Chapter Thirty-Nine Malcontent, Misanthrope, Menace
CHAPTER THIRTY-NINE
Malcontent, Misanthrope, Menace
A scandal beyond all scandals.
The tale of a highborn traitor.
In a Silverborn family swarming with spoiled but celebrated sisters, wayward child Madeleine Malcontent fears she must make a name for herself, lest she get swallowed in the hive and forgotten.
But how? She will never be as coolly cunning as her eldest sister, the notorious ice queen Marguerite. Not as clever as Marianne, nor as loveable as Marceline. Seething in the shadows, is she destined to forever be known as Madeleine Mediocre, Madeleine Middling or worse – Madeleine Unmemorable?
Upon graduating from her prestigious finishing school with no distinguishing honours to speak of, the resentful Miss Malcontent makes a radical choice that will not only smear her family’s good name and ruin her own reputation forever …
It may ultimately cost her life.
Morrigan zoomed through the blurb on the back of the book, whispering the words aloud until the last sentence got stuck in her throat.
She flipped to the front cover, feeling her blood boil. Who was this author, this Hillary D’Boer, and what did she know about Meredith Darling? How was it fair – how was it legal ! – to draw Morrigan’s mother as this awful caricature, this resentful and wayward ‘Madeleine Malcontent’, when she wasn’t even alive to defend herself?
Had Meredith really seethed in the shadows of her sisters? Had she run away to the Wintersea Republic just to avoid being unmemorable ?
No, Morrigan decided. Noelle obviously wanted her to read this stupid book and believe every word. To get upset, and feel ashamed of her mother’s past. But D’Boer was just a petty gossip who traded in cheap tabloid stories, she knew that.
Still. Morrigan was so hungry to learn anything about her mother, even if it came from dubious origins, that she also knew she’d devour it cover to cover. Part of her wanted to run back to Darling House there and then, to hide under the blankets and read all night.
But she refused to give Noelle the satisfaction. She would march back to the Glade with her head high, spend the rest of the night dancing with Louis and Lottie, and make sure Nasty Noelle Devereaux saw how much she had NOT ruined her night.
Wrapping the torn paper around the book again as best she could, she flung the willow branches aside with a flick of her Wundrous reach and stormed out, only to run headfirst into Aunt Margot.
‘ There you are, Morrigan darling!’ she cried. ‘I’ve been looking everywhere for you. Are you all right, dear? You look upset.’
‘I’m … uh, fine.’ She tried to transform her furious grimace into a smile, without much success. ‘I just needed some fresh air.’
‘Oh! Someone’s given you a gift.’ Aunt Margot’s eyes were fixed on the badly rewrapped paperback. ‘How lovely. May I see it?’
‘Oh no, it’s nothing—’
But before Morrigan could stop her, Aunt Margot plucked Madeleine Malcontent from her hands, letting the torn brown paper fall to the ground. Her face went unnervingly still.
‘Where did you get this?’ she demanded, all the warmth in her voice instantly evaporating.
‘I found it.’ The instinctive lie was out of Morrigan’s mouth before she’d even thought about it, but Aunt Margot didn’t buy it for a second.
‘That Devereaux girl was underneath the tree with you,’ she said sharply. ‘Noelle gave it to you, didn’t she?’
Morrigan frowned. Had her aunt been waiting outside the willow to pounce the moment she emerged? Was she listening to their conversation?
Aunt Margot didn’t wait for an answer. ‘These books are poison, Morrigan, filled with poisonous words written by a poisonous pen, and this – this Madeleine Malcontent ,’ she spat out the words like bad medicine, ‘is the worst of them all. Why would you wish to dishonour our family by reading this?’
‘I wasn’t … I’m not trying to dishonour … and I haven’t read it! Well, just the blurb, but I didn’t—’
‘You will never read this vile, wicked, libellous filth! Do you understand?’ Aunt Margot hissed. Shaking with anger, eyes blazing, she tore the paperback into two pieces, right down the centre of the spine. ‘I said, DO YOU UNDERSTAND ?’
Morrigan nodded, feeling as if she’d been slapped.
Then, as suddenly as Aunt Margot’s temper had erupted, it cooled.
‘Very well then,’ she said, lowering her voice and smoothing an imaginary wrinkle in her dress. Morrigan thought she saw a flicker of regret or embarrassment in her eyes. ‘We’ll say no more—’
‘You FOUND her!’ came an elated shout from Aunt Miriam, and suddenly they were surrounded by Darlings. Morrigan felt a wrench as she saw Aunt Margot tuck the two halves of the book hastily into a pocket of her dress.
‘Hurry, hurry !’ giggled a giddy Aunt Modestine, grabbing her eldest sister’s hand and pulling her back towards the Glade. Winifred and Miriam each looped an arm through Morrigan’s, buzzing with excitement. ‘The grand finale’s about to begin!’
‘No, Modestine, I think I ought to go home,’ Aunt Margot protested. ‘Someone needs to check on Mama.’
‘Oh, go and dance with your sisters, darling,’ said Uncle Tobias. ‘I’ll take care of Mama.’
He leaned down to kiss her, but Aunt Margot turned away, a flash of residual anger crossing her face. Without another word she let Modestine lead her away, leaving Tobias looking hurt and confused.
Morrigan glared at Aunt Margot as she followed her into the Glade, already plotting a way to steal Madeleine Malcontent back – she didn’t care if it was ripped down the middle, she would read that book.
‘Morningtide’s child is merry and mild …’
She felt the hum of Wunder in her fingertips. If she was careful, if she let her reach snake slowly out beyond her while Aunt Margot was dancing, she might just be able to—
A faint groan escaped Morrigan and she stopped abruptly, watching in dismay as her aunt dumped the book unceremoniously into one of the bonfires as she passed. Its pages curled to black, and in seconds they were gone.