Nothing happened. I shifted and slipped my crystal out of my nightgown. Magic pulsated underneath the smooth surface.
I knew now that there was eucalyptus oil in the perfume meant to calm nerves. But it still did not move. I analyzed the bottle, squinting for details in the darkness which the moonlight barely chased away. It was skinny at the top and fatter at the bottom, like a pear. The glass had a textured surface and the knob at the top of it was a perfect, smooth sphere.
I thought about tipping the bottle over by its skinny top. Magic thrummed in the crystal. The perfume bottle wobbled.
I smiled so widely my cheeks ached. The bottle did not tip over and it certainly hadn’t moved the direction I wanted it to, but it did not discourage me any less. It was a start, and more importantly, it was a sign—a sign that I was capable.
The next morning, I woke up with dry eyes and sore cheeks and a plethora of misplaced items on the vanity.
“Why are you smiling?” Genevieve asked as she helped me into my dress. Her brow raised when she caught my gaze in the mirror.
I only grinned. “I think I’m actually getting good at something.”
20
Between the four wingsof the palace was a sprawling square of space with trimmed lawns and flourishing flower hedges. It was there we gathered the next morning beneath a large gazebo.
“Now, I want all of you to pair up,” Lady Hortensia said, projecting her high-pitched voice. “There are eight boats, so only sixteen can go at a time.”
In the center of all the greenery was an enormous man-made pond, bordered by tastefully arranged rocks and willow trees. A row of canoes bobbed near the edge, awaiting pairs of debutantes and young men for a morning of rowing and mingling.
“Actually ma’am, there are twelve boats,” Edward Thornbrush piped up, his cheeks as red and freckled as ever.
Lady Hortensia smiled at him, an expression that did not flatter her heavily powdered face.
This morning she was dressed in a gown of gauzy fabric, not unlike Miriam’s shawls, embroidered with iridescent butterflies. It was almost blinding in the dappled sunlight. I glanced behind her shoulder and caught a glimpse of Ash standing in the shadows.
“The pond is only so large, Edward,” Lady Hortensia said with a girlish giggle. “If we use all twelve there will be no semblance of privacy.”
Olivia whimpered next to me. I couldn’t blame her. The woman was making a chaperoned event sound like an excuse to canoodle.
“Don’t worry. I’m sure your brother will go with you if you’re nervous,” I said. Cedric was also in the crowd of young men, made obvious by his height and lack of gold ribbon. Though from the glances he was throwing at Genevieve, he may have regretted not having one.
Tori stuck her head out from behind my stepsister. “But you’ll deprive the poor man of Genevieve’s company,” she said, voicing my thoughts.
“Tori!” Genevieve said, her face pink.
