Hazel had only meant to fetch her sewing basket.
That was all. It was a simple, harmless task, but the moment she rounded the corner toward the upstairs landing of the Belvington townhouse, she heard the whispering.Urgentwhispering. Worse yet, it wasmischief-soakedwhispering.
“Patience, hold it still!”
“Iamholding it still!”
“No, you are holdingmestill, not it!”
Hazel froze.
Oh no.
She knew that tone. She knew those voices. And she knew with perfect certainty that trouble was unfolding at the top of the stairs.
She took a deep breath. “Please,” she whispered to no one in particular, “let it be something small this time.”
Of course, the universe did not comply.
Because when Hazel reached the landing, she found Chastity balanced precariously on a wooden stool, on top of an upholstered footstool, on top of a stack of books. Patience stood at the bottom of this lethal tower, with her arms outstretched as if she expected she might somehow catch her older sister if she toppled.
Hazel’s voice was so sharp it cut through the air like a thrown dagger. “What are you doing!?”
Both girls screamed. The tower wobbled. Patience flailed.
Chastity clung to the chandelier chain with one hand and shrieked. “Hazel! Don’t shout! You nearly killed me!”
“Inearly killedyou?” Hazel sputtered. “Why are you climbing the furniture like circus performers?!”
Chastity, still dangling dangerously, pointed with her free hand. “Patience dropped Mama’s bracelet into the chandelier bowl, and we were trying to get it out!”
Patience gasped. “That is not true!Youwere the one who said it looked dusty and insisted on cleaning it!”
“I didn’t know it was that high!”
Hazel groaned, pressing a hand over her eyes. “Both of you, get down, carefully.”
Chastity made a helpless noise. “I would, but if I let go of the chain, I will fall to my death, and you will feel terrible forever.”
“You are two feet from the floor.”
“Still fatal,” Chastity insisted.
Hazel rolled her eyes and moved forward, adjusting the stools with efficient, practiced movements.
“Patience, take her hand. Chastity, step down, butslowly, not theatrically. One foot at a time.”
The extraction was clumsy, chaotic, and accompanied by dramatic wails, but within a minute, both sisters were safely on solid ground.
Hazel adjusted her skirts, took a steadying breath, and asked, in her calmest voice. “Why, precisely, did neither of you come to find me?”
Patience looked sheepish. “Because… we thought you were… resting?”
Chastity nodded quickly. “Yes, and you looked very tired, and we thought we could spare you the ordeal.”
Hazel stared at them. “Spare me the ordeal by nearly killing yourselves?”
“Exactly,” Chastity said proudly.
