‘Your face is pink.’
Bisma scowled. ‘So is yours.’ She gave a pointed look in Haru’s direction, and he consequently looked away.
Luna made an outraged sound, giving Bisma anoh-my-god-you-are-so-embarrassinglook quintessential for a fifteen-year-old.
‘Let’s go,’ Bisma said, carrying her baskets under one elbow, so she could hold Deeba with the other.
‘Bajiiii,’ Deeba cooed, latching onto Bisma’s side. Her little fingers played with the end of one of Bisma’s gold baliyan as they made their exit.
Luna waved to Haru, then skipped out behind Bisma.
As they made their way through the square, Luna giggled, her baskets swaying. She was happy and carefree, and Bisma didn’t have the heart to tell her to act unhappy. Instead, Bisma glared at anyone who so much as glanced at the girls.
Luckily, Bisma was scary enough for all three of them.
10
The cause of Mei’s sickness remained a mystery, which frustrated Bisma to no end. She wrote about it to her new friend, an act she was growing increasingly fond of.
She loved her sisters more than anything in the world, but they could be a handful. Writing to her friend was something that was all her own, and she’d always had an inclination for secrets, something that had gotten her into plenty of trouble in the past. But this was different, she told herself. This was safe, comfortable.
More days passed in an uneventful blur. Bisma sent Luna and Azalea to town to do errands, for there was simply too much to be done at home. Bisma had not finished her new poison orders yet, so she spent most of her time in the garden (when she wasn’t doing chores or being in charge, of course).
However, this morning she came to the garden early, before any of the girls were awake, hoping to finish off the last of the orders and go to town to deliver them, all before lunch.
She walked across the stepping stones in her garden, looking for certain ingredients. She spotted the old mehndi plant, which was withering away. She looked down at her hands, which had been bare for a few days now.
With a quick bit of magic, she renewed the mehndi plant, then plucked the leaves to make powder later, after which she would mix it into a paste with sugar, essential oil, and water.
After she finished with the last of the poisons, she went up to the treehouse to check on the girls who had awoken. She went to give Deeba a cuddle, feeding her some kaju barfi, which Bisma had made the day before by grinding and kneading cashew nuts into a dough.
She popped a piece into her own mouth, accompanying it with the milky tea Luna had just made, before heading out.
Once she’d finished dropping off the orders, she was glad she did not have errands to run, for the town was exceptionally busy, even busier than it had been a few days ago.
She was glad, too, that she’d come alone today. Anxiety prickled through her.
Everyone seemed to be there, waiting for something. The square was full of people of all ages and backgrounds—rich and poor alike—and Bisma realized that today was when Xander’s uncle, that famous architect from Whitebridge, was arriving. There was a stage at the front of the square in front of the mayor’s office, and it was decorated with banners and ribbons.
Drat.She should have come yesterday and avoided this entire affair, but she hadn’t finished in time.
Frederick Chapman was probably the most famous architect in all Fairendelle, for he had designed, at the king’s special request, the renovations of the castle in the capital city of Castletown. Beyond that, he was known for his plans to improve the old cities of Crownley, the province which held Castletown, Whitebridge, and Old Town.
Old Town was one of the only remaining towns in the capital province that had not yet been redesigned, which was why Old Town remained, well,old. Despite attempts, the main reason Old Town could not expand was because of the Enchanted Forest.
It could not be tamed, so that land remained untouched, whereas with other villages, they’d had cut into the surrounding forests for their expansion plans.
Bisma felt smug about that, at least. No one could hurt the Enchanted Forest. No matter how many people had tried over the years, the Forest could not be felled.
Perhaps Frederick’s plans were to expand west, but there Crownley lands bled into the province of Huntington, and inter-province politics usually stopped such expansions from taking place. Perhaps they had come to an agreement or found a loophole?
She wondered what, exactly, Frederick was planning, and it was this curiosity that made her linger on the edge of the square, watching. A man, who could only be Frederick himself, left the hotel front and was met by the mayor, Lady Charlotte.
He bowed toward her, then kissed her hand. Lady Charlotte was an older woman with her long hair in twists and dark skin. She wore a long gown, and beside her stood Xander’s mother, Eleanora, who was also dressed in a long gown with gorgeous beading, her hair pulled up into a beautifully braided crown. She looked even more regal than when Bisma had seen her last, in Xander’s greenhouse.
The wealthy did not mind wearing dresses so long that the hems tracked six inches deep with mud; such mess meant nothing to them. On the contrary, Bisma and her sisters always wore dresses that fell six inches above their ankles to avoid getting them dirty. Of course, they had to do all the washing themselves, and did not have new dresses to wear every day.
As Eleanora moved to stand with Frederick, Bisma mentally slapped herself for not making the connection sooner. They were brother and sister! Xander had mentioned Fredrick was his uncle, but she hadn’t realized how close the relation was.
