“Who is that?” she asked Nolwynn.
“Don’t mind her,” said Nolwynn, but Alison was already walking around the campfire towards the young woman.
Alison’s mind reeled. Keir had never mentioned a sister, but who else could she possibly be? She looked a bit younger than Alison and taller, not as tall as Keir or his father, but not far from it either.
“Leave me alone,” said the young woman as Alison approached. “I don’t wish to speak with you.”
“Who are you? Are you Keir’s sister?”
The young woman winced at the name as if Alison had slapped her across the face. “Stay away from him too. You don’t know him.”
“Alison, you don’t need to do this. I know this isn’t why you’ve come,” said Nolwynn, fluttering upwards on iridescent wings to come between them.
“I appreciate your concern, Nolwynn, but I need to know. Keir and I are together. If there’s something I need to know about him, I need one of you to tell me.”
She looked up at the korrigan, defiant. She did not doubt Keir, but there was clearly something about him she didn’t know, and she intended to find out what it was.
Nolwynn sighed, flying beside the young woman to place her tiny hand on her shoulder. “I think you should tell her, love. She deserves to know who the man she’s with truly is.”
The young woman composed herself, her features returning to neutrality in a way that was alarming familiar. It was exactly the same face Keir made when he regained control over his emotions.
“My name is Charlotte Ainsley, but I was born with a different name,” she said. “I lived there in that house with him as a child. I am his sister.”
Alison could not, would not, believe that Keir would have concealed an entire sibling from her.
And then she realized that he hadn’t.
“Danny?”
Chapter Seventeen
RULES MEANT FOR BREAKING
Rinka
As Rinka and Idris made their way up the lane to Weldan House, Idris offered her advice on passing as nobility.
“First, confidence is everything. Courtiers are not accustomed to being questioned, and while it can be good sport to put particularly unpleasant folks on the defensive, it’s best to just smile politely at whatever nonsense is said to you. Then as long as you say your nonsense with conviction, they’ll do the same in return. You can openly contradict yourself in conversation, and as long as you say it with gusto, no one will dare to reveal you.”
“But they’ll gossip behind my back, won’t they?” asked Rinka. She was starting to get nervous about this entire idea. What if she said or did the wrong thing and they threw her in the dungeon like they often did at the picture show?
“Of course, but they’ll do that no matter what you do,” said Idris. “Remember that no matter what they have to say about you, it won’t be as bad as what they say about me.”
“A small comfort,” said Rinka. “What else?”
“Second, you mustn’t speak with the servants unless absolutely necessary. You don’t need to be cruel to them, but they have a lot of work to do, and you’ll get them in trouble if youtake up too much of their time. And be careful of what you do say to them—they’re liable to gossip as much as the people they serve.”
“I really don’t need or want anyone waiting on me hand and foot,” said Rinka. “I’ve taken care of myself for years. I can light my own fires and clean my own chamber pot and cook my own meals.”
“You absolutely will not do any of those things unless you want to be discovered immediately,” said Idris. “You will not dress yourself or wash yourself or even comb your own hair. Because you’re not traveling with a maid, one from the house will be assigned to you while you stay. Let her do her job without any trouble, for both of your sakes.”
“Can’t I just tell them not to bother?”
“No!” Idris sighed, stopping in the middle of the gravel lane. “If you don’t want to do this, you don’t have to, you know. We can still see each other some. As long as I attend the most important things, I can get away without doing the rest.”
Rinka did want to see what it was like, she had to admit to herself. She felt uncomfortable with being waited on, especially knowing how hard the work must be, and she felt nervous about the deception, but as Weldan House came into view in all of its glory, she could not resist the opportunity to find out what it was like to live inside its opulent walls.
“Fine,” said Rinka. “I’ll let the servants do their work. What else?”
