We are all going our separate ways, Cora reminds herself.If I do not say this now, I’ll never have the chance.
“I have something to tell you,” she says evenly.
Alice leans back in her chair, placing down her pencil. “What a dramatic opening for a girl in a nightgown at four in the morning.”
“And I need you to listen. For once.” Cora is surprised to find her tone remains level, despite her nerves. Steely, like Alice’s own. “Because I really must thank you, Alice. You’ve changed my life, taught me everything. I know I can’t repay you. Nevertheless, I’m going to try right now.” Tears, shockingly, sting her eyes, this little impromptu speech of hers suddenly feeling momentous. She blinks them back. “I know you think you are infallible. Unflappable. Brilliant and sharp as an emerald yourself, and well, you are, but...”
She takes a fortifying breath, ignoring the defensive skepticism playing over Alice’s face.
“You have built something here. Something worthwhile. And I’m not just talking about the con. I know you think it’s easier to burn it all down, every last bit of it, and walk away, but you would be making a huge mistake. An irrevocable one.”
She dares a step closer.
“I’ve spent much of the past couple years convincing myself that vulnerability is stupidity, and in the process of trying not to play the fool, I’ve made countless foolish mistakes. If you want to pretend I’m just a pawn, just a cog in the wheel of your game, that’s fine; cast me aside if you must. You’veonly known me for a matter of months, after all. If I had my druthers, I’d prefer to continue to know you, but that’s your decision to make.”
Cora presses her hands into the table, eyes sliding to the maid’s chambers across the hall.
“But I’ll tell you this as a parting gift. For all your grand plans and brilliant schemes, you are the most idiotic person I know if you walk away from Béa. You deserve true happiness, Alice, same as anyone else. Showing love and showing weakness arenotone and the same. And of all the things I may have thought of you in private, I never took you for a coward. But here we are.”
“Is that all?” Alice says, though there’s an uncharacteristic hitch to her tone. A now-familiar wrinkle forming in her forehead.
“Yes,” Cora says. “That’s everything. Good night, Alice.”
She closes her bedroom door without another glance. Buries her head under her blanket, her bittersweet satisfaction finally eclipsed by exhaustion.
Invitation
Follow for extended description
Chapter 29
The Sting
Arabella’s father stares at the embossed embassy card with an unimpressed squint that makes his mustache twitch.
Arabella finds herself holding her breath. Could it be he’s considering snubbing the invitation?
Not if her already red-faced mother has anything to do with it.
“Nothing here about financial dealings,” he grunts. “Anyone would think this was a social call.”
“Well, precisely!” Her mother flings herself beside him. “Her Grace can’t very well write down the true purpose of the meeting, or any Tom, Dick, or Harry could lay eyes on this bit of paper and word would spread like wildfire, absolutelyeveryonewanting to worm their way in.”
“Nothing here about Arabella either,” he mutters with a droopy frown, his eyes lifting briefly to meet Arabella’s. “Doesn’t seem appropriate for the wife-folk to attend a business meeting, let alone our impressionable young daughter.”
“It’s only because Miss Cora has to be there,” Arabella puts in. “She requires a friend close at hand or she’ll be terribly bored. And if the bidding grows too heated, we’ll excuse ourselves.”
“Miss Ritter, eh? Maybe I’ll write a note to the duchess, suggesting she keep her ward at home as well.”
“You’ll do no such thing!” her mother snaps. “This is no mere business meeting, my darling; it is a matter of family. Think of Arabella’s future. Ourgrandchildren—”
Arabella’s heart thuds wildly, as it always does when the two of them bicker. She retreats to the safety of her own bedroom, her thoughts in a muddle. Perhaps it would be easier to stay home and avoid the argument. The idea of capitulating comes as an instant relief.
It was odd, wasn’t it? The intensity with which Cora implored her to come.
Something seems amiss. She can’t quite put her finger on it.
But good heavens, if she cannot even brave a trip to the Württemberg embassy, how on earth will she manage to move to Württemberg itself?
