“Maybe the old bat needed a servant and decided to take Amarante,” Rowena said.
Theodora turned me around as if, once again, looking for fatal wounds. “Are you alright, then? We tried to write last week, but your stepmother sent the staff into a frenzy.”
Rowena chuckled. “Somehow she found out that Master Flora is returning and insisted on cleaning every inch of the house. He won’t arrive for another month, for goodness sake,” she said. She pinched my cheek and widened her eyes. “My! Your witch traits have emerged!”
My stomach twisted at the mention of Papa’s return, but I masked it with a shrug and a smile. “Yes. And I have been doing fine. Lana gave me something to keep my magic under control,” I said, lifting the crystal from my bodice.
My nannies exchanged a look so quickly I barely noticed. I thought I detected a hint of sadness in Theodora’s lined eyes. “Well, dear, I’m glad you are doing well. Just remember, you can come to us anytime. If you no longer wish to learn magic...” she trailed off, but I shook my head.
I wasn’t going to quit my apprenticeship any time soon—not after everything I’ve seen, and especially not after what I had learned from Erasmus’s investigation. If this morning wasn’t evidence enough, Ash didn’t have a chance finding what that poison was. It was up to me.
After a warm goodbye, I returned to the Strongfoots’ just in time for lunch. Lord Strongfoot was still bothered by Captain Greenwood’s framing, but he seemed to regain a bit of his cheeriness when he told us what he had heard at the palace.
“They say Her Majesty is recovering mighty fine,” Lord Strongfoot grumbled over his roasted turkey leg. “Maybe once she’s well she’ll pardon the captain.”
I doubted that’d be the case, but no one dared to contradict him lest he wither into stormy depression again.
After dinner, I lay in bed and stewed over Ash’s plan. We had gone over it several times, but I was still uneasy.
Whether or not it would truly expose the duchess, we would have to wait and see.
18
“So, what are you doingagain?” Tori whispered in my ear. I barely made out her words over Julianna’s operatic singing.
The crate on my lap shifted as I leaned over in my seat. “You’ll find out.”
Tori winced when Julianna hit an inhumanly high note that reverberated within the theatre. Even Genevieve, who had high tolerance for opera, grimaced. Olivia pulled her braids over her ears. When at last Julianna ended her song with a powerful vibrato, the theatre erupted in applause, concluding the first performance of the evening.
Madam Lucille emerged from the velvet curtains as Julianna curtsied low.
“Wonderful, simply wonderful! What a voice!” she exclaimed, giving Julianna an appraising look. Julianna tossed her hair as she returned to her box, which was unfortunately in front of mine.
“You were amazing, Julianna,” Samantha gushed, bunching up her skirts to let her pass.
Julianna sat primly, smoothing her satin gloves as she was bombarded with compliments from the girls in her box. She was awfully pleased with herself for someone who had damaged multiple pairs of ears.
