“That I should be so easily swayed by copper?” she asked.
“No!” I cried. “No! I misspoke again!”
“Then whatdidyou mean, Svana?” she asked. Her tongue rolled against her teeth in a conniving, harmed manner. “Go on. Say it. If there’s one thing I can do, it’s take a beating.”
“I, I meant… Please, Jocelyn, for the love of God and all things holy, eliminate me from this discussion. Go and speak to Ser Willoughby yourself. I beg you. I am only ruining it all.”
She leaned into the desk, then lifted the mask from it and handed it over. “I will speak to Ser Willoughby only if you declare that I must or if you intend to disclose my widowhood. I’d rather the shock come from me than from you.”
“I…” I collected the disguise. “I’m so sorry for your loss.”
“One man’s curse is another’s blessing,” she said.
“I won’t… I, I’m not trying to share your secrets,” I said. “I don’t care that you were married. I just think that… Miss Josie, did your husband hurt you?”
She didn’t reply.
“I would not lie to you,” I said. “Ser Willoughby said specifically that he loved you and that he always had.”
“He did?”
“Yes. He said that he traveled with me to Chalke because he knew that you would be here. That sort of feeling doesn’t just vanish at the first sight of…” I searched her body for scars. “...harm.”
“Stop it, Svana,” she said.
I felt ashamed and looked down, adding, “He said that his father was angry with him for evading an engagement previously and that he… Oh, now I’m spilling everything!” I groaned. “Iambad at keeping secrets! I don’t mean to be! I just want you two to have a conversation and to be happy!”
Jocelyn swallowed. “He saidspecificallythat he loved me? Loved? He said that word?”
“Yes!” I stomped. “Now, please! Release me from this cyclone of disappointment and just go speak to him yourself!”
Her demeanor changed and she flipped to check her reflection in the glass. “Do I look alright?” she asked.
“I feel like I should lie to you since you threatened to ruin my hair,” I told her. “But I feel so bad.”
She cocked her head. “Is that the path you wish to take?”
“No,” I told her. “No, and I’m really concerned you said I should fear you.”
Josie offered half a grin. “You know, wecouldlet it down tonight? Might make you a little more mysterious in that room. Everyone would be looking for the braid.”
“Will you make it look good, or bad?” I asked. “I’m not sure I should trust your sudden and new ideas.”
“I am not a magician, Svana. I could not make you look bad even if it were my intention.”
She had me sit and unpinned the back of my braid. It cascaded, long over my shoulders, and to my surprise, it lookedrightfor once. When we put the mask on, its white feathers clashed with my dark locks.
“But for what it’s worth, I think it looks pretty,” she said.
I looked at her over my shoulder. “What happened to your husband?”
“He’s dead, Svana,” she said.
“Yes, but...Did you…?”
She rolled her eyes. “No, Your Highness. I did notkillmy husband.”
“It was just a question,” I said. “Some wives kill their husbands. If he was abusing you, I–”
