Chapter Six
Don’t Play the Player
The screeching noise emanating from my stepmother as I walked through the door was something that wouldn’t be out of place in an alleyway full of cats.
“Madam, please calm down.” Caldwell’s voice somehow echoed through the hall. “The young miss isn’t here.”
“Where is she, Caldwell? Find her! She cannot treat my daughter that way!”
“Bella, fetch Father,” I said to her, giving her a gentle shove in the direction of his office. “Go quickly and tell him it’s extremely urgent.”
She bowed her head and darted off in the direction of his office.
“Goodness,” I said, approaching the sitting room. “Mother, whatever is the matter?”
My stepmother snapped her dark gaze onto me.
She was Sophia’s double—or she would be if my sister had any real sex appeal to speak of.
My stepmother was the kind of woman who could wrap a man around her finger in less than five minutes with little more than a look, and even around women, her presence was overwhelming.
Whether it was a good overwhelming or a bad overwhelming was up for debate, depending on your preference.
“How dare you!” My stepmother approached me with her closed fan pointed in my direction. “How dare you humiliate Sophia like that! Look at her!”
I peered around her to where Sophia was sobbing dramatically on the sofa. Good effort, sis. “I have no idea what you’re referring to.”
“The tea party. You deliberately took her place there!”
“Took her place?” I hardened my tone and raised my eyebrows in question. “How could I take her place when the invitation was addressed to me? Although I suppose you’d both know all about taking someone else’s place at a tea party, wouldn’t you?”
Her face distorted with rage, and she raised her hand. “You little—”
“Annalise!” Father’s voice thundered through the air as he stepped in front of me, blocking me from what was sure to be the slap of my life. “What are you doing?”
I glanced back at Bella and gave her a discreet thumbs up.
Right.
Time to ham it up.
“Oh, Father!” I clutched his arm. “I just returned from town and heard Mother shouting at Caldwell, then she started shouting at me about a tea party and raised her hand! I don’t know what I’ve done!”
He rested his hand on top of mine on his forearm. “Annalise, explain what’s happening and why Sophia is making such a show of herself. And Sophia, for Khimos’ sake, do stop that awful racket.”
Sophia’s eyes widened at his admonishment, and I imagine it’s the kind of expression one would make if they’d just been randomly stabbed.
What a drama queen.
My stepmother pressed her fingers to her temple, lowering her fan. “Sophia was invited to Lady Georgina’s tea party today, but she tells me that when she arrived, Alicia was in her seat and there was no place for her.”
I blinked innocently. “But Mother, that can’t be. The invitation was addressed to me.”
Father looked between us. “Alicia did inform me yesterday that she would be visiting the Alansia estate for the tea party. Was there a mix up with the invitations?”
“She must have taken Sophia’s!” My stepmother clenched her jaw.
“Why would I do that?” I asked. “Besides, Lady Georgina was expecting me, but she seemed to have no idea that Sophia was attending. Still, we made space for her so she could join us even though she wasn’t supposed to be there.”
My father sighed. “Alicia…”
“I didn’t take her invitation! I have plenty of my own. Just ask the messenger boys how many I replied to a few days ago! Why would I need to steal Sophia’s?” I gazed up at him pleadingly.
“I suppose nobody has the invitation still to prove it either way.” Father removed his glasses and pinched the bridge of his nose. “Do you—”
“My lord,” Bella squeaked out. “I—I have the invitation.”
We all jerked around to look at her, and she flinched.
“You do?” Father said, gently extricating my hands from his arm. “Is it on your person?”
“Y—yes, my lord.” She reached into her pocket and pulled out a piece of paper.
“I was cleaning in here two days ago and saw some letters addressed to Lady Alicia, so I took them with me. I wasn’t sure of the entry protocols for today, so I made sure to take the invitation with me. I apologise if I overstepped.”
Bella! My darling, my lamb, my little sneaky baby genius!
Father took the invitation from her and opened it, putting his glasses on to read it. “This invitation is addressed to Alicia both inside and out, and it’s got the Alansia seal at the bottom.” He slid his gaze towards Sophia, who now looked more afraid than heartbroken. “Do you have one, Sophia?”
She said nothing.
“Do not make me repeat myself.”
Huh.
So that was where I got it from.
Actually, I’d hated repeating myself in my past life, too, but it was nice to know that I had a little something in common with my father.
Sophia shook her head, and I caught my stepmother clenching her jaw again.
“Then what’s the commotion?” Father looked between them, a hint of ice to his tone. “Alicia attended a tea party she was invited to, and Sophia attended one she was not. It seems the blame for any incident that happened today lies solely with Sophia.”
“She’s been attending in Alicia’s place, darling,” my stepmother said, injecting overt sweetness into her tone. “Since her accident. I thought it was proper for a lady of the house to attend some of the bigger events.”
I tilted my head to the side and touched my fingers to my cheek.
“That’s quite strange. Lady Vivian Trelawney accompanied me to get a dress for the ball after the tea party, and she told me Sophia has been attending events in my stead for a few months, citing that I was suffering from an illness.
I wasn’t aware of it until several days ago when I realised all my invitations were only from low-ranking noble families. ”
The air in the room tightened to an almost suffocating point.
“Annalise, Sophia, we will discuss this later.” Father’s angry gaze swept the room, sending a chill reverberating through it. “Alicia, follow me.”
“Yes, Father.” I turned. “Bella.”
Bella fell into step behind me, and we’d only been gone for mere seconds when a crash came from the vicinity of the sitting room.
Father cricked his neck immediately after, but he didn’t say a word until we got to his office. “Bella, I’d like to speak with you as well.”
“Yes, my lord.”
I reached back and squeezed her hand. He wasn’t angry at us, but that didn’t mean he was any less intimidating.
“Is what you said true?” Father asked me as he sat down at his desk.
I nodded. “Bella went out to run an errand for me a few days ago, and another maid brought me my invitations. They were all from the houses of viscounts or lower. Looking back, I can see that’s been a pattern for a while now.
I asked the maid who sorted my invitations, and she confirmed it was Mother.
She fetched me the others on my request, and they were delivered to me already opened. ”
“How did you get the invitation, Bella?”
An excellent question. “Yes, how did you? I instructed Annie to put them back on the table.”
Bella grimaced. “Annie came to find me after. She was uncomfortable with the situation, so I asked her which ones you were attending and took the letters from the envelopes. I brought it with me today just in case. The invitation from Marchioness Velian that you accepted is hidden in my pillowcase.”
Ha!
Smart.
Although my stepmother ran the household, the one person she couldn’t touch was my personal maid. She wouldn’t be able to punish Bella for this—per my father’s rules, Bella was under my jurisdiction, not my stepmother’s.
“Very well. I will deal with this and make sure Sophia sends a retraction of any attendances she’s already confirmed under your name.” Father scribbled something down. “If Sophia thought she was attending today, what happened to her RSVP?”
“I told Barney the errand boy to get rid of it and that I’d pay him for his troubles,” I said brightly.
He almost looked proud of me for my slyness. “Alicia, you should have come to me. I would have dealt with it.”
“I appreciate the sentiment, Father, but I felt it was something I had to deal with myself.” I bowed my head. “I’m sorry for the trouble it’s caused.”
He waved his hand. “I told you I’ll handle it. Bella, you may return to your duties.”
“Yes, my lord.”
“Please take some refreshments to my room and prepare a bath,” I asked. “But not tea. I’ve had enough of that for today.”
“Yes, my lady.” She curtsied before leaving the room, closing the doors behind her.
Father looked at me. “Well, aside from that small issue, how did the tea party go?”
Oh, were we going to make small talk? Goodie.
“Very well, thank you. You were correct when you said it was a good place for me to start.”
“Of course, I was. Did you say you left with Lady Vivian? Did you manage to find a dress?”
“I did, but not at a boutique. I didn’t have time to get a custom dress ordered, and Lady Vivian said she’d ordered more than one for the spring events, so we went to the Trelawney estate.”
He eyed me. “She gave you a dress?”
“I tried to tell her no, but she insisted. She wouldn’t accept any money, either. She told me to take it as a token of our friendship.”
“She’s engaged to the future head of the Magic Tower, correct?”
“Lord Ivan? Yes. She said they were getting married this autumn.”
He bobbed his head. “She’s an excellent friend for you to have. Did you bring the dress with you?”
“No. One of her maids is a talented seamstress, so she measured me for it. She’s making the necessary alterations, and it should be delivered late tomorrow afternoon.”
“Very well. I will make sure I’m home to receive the delivery myself. I’ll keep it safe until the ball.” He pressed the button on his desk that went directly to Caldwell. “I’ll also instruct that all your letters go to Caldwell, so Bella should retrieve them from him in the future.”
“Thank you.” I paused. “May I ask you for a favour?”
“You may ask.”
“Annie, the maid who retrieved my invitations. Is she a personal maid for anyone?”
“That’s unlikely if she stepped in for Bella.” He met my eyes. “Why?”
“I’m worried Mother may punish her when she was only following my orders. Since I only have Bella, would it be all right if Annie was immediately instated as my second personal maid?”
Father held my gaze for a moment, and he almost looked as if he wanted to say something important, but there was a knock at the door before he could do so. “Enter.”
Caldwell stepped inside. “You called, my lord.”
“Yes.” Father stood up. “Caldwell, it appears there are things happening within my household that I’m not aware of, and I’m quite ashamed of that.” He removed his glasses again. “From now on, you are to handle all of Alicia’s letters directly and only give them to Bella or Alicia.”
He bowed his head. “As you wish, my lord.”
“Also, Annie—that maid that Bella mentioned. Do you know her?”
Caldwell looked at me.
“Ginger hair, lots of freckles.” I motioned to the bridge of my nose. “A bit like a puppy.”
“Ah, yes. She’s a young girl, relatively new to the house, I believe. Has she done something wrong?”
“No. Alicia wishes to have her as her second personal maid, and I have consented. Please inform everyone necessary, including the marchioness, that Annie is now under Alicia’s command with immediate effect. She is to be treated as Bella is.”
Caldwell’s lips twitched. “Of course, my lord. Shall I send her directly to your room, Lady Alicia?”
“Yes, please. She can begin training under Bella immediately.” I turned to my father. “Thank you, Father.”
He inclined his head. “You may both be excused.”
Caldwell held the door for me, and when it closed behind us, he leant in closer to me and muttered, “Well played, my lady.”
I grinned. “Thank you.”