2
“Iamnotgoing, Father!”
“Yes you are and that is final! Honestly, you’re acting like it’s a public beheading instead of a...”
I jerked up, squinting at the watery beam of sunlight slicing through my curtains. Misty was curled up next to me, unbothered by the shouting in the hall.
“Oh! Good morning, milady,” came a tremulous voice.
“Tizzy,” I said to my maid. She stood at the far corner, furiously wiping down the top of my vanity and avoiding eye contact. A stray curl popped out of her bonnet as she worked. I was too exhausted to dwell on the awkwardness of our relationship. Still, she was a great improvement from my previous maid, Karen, who was as unkind and selfish as could be. Perhaps that was why Mother chose her for me—to have near an example of what she wanted me to be at all times.
“What is going on?” I asked.
“Oh, milady,” Tizzy said, rubbing at a spot on the mirror, “there came a letter from the palace. Invitations to the Winter Solstice Ball, milady. Master Greenwood insists that Young Master Greenwood go and acquaint himself with the Royal Guard, but Young Master Greenwood is unhappy, milady.”
I rubbed my eyes. Father had made several attempts to get Maddox to join the Royal Guard since I moved in. None had been successful, but none had resulted in this much shouting.
“I see.” I eased myself out of bed, wincing at the ache in my neck.
Tizzy gasped when my blankets fell away. “Did you sleep in your day dress, milady?”
I looked down at my gravy-stained skirt. “It appears so.”
“Oh, this won’t do,” she said, setting the rag down. She rushed toward me, but at the last second, took a step back. “M-may I help you out of your dress, milady? And draw you a bath, milady?”
I wondered how “milady” hadn’t already become meaningless to her. “You cannot do both at once,” I said. “Go draw a bath. I’ll be fine.”
Tizzy bobbed a curtsy and scampered off to the washroom. I sighed.
Strange one, that is, Misty meowed.
***
THE SHOUTING DID NOTcease even after my bath. As Tizzy combed my damp hair, Lady Vanessa’s pleading voice joined the masculine bellows.
“You know how he feels about joining the Royal Guard, Maverick. It isn’t for him.”
“Honestly, Vanessa. I cannot believe the way you are coddling that boy! He doesn’t want to join the Guard? Fine. What else does he want to do?”
“I...my love. Maddox just needstime.”
