Blanche was putting the finishing touches on her hair when I arrived at her door.
“Oh, great,” Annette sighed. “Here to show me up again, are you?”
“Annette, be nice,” Blanche reproached with a frown. She walked over to me and twirled in place. “What do you think?”
She wore a pink dress gleaming with beads and trimmed with fringe. The neckline plunged a little more than was probably proper for society, but I wasn’t going to point that out. In all honesty, I didn’t think the color did her many favors, but she was such a beautiful creature that I doubted it would make any difference.
“I think you’ll be the belle of the ball once more,” I said, inclining my head. “Good work, Annette.”
Annette met my eyes and gave me a begrudging nod, even deigning to smile.
Blanche’s eyes shone. “It’s so exciting, isn’t it? So many handsome young men begging to dance with me. And oh, how I love to dance.” She demonstrated by waltzing across the room, laughing as she fell onto her bed. She held up her feet and Annette obliged by slipping her shoes on. “And how does my brother look?”
“Perfect, of course,” I replied dryly. “Idressed him.”
Annette snorted, and Blanche rolled her eyes.
“I’ll be damned if I let that smug prig outshine me.” Blanche grinned, standing and fussing over her hair for a moment. “Well, wish me luck, darlings.”
“You hardly need any,” I told her.
Blanche blew me a kiss and shimmied from the room.
Annette and I remained staring after her for a moment. “She can be exhausting.”
I laughed. “She is full of energy.”
“Spirited.”
We exchanged amused looks.
“Do you like working here?” I ventured to ask.
Annette raised an eyebrow. “Why? Having second thoughts now that you’ve secured your big promotion?”
“I wasn’t gunning for a promotion. But the Montoni family is intense, wouldn’t you agree?”
“Well, Count Montoni is,” Annette acknowledged. “But Blanche and Henri are good kids.” She cocked her head. “I can’t speak for being a valet, but being a lady’s maid is a good job. You get to see the world. It’s probably the best either of us will ever get, given our lot.”
“I didn’t mean to sound ungrateful. I was curious how you found it here.”
Annette pursed her lips. “There are some oddities.”
“The gold cutlery.”
“The gold cutlery,” Annette agreed, an impish smile flashing over her lips. “But more than that. You’ll find out later this week, I’m sure. The staff will be given the evening off, but we’ll remain on to wait on Henri and Blanche. And the doctor will see to Montoni.”
“That’s rather generous.” I paused, eyes narrowing. “The doctor will be here? You mean the monk?”
“Yes. The family gets sick, you see. The doctor comes around and … my, he makes my spine tingle.”
“They get sick?”
“Yes. I think it’s something the doctor gives them. It’s supposed to be cleansing, I think, and they sweat it out all night.” She waved a hand. “It’s an odd quirk; puts me on edge.”
I frowned. “Yes. I’d imagine it does.” Perhaps there was more to this than it seemed. Perhaps the leverage I sought would be found during one of these nights. With the château all but empty, it would give me the perfect opportunity to poke around without prying eyes.
“And of course, there’s Udolpho Castle. It’s never fun to venture to that infernal place.”
