As the tea progressed, Averyll was pleased to see that despite a rather shaky start her companions Tessa, Vieana, and Eleniel had managed to conquer their nervousness to a large extent and were fulfilling their roles beautifully. As the tea was sipped and the cakes daintily consumed, the conversation slid effortlessly from the weather to the relative merits of Minas Tirith over any other place in Middle Earth and, finally, to yet another rehashing of the welcoming ball. It was Tessa who first broached the topic of the rumors. Putting her delicate china teacup aside, she looked pointedly at Adrama.
"Everyone has been perfectly charming," she said in answer to a question from Adrama. "But we have noticed a rather shocking rumor flying around regarding my sister."
"Lady Finduilas?" asked Adrama, her face going several shades paler. She already appeared upset at the presence of Tessa, but being confronted so bluntly by the rumors, the young woman seemed positively ill. For a fleeting instant, Averyll was afraid Adrama might faint. Noticing the girl's reaction, Averyll cut a quick glance toward their hostess, Lady Pelien, who seemed to be holding her breath. The older woman's eyes had acquired a steely glint that Averyll had not noticed before.
Adrama cast a nervous glance at her mother. "I-I can't imagine what you are talking about."
"Then you must be the only one who hasn't heard it," Tessa continued in a light tone of voice that was undercut only by her piercing hazel eyes. "Even the servants are repeating the most ghastly falsehoods. I thought that influential and well-placed ladies, such as yourselves, would surely have heard all the talk and might even be able to tell us where such nonsense might have come from."
"Yes," chimed in Vieana. "Surely, you must have heard something."
Helplessly, Adrama shot another look toward her mother.
"Fiddlesticks!" barked Lady Pelien, coming to her daughter's rescue. "Idle gossip is the stuff of chambermaids and charwomen, well below both our station and our concern as ladies." Her sharp eyes traveled from face to face amongst the four Dol Amroth ladies. "I'm shocked that you would even bring such a thing up."
Tessa colored slightly and dropped her eyes, while Elen and Vieana looked as though they would have been happy to drop their teacups and flee the room.
Averyll smiled pleasantly and took a sip of tea as Pelien's steely gaze reached her. "Of course, you are absolutely right, Lady Pelien," she said smoothly. "Such things are far beneath the concern of all of us. But -" she let her blue eyes twinkle mischievously "- we have heard some of the most interesting things since arriving at court."
"Did you know, for instance," Averyll continued. "That Lady Elena's grandmother was a Haradarim slavegirl?" She lowered her voice conspiratorially. "Her grandfather bought her right off the back of a caravan! Isn't that fascinating?"
Pelien drew back as though she had been slapped. "That's utter nonsense!" Her teacup clattered against the saucer in her hand. "I've known Lady Elena since she was a baby and her mother before that. Her grandfather wouldn't even know where to find a caravan if his life depended on it."
"Oh!" Averyll's eyes widened innocently. "Well, it was her father's mother, from what I understand..."
"Yes!" exclaimed Vieana. "I heard that, too. I think she was a dancer of some sort."
"Was she really?" asked Adrama breathlessly. "How ghastly for Elena!"
Pelien put her cup and saucer down on the tray with sharp clink. "That's enough!" she snapped, looking daggers at her own daughter, whose face closed like a book. Adrama sunk visibly lower into the rose-colored couch. "I've never heard such rubbish."
"Oh, but it's hardly rubbish!" protested Tessa, rejoining the fray. "I heard it, too, from one of the most reliable sources!"
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