TINCTURES and Tantrums

They were a little over half way through, the notices had been dealt with, and Scharnhorst had initiated general conversation when they heard the sound of running coming back up the stairs. Amalie didn’t have time to form more than a half a thought wondering what could have caused such a change that someone who used to not have the energy to get out of bed was now suddenly running up and down stairs, when the door to the senior staff dining hall banged open and Hildegard was in the room shrieking at them for stuffing their faces when there were bandits running rampant through the house. All of them, even Scharnhorst, were frozen with amazement. Never once had Hildegard set foot in the senior staff dining hall. She looked a fright. Her eyes were staring, her dress so loose on her skeletal figure that it moved independently of her, her hair was askew. The lack of reaction enraged her. She started accusing them of deliberately humiliating the von Puttkamer line by having the heir at the table with the staff. It was Scharnhorst who finally spoke first. “Meine Frau, das Fräulein is not here. She is dining in the nursery.” “She’s hiding, you know how underhanded she is, Frau Blücher and Frau Klemperer were beside themselves trying to teach that hoyden to be a lady.” Hildegard started searching for Luise around the unused furniture stacked in the unused dark corners of the hall, continuing the whole time to mutter about how badly behaved Luise was. An overwhelming urge to protect Luise gave Amalie the nerve to signal Erich Schultz that she was going to slip up to the nursery while Hildegard wasn’t looking.