Lady Cabril moved towards Ashlin, wrapping an arm around her shoulders. “You poor child.” She reached down towards the piece of glass.
Ashlin quickly closed her fingers, not willing to part with the one piece of her real mother she had left. Her childhood memories were hazy at best, mostly generated from the stories her father had told her.
She thought she felt her stepmother tense for a moment, but it must have been her imagination. The older woman moved her hand back to Ashlin’s shoulder and gently guided her towards the kitchen. “Come, my dear. It’s time to talk about you.”
Surprised by the gentleness in her stepmother’s voice, Ashlin let herself be led back to the kitchen.
“I know this year has been hard on you. It’s been hard on all of us.” Stepping into the kitchen, her stepmother stopped. The stone floor was still covered in pieces of glass. She dropped her hands from Ashlin’s shoulders and skirted around the edge of the room to retrieve the broom. “But together, we will all get through this. Our best hope...”
As she was speaking, she swept at the glass, but her awkward stroke merely flung the particles farther across the room. Ashlin reached out for the broom, dropping the precious piece of textured glass into her apron pocket. Her stepmother moved out of the way.
“Our only hope is that Stasiya can catch the eye of a rich young nobleman,” she continued. “She is quite beautiful, you know.”
Ashlin focused on the broom, not sure how this discussion pertained to her.
“That is where you come in. With your job at the palace, you can get her an invitation to the prince’s ball.”
“The prince’s ball?”
“Yes, yes. It was announced this morning. But of course, it is only for those of noble birth. And while Stasiya’s father, my dear Jacques...” She paused for a long sigh. “...could have purchased this entire city, he was not from one of the approved families. For now, though, we must do all we can to protect Stasiya’s chances, mustn’t we?”
Ashlin nodded. Her father, Lord Cabril, had been a nobleman, which made her part of the nobility. And her stepmother had become part of the nobility when she had wed him. But the same inclusion did not apply to Stasiya, since neither of her parents were noble at the time of her birth.
Lady Cabril tugged on a rarely used door against the back wall of the kitchen. After a few firm pulls, it opened to a small room that was meant to be used by the scullery maid. “You must play your part so well that the beautifulLadyStasiya is never harmed by the fact that her sister is merely a palace servant.” Her stepmother had been methodically lifting the blanket, books, and sewing basket from the kitchen table and depositing them into the scullery maid’s room.
Ashlin had brushed the debris into a small pile in the corner. She dropped the broom and followed her stepmother, trying to fully fathom what she was insinuating. The small room was barely more than a closet. It held a small bed in the corner. The old mattress gave off the scent of rotting hay, and the only window, a tiny square, had long since been boarded over.
“Isn’t this a little extreme?” Ashlin asked, turning to follow her stepmother back into the kitchen. “How will anyone know what happens inside our house since we are too poor to entertain guests?”
“It’s only temporary, my dear,” her stepmother said. “I’m sure Stasiya will be dripping in suitors after the ball, and then we can all be a family again. We can go back to the way things were. But until then, I must implore you to play this part. It is just too risky...” She paused. She had noticed the folded brown wool sitting near the washbasin. It was streaked with mud and straw. Grasping a corner, she shook it open. Two gold coins rolled to the floor.
“What is the meaning of this?” Lady Cabril’s entire demeanor changed, and Ashlin wanted to run back into the miserable excuse for a bedroom she had just been advocating against.
Ashlin cowered backwards. “It’s... I can explain. The wool will wash out quite easily!”
“Were you hiding coin from me, girl? After all I’ve done to house and feed you?” The tall woman stepped towards her, and Ashlin cowered back.
“No, no! I was going to give it to you, but with working at the palace yesterday I forgot.”
“Where did it come from?”
“There were... two young men here in the storm two nights ago, and they merely wanted to sleep in the barn. They left the coin in payment.” Ashlin thought it was safer to not mention the fact that the two young men were the crown prince and his brother.
“You see?” Her stepmother’s voice was higher pitched than usual. “This is why we must take extreme measures. Did you bother to think what having two young men sleeping on our premises would mean for your sister’s reputation?”
“I could not turn them out in the storm. No one will ever know.”
“Unless these two young men go around telling everyone that we are running a hostel!”
“I don’t think they will tell...”
“You do not think. That is the problem. I will not have you risk the future and happiness of your sister.”
“It won’t happen again.” Ashlin’s voice was reduced to a whisper.
“There won’t be a chance for it to happen again.” Her stepmother dropped the wool to the ground and turned to the door.
“But, Stepmother...”
