“I was coming to see you,” Flora said. “May we speak privately?”
Lista had limited patience for her aunt. “There is no one around,” she said. “Say what you will.”
That didn’t please Flora too terribly. She was hoping for more respect than that, considering what she was about to say. The smile on her lips faded.
“This is about your future, Lista,” she said, sounding less pleasant and more threatening. “You can show me the courtesy of allowing me to tell you in private.”
Unlike Meadow, Lista didn’t cower to her aunt. “I have hurt my ankle,” she said, annoyed. “Walking is difficult and that is why I told you that you may speak freely here. I do not want to walk more than I must. What is so important that you cannot tell me here? No one is listening.”
To prove her point, she stuck out her foot, showing where the servant had wrapped it. Flora grunted and rolled her eyes, as if an injured ankle were no injury at all. But she didn’t press further.
“Very well,” she said, frustrated. “I had hoped to tell you this in a manner which would convey my joy for you, but since you are being difficult, I will simply come out with it. Your mother has given permission to Louis de Rhos to court you.”
That wasn’t what Lista had been expecting to hear.
Her eyes widened.
“Shewhat?” she hissed. “Without speaking to me first?”
Flora was unapologetic. “De Rhos is an excellent match,” she said. “You should be grateful to your mother for having the wisdom and foresight to make this arrangement for you. You will be married into the Earl of Sunderland’s family, Lista. Your husband could be the earl someday and that would make you the countess. Does this not please you?”
Lista was looking at her aunt in shock. The woman was essentially scolding her as she told her of the course her life was about to take and she could see the glee in the woman’s eyes. Glee that Lista was in a situation beyond her control, something she did not wish to be part of.
That always made Flora happy.
“Nay!” Lista nearly shouted. “God… nay, it doesnotplease me. I do not even know Louis!”
“Most women do not know their husbands before they marry them,” Flora said with limited patience. “I did not know Lord d’Orbec before I married him, but we came to know one another. You will come to know your husband, in time. That is the way of things, Lista. You must accept that.”
Lista was still looking at her aunt in shock, emotions now joined by disbelief and rage. “Why are you telling me this?” she said. “This is not your place. You are nothing to me. Where is my mother?”
She tried to turn away, to search for her mother, but Flora snatched her by the wrist. “Your mother is sleeping,” she said, squeezing with her clawed fingers. “I am speaking on her behalf and you will listen. No more foolery, Lista. You are too old for most men, so be grateful you have one who is interested. It is your duty to marry and I will ensure you do your duty.”
Lista could sense bitterness and malintent. When it came to Flora, that was usual. She fed off of power, like she was at the moment as she delivered Lista’s fate. She liked having the upper hand and that delight oozed from every pore.
But Lista yanked her wrist from the woman’s grip.
“You have no right to ensure anything,” she said, her voice lowered into a growl. “I called you a worthless cow once and that opinion still stands. You are nothing to me or to Felkington. All you do is eat our food and spend my mother’s money and if I had my way, you’d be out begging on the street. You are wholly unworthy of me and my mother, so don’t push me, Woman. I will push back.”
Infuriated, Flora reached up and slapped her. Without missing a beat, Lista swung her open palm at her aunt’s face and slapped the woman so hard that she fell sideways. As Floragasped and tried to catch her balance, Lista shoved her down by the shoulder so that she ended up on the floor.
A gloating aunt was one thing. A physical attack was quite another.
“I told you I would push back,” she seethed. “Strike me again and I will make it so you cannot get up the next time. Am I making myself clear?”
Flora was frightened. For the first time in her life, she was frightened of Lista. She hadn’t expected the girl to strike her back and now that she’d felt the force of Lista’s hit, she didn’t want to experience another one. This was the second time Lista had hit her back and she realized it would continue. She rolled onto her knees, away from Lista, and struggled to her feet.
“It does not change the fact that de Rhos has permission to court you,” she said, straightening her dress as she moved out of arm’s length. “If the man has any courage, he will beat you into submission. You never did understand your place in the world.”
“Nor did you,” Lista said, her eyes tracking her aunt like a cat tracking a mouse. “Get out of my sight, Flora. I shall speak with my mother about this and then I shall speak with Louis. I do not know how or why this came about, but I will get to the bottom of it.”
“And I hear my name.”
The de Rhos knight chose that moment to come off the stairwell, coming up from the courtyard below. Flora saw him and immediately scattered, leaving Lista alone. Quickly realizing she was with a man who had permission to court her, Lista simply looked at him, emotionlessly.
Louis smiled timidly.
“Greetings, my lady,” he said. “I hope I have not interrupted something.”
