A Royal Command
- Helena is back in Camilla's room. When Louise and Beatrice get back, they tell Helena how much she embarrassed them when she showed up on the ship's railing. Poor Helena.
- Out of the blue, a voice tells the sisters that they're invited for tea with the Duchess—and when they come out from the bed, that voice is coming from none other than Lamont, their little bro. Apparently Lamont is "Nigel's new assistant cabin steward" (9.19) and he's psyched about it.
- When teatime comes, the humans are dining in the Winter Garden. Helena, Louise, and Beatrice are all dressed up in their mouse clothes when they join the Duchess for a spot of tea.
- The Duchess gives the Cranston sisters the skinny on the royal family. Princess Louise has her own human lady-in-waiting named Lady August Drear, who is super afraid of mice. According to the Duchess, Princess Louise only sort of recognizes that she also has mice in waiting, but on the plus side, the mice do get to live in Buckingham Palace.
- The Duchess has invited the Cranston mice to tea because she wants to help them get their Upstairs Cranstons on the right social track—the Upstairs Cranstons have been making a seriously sour impression, so the mice need to take action.
- The Duchess says they should add the Upstairs Cranstons' names to the princess's guest list. She's having a party and Lady Augusta has been handling the details.
- If you can believe it, this old Duchess uses a human-sized pen to write out the Upstairs Cranstons' names (the Cranston mice give her a hand). The Duchess also gives them some advice: they're going to need to help their humans as much as possible. And that's no small task.
- When Helena and her sisters are ready to leave, a new guest arrives—a handsome mouse named Lord Peter Henslowe. He's cute as can be and Mouse Equerry to the other Lord Peter—which is pretty much a fancy way of saying he's a male mouse-in-waiting.