The Glittering Court (25 page)

“I accept,” said Cedric. “I'll work your claim as part of a larger arrangement to pay Adelaide's fee.”

I forcibly clamped my mouth shut so my jaw wouldn't drop. In the given circumstances, I had no intention of showing anything but perfect unity between Cedric and me. Once we were alone, I planned on telling him exactly how terrible this plan was. Jasper expressed my thoughts for me.

“Are you out of your mind? What do you know about mining?”

“No more than most of the adventurers who set off for the claims. I'm sure I can learn,” said Cedric.

Warren nodded. “Absolutely. We'll get you started. Panning is the most basic type of gold extraction, and you can move on to other techniques from there.”

“There's one condition,” added Cedric. He took my hand again. “Adelaide comes too.”

“First,” snarled Viola, “you're in no position to set conditions. Second, you don't get to marry her before the financial details are fulfilled. Unless you plan on some sort of sinful arrangement.”

Cedric shook his head. “Of course not. But considering all the rumors and slander that will spread around Cape Triumph, I think it'd best for her to be removed from that—somewhere far away.”

Our eyes met briefly, and in that way we had, I understood his true motivations. Taking me from Cape Triumph would offer an added level of protection, should Viola decide to take any sort of revenge and reveal my identity. It would be a lot easier to elude bounty hunters in the wilderness than the city.

“I'll help him mine it,” I said. “I've read about the panning process—it's something I could do.”

“Living on the claim with him would only stir up more rumors, regardless of your virtuous principles,” Warren told me. “But there are a number of families traveling with children, and I'm sure many would
appreciate a governess with your education. We might be able to set up a boarding arrangement—though there might be some household labor involved. And the conditions would be rough.”

“I'm sure household labor wouldn't be a problem, considering her humble background,” quipped Viola.

“I'm not afraid of hard work,” I said resolutely.

Jasper looked me over. “You're as naïve as my son. However hard you think you worked as a lady's maid, it is nothing compared to what you'll face on the frontier.”

“I'll do whatever it takes.”

Warren clasped his hands together, face alight. “Well, then it's settled. We leave in a week, and I'll make the appropriate arrangements.”

Despite my declaration, I was still uneasy about all of this. It wasn't exactly too good to be true—but nearly. I needed to talk to Cedric more extensively, assuming we were ever allowed to be alone again. Jasper seemed to be undecided on this deal. He didn't really believe we could handle frontier life. I also suspected he didn't want us to have a happy ending after the trouble we'd caused him. On the other hand, painting this in a seemingly honorable way—one sanctioned by a man of Warren's repute, who'd been courting me—might save face and ensure no future business fallout.

“Thank you,” I said to Warren. “This is all very considerate of you.”

A wistful look crossed his face. “It's my pleasure to—”

The door burst open, and amazingly enough, it was Mira who entered. Jasper glared. “I told you lot not to—”

“They're here! They're here! I don't understand it, but they're here.” Mira was breathless, her eyes wide.

“Who?” asked Jasper. I think he expected a flock of angry suitors.

“The other girls! The other ship.” Mira turned to me. “Adelaide! Tamsin's alive!”

Chapter 20

I rushed out with the others, all of us nearly tripping over one another as we tried to get through the doorway at the same time. In the foyer, we found chaos. A group of at least twenty people mingled in the room, and our girls were running down the stairs into the throng, adding to the disarray. The noise of a dozen conversations filled the air and mostly came through as an indecipherable buzz. I stared around for a moment, unable to make sense of it all, and then I spotted it across the room: a head of bright, golden-red hair.

“Tamsin!”

I pushed through the crowd, uncaring of who I ran into. She turned at the sound of my voice, and my heart sang at the sight of that familiar face. I barreled into her, nearly knocking her over with a giant hug. I didn't care if she hated me and pushed me away. All that mattered was that she was alive and that at this moment, I could hold her in my arms. She was real and solid. My friend had returned to me.

And she didn't push me away. She returned the hug, clinging to me fiercely. “Oh, Adelaide . . .” she began. Sobs choked her words. A moment later, Mira appeared, throwing her arms around the two of us. We stood there like that for a long time, the three of us locked together, full of joy despite our tears.

“Where have you been, Tamsin?” I whispered when I could finally bring myself to pull away. “Where have you been? We thought . . . we thought . . .”

Her brown eyes sparkled with tears. “I know. I know. I'm sorry. I
wish we could have sent word sooner, and I'm sorry for everything back in Osfrid—”

“No, no.” I squeezed her hand. “You have nothing to apologize for.”

Until that moment, I'd only been looking at Tamsin's face, taking in the features of this friend I loved so much. But now, after a chance to catch my breath, I could see so much more. She wore a dress of deep blue-gray, made of some plain fabric. It had no ornamentation or frills. Her hair spilled across her shoulders without any obvious styling and was covered by a simple kerchief. Glancing around, I saw the other missing girls dressed similarly.

“What happened to all of you?” I asked.

Before she could answer, a loud stomping on the floor drew our attention. Gradually, others began to notice, and the din of conversation faded. Jasper, seeking to be heard, stood on top of a chair. I was pretty sure I had never, ever seen him look so genuinely happy.

“Friends! Friends! You're witnessing a miracle right before our eyes. Something none of us thought possible. I've just learned that—as you can no doubt tell—the
Gray Gull
wasn't lost at sea! It sustained great damage in the storm and was blown off course—far, far north to the colony of Grashond.”

I turned to Tamsin in disbelief. The northern colonies were known both for harsh conditions and a harsh population. They were also nearly four hundred miles away.

Jasper peered around. He looked as though someone had just dropped a giant bag of gold at his feet. Which, I supposed, someone had. “Who do I have to thank for this? Who do I have to thank for saving my girls?”

For a moment, nothing happened. I could see now that along with our missing girls, there were some men who looked like sailors. A few other strangers were dressed in plain clothing like Tamsin, and one of these got pushed forward. He was a young man with tawny blond hair and a surprisingly calm countenance, given this bizarre situation.

“I wouldn't say any one person saved them, Mister Thorn,” he said.
“Our whole community came together to care for them until the roads were clear enough for travel.”

A Glittering Court girl I didn't know spoke up. “But Mister Stewart was the one who advocated for us. Who made sure we had places to stay and . . . and vocations to keep us busy.”

“I'm in your debt then, Mister Stewart,” said Jasper, offering a showy bow. “You have saved not just them—but all of us. Thank you.”

A bit of the young man's coolness faltered at all the attention and admiration. “You can call me Gideon. And there's no need to thank me. It was simply our duty under Uros. My only regret is that you had to worry about them for so long. The roads made no travel or communication possible until recently.”

“Well, they're here now, and say what you want, but we still owe you a great deal—something I'd love to talk more at length about. But first, I need to speak to these gentlemen about certain commercial matters.” He nodded toward the sailors. “While I do that, Gideon—my brother and son would be happy to entertain you and your colleagues in our parlor. I'm sure you'd appreciate some refreshments after your journey. I have an excellent brandy I've been saving.”

“We don't drink spirits,” said Gideon.

Jasper shrugged. “Well, we'll find a beverage you can drink. Water or something. Mistress Culpepper, will you see that our new girls are taken care of? I'm sure they need refreshments too.” He eyed some of them askance. “And now that their journey is over, I'm sure they'd like to change out of traveling clothes and into their finer wares.”

A few of the girls exchanged uneasy glances. “We don't have those, uh, finer wares anymore,” said one. “They're gone.”

Jasper allowed himself only a brief flicker of surprise. His miraculous pile of gold had just gotten a little smaller. “Well, then, I'm sure we can put together a wardrobe from the other girls—especially the ones who are engaged.”

“I'll see to it,” said Mistress Culpepper. “And that they're roomed properly.”

I pulled Tamsin close. “She's staying with us,” I said.

No one seemed to mind who stayed where, so long as there was room for all of us. The second floor of the house became a frenzy of activity as girls were shown to their rooms, and everyone scrambled to provide the newcomers with clothes. Mira and I were raiding our own closets when Heloise popped into our room, her arms full of green dresses. She smiled warmly at Tamsin.

“You were the emerald, right? I inherited your spot, but I don't need these anymore. Not now that I'm engaged.”

“Congratulations, and thank you.” The smile Tamsin gave her in return was genuine but tinged with weariness. After Heloise had left, Tamsin sat heavily on the bed, putting the dresses in a heap beside her. “To tell you the truth, I don't care what color I wear anymore, so long as it's not this blasted cheap wool.”

I sat down next to her. “Was it awful up there?”

“Not awful, exactly.” Tamsin frowned, lost in some memory. “But very, very different than what we're used to. Gideon was right that they took care of us, and really that's all that matters.”

I wanted more details about her time away, but Tamsin seemed reluctant. The Grashond settlers—who called themselves “the Heirs of Uros”—just barely escaped the designation of heretics in the eyes of the orthodox church. The Heirs kept the same liturgies and stressed the importance of priests and churches as the way to Uros, but they did so in a very simple way. No grand cathedrals. No gifts or decorations at holidays. No excessive food and drink. No elaborate clothing.

When Mira suggested cleaning up, Tamsin jumped at the chance. While she was away, Mira explained to me, “Maybe it wasn't awful, like she said, but it couldn't have been easy. And she must have been terrified. Sometimes, when you go through something like that, it takes a while for you to want to talk about it.”

Once Tamsin returned, cleaned and dressed in one of Heloise's silk poplin dresses, she seemed like her old self again—
very
much like her old self again.

“Well, I'd better remember all my manners and get used to doing my hair and face again,” she said briskly. “It's late in the season, but I plan on making up for lost time. I hope you've left some men for the rest of us. You must have both gotten slews of offers by now.”

“Not that many in the way of, ah, official ones,” said Mira. “But I feel optimistic about my future.”

Tamsin turned to me. “What about you? There's no way you haven't have had all sorts of offers. Have you settled on some promising young man?”

When I didn't answer, Mira laughed. “She's settled on someone all right. In fact, I think your arrival interrupted the marriage negotiations.”

Tamsin brightened. “Excellent! What kind of man is he? What's he do? Is he in government? Shipping?”

“He's the son of a crafty businessman who ships brides and other luxuries to the New World,” I said.

“What are you . . .” Confusion filled Tamsin's pretty face. “But that doesn't make any . . . you don't mean . . .”

I sighed. “I mean Cedric.”

When Tamsin couldn't formulate a response, Mira said, “It's true. Adelaide's caused quite a scandal around here. Your arrival might have been the only thing that could top this drama.”

I explained the situation as best I could, including the arrangement in Hadisen. Mira hadn't heard that part yet. She kept her face neutral, but Tamsin's expression filled with greater incredulity as the story went on.

“What were you thinking?” she exclaimed. “You turned down a future governor for . . . what, an impoverished student?”

“Well, he dropped out of the university. And he's not impoverished.” I reconsidered for a few moments. “He's just . . . um, without assets. But I'm sure that will change.”

“This,” declared Tamsin, “would have never happened if I'd been around to look after you. Mira, how could you have stood for this?”

“I had no idea,” Mira admitted.

“You're her roommate! How could you not?”

A moment of awkwardness fell over us. A chagrined look crossed Mira's face, and I could guess her thoughts. Under normal circumstances, she might very well have noticed something amiss with me. But we both knew Mira had been preoccupied by her own clandestine activities, though I still didn't know what they were.

A knock at the door startled us, and I opened it to admit Cedric. “You're not supposed to be in here,” I said, glancing behind him in the hall. “Are you trying to get us in even more trouble?”

“I think that's impossible.” He shut the door behind him. “And with everything going on, no one's going to notice. I had to take the chance to talk to you. Welcome back, Tamsin. It's good to see you.”

She eyed him disapprovingly. “I wish I could say the same. I've heard you've caused all sorts of trouble for my friend.”

He grinned back at her, unfazed. “Well, she's caused all sorts of trouble for me too.”

“Cedric,” I said, “you know this Hadisen plan is a terrible idea, don't you?”

“It could solve our financial problems. And,” he added pointedly, “it gets you out of Cape Triumph.”

“I just can't believe Warren would fold so easily. It's an embarrassment to him. He should be outraged.”

“He probably is,” Cedric agreed. “And I'm not naïve. But maybe this saves face if he acts like it doesn't bother him. Could be there is some ulterior motive, but I'd rather take my chances out in Hadisen.”

Tamsin straightened up. “So. This Warren. He's available then, right?”

“I suppose so,” I said in surprise. “And he's motivated to find a wife . . . but he's only got a week left before he leaves.”

“That's all I need.” Tamsin glanced at Cedric. “If you can arrange some meetings for me.”

“It's too soon,” I said. “Even for you.”

Mira nodded in agreement. “Tamsin, you need to rest and recover this week—not chase after some man on your first day back. Take it easy. Let Warren go. There are others.”

I studied Mira curiously, but as usual, her expression betrayed nothing. I remembered her various efforts to engage Warren. Now that he was available, was it possible she was trying to push out Tamsin as competition?

“Something tells me I'm not going to be part of the family business anymore,” Cedric told Tamsin. “But if you want to throw yourself right into the thick of things, my father's not going to object. I know he'd like to close a deal with Warren—if you really want him.”

Tamsin glanced between Mira and me. It was obvious Tamsin was going to ignore our suggestions about resting. “Is there a reason I wouldn't want him?” she asked.

No one answered right away. At last, I said, “He seems nice enough most of the time . . . sometimes he's closed-minded . . .”

“Closed-minded in what way?” Tamsin asked with more interest than I'd expected.

“Religion. The Icori. No more than most around here, I suppose. But his mother's the really terrible one. She's the one you have to watch out for.”

“Mothers-in-law are
always
terrible,” said Tamsin airily. “Let me meet Warren, and I'll decide if he's worth my time.”

Cedric turned back and took both of my hands. The open gesture startled me. “Things are going to move very quickly now,” he said. “We have one week. Most Hadisen settlers have had months to prepare.”

I squeezed his hands back. “Well, if we're doing it, we'll do it right. How can I help?”

“Most of it's going to be on me—equipment, figuring out the claim.” He reached into his pocket and handed me a bag of silver. “You can help by taking care of your clothes.”

“What do you mean, take care of?”

He gestured to my organza dress. “This isn't going to really work in Hadisen. You need something that can withstand some wear and tear.”

“I figured you'd just mend anything I needed.”

A little of his tension faded. “Well, I
did
enjoy that the first time.”

“I knew it! You're not as good at hiding your thoughts as you think you are.”

“Well, actually, you were the one who wasn't hiding that much—”

“Ugh,” groaned Tamsin behind me. “Will you stop already? I just endured one agonizing situation. Please don't put me through another.”