After a little while, Madeline tugged her over towards the hostess of the party, and her son who stood near.

"Milady," Madeline greeted, dipping her head. "Milord."

"Madeline," the Western lady said. "I see you have a new Lady of the House."

"Indeed. This is Lacey McMillan. Lady, this is the Western Lady and her son, Sesshomaru."

Sesshomaru nodded at the introduction, looking Lacey over quickly. She didn't seem much different from her predecessors so far.

Lacey bowed just as much as was proper.

"Thank you for inviting me," she said as she straightened up again.

"Oh, you've been all the chatter for the past month," the Western Lady said with a faint smirk. "Many people are curious to see what you plan to do with your new position."

"I have no immediate plans," Lacey admitted. "But that doesn't mean something won't come up."

"Indeed," she said, her eyes glimmering with amusement. "Do enjoy yourself. I will check in with you again later."

Lacey nodded and waited until the Western Lady had turned away before wandering off. She made sure to stay close to Madeline, though. She didn't want to risk making any horrific mistakes.

Madeline kept close to her as well, leading her around introducing her to the major players and then getting a drink for her. She didn't press anything else on Lacey, instead letting her call the shots.

Lacey took the drink, though she barely sipped at it from time to time. She was far too nervous to enjoy it even as she ended up hovering near the edges of the crowd.

This time, Madeline allowed her to stay out near the edges of the action. Lacey would adjust and get used to it.

Lacey could hear some whispers and murmurs, and caught her last name a few times amongst them.

"Great," she muttered. "They're talking about me."

"Of course they are," Madeline replied quietly. "You are one of four humans to have a demon for a retainer now, and the newest among the nobility. Curiosity is natural."

"It doesn't sound like curiosity," Lacey replied, staring into her drink. "It sounds like gossip and speculation."

"That too," Madeline allowed. "It will only get worse with time." She was quiet for a moment before she tsked. "Lift your head, pretend you cannot hear them. They will pounce on any weakness and there is only so far I can go in fending them off."

Lacey sighed and did as she was told. She glanced around the room, noting all of the pairs of eyes watching her, and then turned her attention away again.

"This had better get easier with practice," she muttered to Madeline. "At least I got to dress up, that's something."

Madeline laughed quietly. "Oh this is only the beginning," she promised. "I haven't even shown you some of the finery your predecessors left."

Lacey perked up a little at that.

"How nice?" she asked, interested.

"Yards of silks and satins, enough precious jewelry to buy another house, as if you need one, every style of shoe imaginable..." Madeline trailed off teasingly. "And many of the clothing items can be altered to fit you."

"I want to see these, at some point," Lacey said, grinning. "Because that sounds fantastic."

"Tomorrow," Madeline said. "I'll make us cappuccinos and we can peruse the store rooms."

"Deal," Lacey said. "Cappuccinos and sparkly things." The evening was already looking up a bit more, now that she had something to look forward to.

Madeline nodded. "Italian-style, not American-style," she warned. "There is only one way to make a cappuccino and Americans have not got it right."

"Really?" Lacey asked, raising an eyebrow. "Okay, then, you're going to need to prove that one."

"Guess I'll be getting out the machines again," Madeline said. "And picking up all the supplies again." Her lips quirked. "Flavored syrups?"

"Caramel," Lacey replied instantly. "And mocha. Vanilla is alright, mint is alright, I had an Irish Cream flavored coffee once that was amazing." She grinned. "I used to work in a coffee shop, I like mixing flavors up. I made one that tasted like an Almond Joy, once."

Madeline nodded. "I can work with that," she agreed. She'd just get one of everything and adjust her shopping list accordingly depending on what they went through most quickly.