"Countess Emelie, Count Ludwig Guenther of Schwarzburg-Rudolstadt's child bride. She's staying close to Grantville for educational reasons. She's also acting as guardian to her cousin Elisabeth Sofie. That's why she's here now. She's waiting for class to finish."
"Elisabeth Sofie?" Mary asked, obviously not sure who the young lady was.
I quickly searched the class. No, Elisabeth Sofie wasn't around. She had probably already gone to shower and change. "The daughter of Duke Johan Philipp of Saxe-Altenburg. Really, I should have been more careful and said Duchess Elisabeth Sofie, but one of the perks of being her teacher is I can drop the title," I replied smiling. "So, what can I do for you, Mrs. Simpson?"
"Mary, dear. Please call me Mary. I'm sure we're going to be the best of friends, and friends should be on first name terms."
Swallowing a bit, mainly because I didn't see us ever being close friends, I invited her to call me Bitty. "Er, Mary, how can I help you?" I asked.
"My guests and I have come to Grantville for other reasons, but we would like to see how the performance is shaping up. Could you show them something from the ballet you are working on?"
"Well, we were going through the Waltz of the Flowers. I was just going to have them run through the dance when you arrived. It's about seven minutes long, if you have the time."
"Thank you, Bitty. I'm sure my companions would just love to see how the ballet is progressing. Come, I'll introduce you to them."
By the time we arrived at the group of down-time ladies Countess Emelie was chatting away with a younger woman. She turned when I arrived and smiled while she let Mary make the introductions.
"Your Grace, may I present Elizabeth Matowski, the maîtresse de ballet. Elizabeth, Her Grace, Dorothea Sophia of Saxe-Altenburg, abbess of Quedlinburg."
I sank into my very best, thank you audience, curtsey, front foot fully turned out, left leg sliding back as I sank down gracefully before bowing the torso forward. I thought about that Saxe-Altenburg bit. Did that make her some kind of relative to our Elisabeth Sofie? Was she here to check up on her? As I lifted my head up I caught a smile from Her Grace.
"Brillo?" she asked, pointing to the Ram's head logo on the breast of my cardigan, a wide grin creasing her face.
As I rose to my feet I admitted that yes, it was indeed Brillo. The abbess nodded her head. "The princess, she is much enamoured with Brillo. She was very impressed by him." She looked at the young woman talking to Countess Emelie. "Isn't that right, Kunigunde? The princess really enjoyed her visit to see Brillo."
"Yes, Your Grace." The young woman turned to face me, her face alight with remembered humor. "The princess is very impressed with the heroic Brillo. She has been buying anything associated with him she can find."
Starting with Kunigunde, the abbess introduced me to the other visitors. "Frau Matowski, this young lady is Kunigunde Juliane of Anhalt-Dessau, she is here with her Tante Eleonore, the duchess of Saxe-Weimar to visit her cousin, Emelie."
"That's Mrs. Eleonore Dorothea Wettin, Dorothea. Remember, Wilhelm has surrendered the title so he could stand for the Commons."
"Puh, rubbish. Just like a man, letting his duchy be slid out from under him. There is no need for you to forgo your title. You are not involving yourself in politics."
The abbess turned to me and continued, "This is, as you just heard, Mrs. Eleonore Dorothea Wettin." The abbess finished the introduction with a significant snort, indicating, I'm sure, her opinion of Wilhelm and his activities. As she passed from Mrs. Wettin, the abbess then introduced Madame Conspicuous Consumption. "And this is Sophia Hedwig of Brunswick-Wolfenbuttel, countess of Nassau-Diez. She is, as are the rest of us, visiting Grantville to see the sights, also to find out more about this ballet you are to put on for us."
I curtsied for the last time, then looked at the visitors. They were all looking hopefully at the men and women at the other end of the practice room. Taking the subtle hint, I asked them to wait just a moment while I asked the dancers to start.
Once amongst the dancers I quickly told them who the visitors were, and that they wanted to see how the ballet was progressing. I directed the dancers to their starting places while Deanna got ready to start the CD player, then I returned to my guests. I arrived back beside Mary and the abbess to the sound of the first notes of the Waltz of the Flowers. My guests watched in silence, their eyes not leaving the dancers for the whole seven-minute performance.