Amiable, all of them. They walked on ice to please me.
They’d give me anything I wanted, and why? For what? Money. Opportunity. Absolutely nothing to do with merely wanting to host and befriend me. My mind started to snap, like the final threads in an old rope worn too thin. For once, I just wanted to be treated like someone who had nothing to give.
I cleared my throat of a sudden thickness. What good would it do, wishing to be anything other than I was? I couldn’t change to whom I’d been born. And honestly, despite it all, I did not want to.
“Thank you,” I said, lifting my chin like I always did when I felt uncertain. A trick Papa had taught me. “Yes, I shall break my fast.” Then the perfect plan formed in my head as though the devil himself had concocted it. I turned toGraham. “And afterward, I would like Miss Tabitha to join us on our explorations. Please do see that she is ready.”
“Oh, no,” Mrs. Everett said—pleaded, almost. “Tabitha must rest. She is quite out of sorts this morning.”
Was she out of sorts? Or was she exactly as she should be? I held my gaze against Graham’s, who’d gone pale. “I should really like her to join us.”
He swallowed, his nostrils flaring with what surely was frustration at my adamancy. He did not wish for his little sister to cause a fuss. But I wanted the company of someone who did not treat me like a polished thing. Someone who would speak their mind and opinions openly and truthfully without thought to consequence, and certainly without backhanded, two-faced kindness.
Graham nodded. “I shall have her prepared to leave at once.”
I hugged my notebook close. “Perfect.”
ChapterNine
Graham
Harriet had earned her wages twice over with how presentable she’d made Tabs. Her face was clean, her blond hair elegantly curled and trailing down the back of her freshly pressed brown day dress. On the outside, she looked as fancy and well-behaved as any nobleman’s little sister.
But on the inside ...
She’d taken Anna’s hand and smiled up at her with the innocent look of a child, and Anna had allowed it, strolling along beside her with the ease and comfort of a sister, which she was most certainly not. Their straw hats were unsettlingly similar. Both laced with blue ribbon and white flowers like they’d been paired together on purpose.
My shock from this morning still lingered, of seeing Anna sitting up against her bedframe, hair messy and tangled, with Tabs on her bed, completely oblivious to propriety and social etiquette. I rubbed my temples for the millionth time, as though doing so could erase the sharp edges of how I’d stood there like an utter fool, desperate to hide within the deepest hole but forced to wait out Tabs’s slow retreat from Anna’s bed.
Anna’sbed.I shouldn’t know what she looked like, cheekswarm and eyes still soft from sleep, all wrapped up in her covers. I could hardly look at her without picturing that moment and wondering things ... things an honorable man shouldn’t.
Why would she invite Tabs? What game was she playing at? She’d clearly seen Tabs at her wildest this morning, so I could only deduce that Anna meant to encourage my little sister into even worse behavior. More gossip to write about in her notebook, more stories to tell her father upon his return, more reasons against investing in Brighton. I could still sense her disapproval from this morning. With every interaction, she looked at me with disdain, her responses curt and annoyed. I might never gain her approval, but I’d give her no reason to think less of my family. Especially my youngest sister.
A few steps behind them, I strained my ears to listen to their conversation.
“... beautiful day. The sun should warm us up nicely,” Anna said.
Tabs gave her a wide grin. “What do you imagine has washed up on the shore?”
“I could not begin to guess. What are you hopeful for?”
“A dead prawn?” Tabs side-eyed Anna to gauge her reaction. “Or perhaps a live adder.”
But Anna did not miss a beat. “I used to long for those same things when I was your age. But now I am rather afraid of adders. If we come upon one, we should make your brother capture it for us.”
“Graham? He is not brave enough to catch an adder.”
“I beg your pardon,” I interjected.
Tabs looked over her shoulder at me with a lazy flick of her eyes, still put out with me for the lecture I’d given her forintruding on Anna this morning. “What is it?” She feigned ignorance.
I cleared my throat, trying to regain some control of this strange outing. “Should there be an adder, or even a dead fish, we should steer clear of it and focus on the purpose of our day, which is to show Miss Lane Brighton’s beauty.”
“What isn’t beautiful about an adder?” Tabs argued. “They are colorful and sleek and move so gracefully. Don’t they, Anna?”
“Miss Lane,” I corrected her.
Tabs rolled her eyes at me from a half-hearted turn of her head. “I have permission, obviously, brother.”
