woman waved at him gently and chuckled herself, a soft, pretty thing that sounded a bit like bells to his ears. Her dress was a pale blue, heavier than could be comfortable in this heat, but then anything short of naked was too heavy for the temperature, though she didn't look flushed or damp. Her eyes found his, her look telling him that her laugher wasn't meant to hurt at least, just show how pleased she was. It made him feel more at ease.
“If only everyone thought I looked that young. Oh well, age finds us all eventually. Oh!” She sounded shocked, though it rang a bit false, which the chuckle a moment before hadn't. “My manners… Please be seated. Normally protocol would have us sit at ten paces from each other, but I find that makes good conversation difficult. With your permission I'd be pleased if we could sit as a family?”
The woman let her hands gesture to the seats on either side of her. Rolph gave him a little push towards her left side, and took off down the long table on the other. Rolph was already seated when he got there, but his mother hadn't moved. He didn't know what to do, but luckily Rolph had his back.
“Mom, I think Tor's waiting for you to sit first. Sign of respect up north, waiting on a lady's comfort. Just be glad he isn't insisting on seating you… Now that could be awkward, don't you think? It involves cramming a chair into the back of a woman's legs. You think I'm kidding… So anyway, if you wait for him, because he's a guest and he waits for you as a woman… yeah, I'll never get to eat. You two don't want me to starve do you? You know I flew for nearly twelve hours today and hardly ate at all.” He gave a mock look of starvation and held his stomach as if it ached, which made his mother sit, quickly, but with grace, an actual look of worry on her face. Tor plunked down too, but grinned at the woman.
“Don't believe him, it was only about ten hours and we stopped every two. He must have eaten three times. Even Count Thomson was satisfied with the amount of food and he's a giant. Now me, I haven't eaten since noon and really could use some food. I…” He looked around, noting for the first time that nothing was on the table. The room wasn't blistering, being dark outside already, but surely they weren't expected to get the food from the kitchen themselves, were they? If as a guest he was supposed to do something like that, well, hopefully Rolph would fill him in, because it was very different than what they did back in Two Bends. There everything would have been sitting ready on the table, that or the kids would run to get it. Here… well, he and Rolph were the kids, so that could be it. He made ready to get up if Rolph did.
A small clap by the hostess caused a flurry of activity, and no less than six people, three men, and three women, walked in to the room, all dressed far too warmly to be comfortable it seemed to him. He felt a little melty, being out of his room as he was, and the cooling field there. Each was dressed in fine, brightly colored green velvet, the women in dresses and the men in full outfits of the stuff. After a second he realized that they were dressed to match the room. Who dressed to match a room? It looked good, sure, but seemed like a huge waste of resources.
Tor blinked and made himself keep his mouth closed. Was this supposed to impress him particularly, or was this just normal here? Maybe all dining rooms were done in green and it was just what servers wore here? It was spectacular in a creepy sort of way. He would have been happier if they'd walked to the kitchen and gotten the food themselves, but different ways and all that. Tor made himself relax and smile slightly, just like Rolph was doing. This wasn't his place, so it was up to him to follow along, not anyone else to cater to his backwoods mentality.
Oddly enough both his mother and father had sat him down separately before he left for school the first time and told him almost exactly that. It was his part to adapt, even if it made him feel less than comfortable. Sometimes what other people did might be strange or off-putting, but he needed to make them feel at ease about it, and not get all preachy or judgmental. That advice had pretty much saved him at school in the first year.
Each carried a heavy looking platter, covered with a metal dome that had a handle. They were quickly set down along the table, and a set of plates were brought out, carried by a boy that looked to be about twelve or so, followed by a girl of near the same age with another set of plates. Both dressed like the others in rich green.
One of the men, an older fellow with dark hair that might have been black or a brown too deep to tell the color of in the lamp light bowed towards the head of the table.
“Salad mum?” He asked, his voice rich and serious.
At her nod he loaded a small plate with a pile of green leaves. Rolph grudgingly accepted a plate as well when he was asked, but made a face at Tor. At school he tried to avoid vegetables like the plague. Apparently at home they were required. Tor took a plate as well and began to eat when it was put in front of him. Everyone in the room froze as he took the first bite.
At first he thought that he was being rude eating first, something like that, or that he'd used the wrong fork, but… They'd only given him the one. He swallowed and hoped they weren't supposed to pray first or say a blessing. Rolph never did at school and hadn't mentioned it at all. Then he never ate salad there either. He set his fork down on the edge of the plate and looked at Rolph plaintively. He was supposed to tell him things like this so he didn't mess up!
Picking up his own fork Rolph took a large bite of salad and looked at his mother with a smile. Chewing carefully until he swallowed. He followed this with a wink.
“Food's safe.”
The woman at the head of the table performed a slow seated half bow towards Tor and smiled herself. “Honored,” she said, then took a bite of her own salad.
The rest of the meal went like that, until the dessert course, which Tor let Rolph try first. No one seemed upset that he'd eaten first, but it seemed like a big deal, special instead of just being greedy. By dessert he was just too full to continue. He didn't want to waste food, but his stomach felt almost over full and short of the mid-winter feast for Noram Day he couldn't remember ever eating that much before.
He explained this to his hostess, and realized to his embarrassment that he didn't know her name yet. Rolph had never mentioned it before, since he called his mother “mom” when he referenced her. Tor did the same thing even though at home he called his mother “ma” like everyone else.
The woman brushed her long hair back with a wave of the hand. It moved as if a single piece, so tied back or something, Tor guessed. Smiling she looked at him and chuckled.
“Constance, but everyone around here just calls me Connie. Well, not in public, except for Alphonse here, but that would be good enough, since we're all friends.” Her voice had a playful lilt to it, light and pleasant. Then she was probably used to making small talk with stogy businessmen and women, so being nice had to come easily to her.
Tor nodded. It was a little weird calling her by name instead of “Rolph's mom” the way he would if he'd been at home, or “ma'am” like he would at school, but this was a different place and he was, if not a full adult, old enough that people would be expecting him to learn their names. He was old enough to sign contracts and make business deals even. Or get married, being over fourteen.
After the dessert course the small talk began, which was mainly Connie asking him about his life at home and about how her son “Alphonse” was doing at school. Not his grades or anything, but how he fit in, what trouble he'd gotten himself into and the like.
“Home is… a lot different than here. For one thing, no servants at all. No one has ever served food to me except my mother…” It sounded stupid when he said it and he blushed, but Rolph shook his head.