A gleaming coach-and-four pulled to a stop in front of the house.
“Right on time,” said Jacob.
At Kuni’s quizzical look, Marjorie explained, “Chloe’s here. And her husband, the Duke of Faircliffe.”
The door to the coach flung open and out bounded a brown-haired woman wearing a striped orange-and-yellow morning gown and the ugliest bonnet Kuni had ever seen. It bore mountains of flowers, a stuffed bird, and clumps of ribbons tied at odd angles. Behind her emerged a tall, elegant gentleman wearing a perfectly normal black hat.
“Where is the princess?” demanded the duchess with the ugly bonnet.
“Not a princess,” Kuni said automatically.
Graham made the new arrivals a fabulous leg. “Your Graces, Duke and Duchess of Faircliffe, it is my great honor to present Juffrouw Kunigunde de Heusch of Balcovia.”
Kuni’s mouth parted in surprise. He’d included her correct honorific!
He grinned at her and whispered, “Philippa helped me.”
The duchess ran up to Kuni with open interest. “I am dying to know every word you have said about Balcovia. But if I know my brother, he’s already recorded each syllable into a fresh journal for just that topic.”
Graham slid a slender book out from under his lapel and handed it to his sister.
“Miss de Heusch, I would love to come to know you better once we’ve resolved the current matter,” said the duchess. “That is, if you’re amenable?”
Kuni nodded. “I would like that, Your Grace. Please, call me Kunigunde.”
“In that case, I am Chloe, and there’s no need to ‘Your Grace’ me. On the other hand, this is my stuffy husband, His Very-Much Grace, the Duke of Requiring Formal Pretension Even When It Is Obviously Unnecessary—”
“What?” blustered the duke. “That’s the last time I make you a bonnet!”
“‘Faircliffe’ for short,” finished the duchess, linking her arm with her husband’s. She raised her eyebrows toward her siblings. “All hands to the Planning Parlor?”
12
The Wynchesters jostled each other across the garden, into their house, and up the stairs to the next floor in their enthusiasm.
Kuni, trailing behind, could not keep up with the mix of conversations. Just as she reached the top of the stairs, the siblings filed through an open doorway into a room with a strange black floor.
Before she could follow them into the room, its door swung closed, cutting off their raucous chatter so abruptly, it was as if they ceased to exist.Verdomme.She was left with her mouth full of teeth, as her mother would say.
Kuni reached for the handle, then paused. The message could not be clearer. “All hands” did not include her.
She placed her ear to the door. Nothing met it but silence.
Kuni stepped away before she could be humiliated by a servant stumbling upon her behaving in such a fashion.
Not being wanted was nothing new. It might not even have been on purpose. How many times had her brothers simply forgotten to include her? They hadn’tmeantto leave her out of absolutely everything interesting they ever did. She simply didn’t cross their minds.
Why would the Wynchesters be any different from her own siblings? This family had only met her yesterday. She wasn’t one of them.
But for a bittersweet moment, she could not help but wish she were.
As there was nothing left to do in this hallway, Kuni took herself back to the ground floor.
The salon was empty of people now but brimmed with curiosities. She walked the perimeter slowly, taking in everything she could without touching, as though visiting the priceless objects on display at the Balcovian royal palace.
The long table was strewn with maps. Not the normal kind, perhaps of the countryside, but of strange routes through neighborhoods and the interiors of various buildings. This was where Tommy had been working before the Goodnights arrived. Next to the maps, a handful of romantic novels lay atop a daunting five-volume set entitledA Short History of Europe. That was Philippa’s pile.
The far wall was also full of books, none of which bore a title. These weren’t novels, but some of the albums Graham and his siblings had referred to. There were dozens of them. Hundreds! Kuni could not imagine knowing this many things or having this many questions that needed answers.
