“He’ll be as quiet as a mouse.”
Lady Ruan gave me an apologetic look.
Tears welled up in my eyes. They came easily as I channeled the damsels of the romance books I had read. “Being separated from my betrothed has been unspeakably difficult, not to mention the chaos of the other night.” I sniffled. “If only my brother could be allowed to engage in his interests. Seeing him happy would greatly improve my mood.”
“Oh. You poor thing,” Lady Ruan said, tutting as I dabbed the tears dripping down my cheeks. “I’m sure I can make an exception. Where is your brother so I may tell him?”
Maddox leaned over from the other side of the door, making the matronly woman jump. “Here,” he said, flashing a smile. “Thank you for your generosity, Lady Ruan. I do hope to work here once I become a theatrical engineer.”
She tittered. “Of course. I will send for you when the time comes, dear.”
We watched her leave until she disappeared around the corner.
Maddox raised a brow. “Are you alright?”
My face was still dripping. I sniffed and hastily wiped the tears away, dampening my sleeves with salty blotches. Perhaps the lie I told Lady Ruan had some ring of truth.
“I’m fine,” I said to my brother. I took a deep breath. “Well, that’s the first part of the plan. What now?”
“Now,” Maddox said with a sigh, “we find Giselle.”
35
We found Giselle stuffingher enchanted bag with the contents of her room. She glared as Maddox and I came through the door.
“What are you doing?” he asked, appalled, as Giselle crammed her box of sewing supplies into her satchel.
“I’m leaving.” She ran a hand through her disheveled hair, loose from its usual braid.
Maddox blocked her as she reached for an ornate candlestick that certainly wasn’t hers. “What? Why?”
Giselle glared, eyes flashing. “I am fed up with serving royalty,” she said. Her acorn pin was missing from her bodice. “Your sister is heartbroken and impossible to reason with and the royals left without me after claiming I was one of the best on the committee. Plus, they’re too idiotic to figure out who is behind all of this. And nobody appreciates my outfits!”
The seamstress sidestepped Maddox and grabbed a candlestick, snapping it in half with the sheer force of the action, and stuffed the pieces into her bag. I had never seen her so incensed.
“You can’t just pack up and leave,” he sputtered. “You have a job!”
