9
“ W e have a tea social with the queen,” Tori announced the next day.
Genevieve looked up from her sketch. We received a letter from the palace this morning containing the invitations and descriptions of the Season events.
“With the queen? I thought it was supposed to be with Duchess Wilhelmina,” Genevieve said, closing her sketchbook.
“Apparently there’s been a change of plans,” Tori said. “Her Grace will be hosting the soirée instead.”
“What’s a swa-ray?” a small voice emerged underneath the coffee table. Vicky poked her head out, giving Tori a gap-toothed grin.
“None of your business, that’s what,” her sister said brusquely. “Why don’t you go play with Ria?”
Vicky pouted. “Fine,” she said. “You never have time to play with me anymore. ”
“That’s because I have things to do. Now run along.”
“Why don’t you run along, you big, ugly—”
At the sight of me and Genevieve, Vicky darted under the table with a gasp. The three of us watched her make a stealthy escape out the parlor on all fours.
Tori shook her head. “Weird kid,” she muttered.
The short carriage ride to the palace seemed to drag on as I thought about the duchess. It was a relief that I wouldn’t have to see her again so soon, but something nagged at the back of my mind—the plume of scarlet smoke from the queen’s goblet at the Debutante Ball. Was it magic? Or something else? I sighed. I wasn’t sure if I wanted to know.
Tori, Genevieve, and I were escorted into the south wing of the palace where the royals lodged and personal gatherings took place. This, I heard a girl whisper, was the exclusive of the exclusive.
It was nearing afternoon when we seated ourselves underneath a large, ornate gazebo out in the Queen’s Garden. Hedges, fountains, and hydrangea bushes were arranged tastefully around us. Five tables were set out, and the three of us managed to find seats with Olivia, who was silent at our arrival, and another debutante.
We didn’t have to wait long for Queen Cordelia to appear.
She glided in, dressed in a gown of aqua blue and looking as regal and elegant as ever.
The twenty-five of us stood. “Good afternoon, Your Majesty,” we said in unison.
The queen smiled. “Welcome, and good afternoon to all of you. Unfortunately, Duchess Wilhelmina is unable to join us at this moment, but I believe she will be roaming around later to meet you all.”
I suppressed a groan .
“Before we begin tea, why don’t each of you introduce yourselves?” Queen Cordelia said, gesturing to the table closest to her, which also happened to be the farthest from me.
Julianna went first. “It is a pleasure to meet you all. I am Julianna Alderidge.”
“I am Tessa Donahue and I am positively enchanted to be a part of this year’s Season.”
“I am Samantha Faas. Delighted to meet everyone.”
One after another, each debutante introduced themselves. Some appeared full of themselves, some out of their comfort zone, and some as stoic as a rock. When it finally came to our table, my hands were slick with sweat. For a moment I wished that I had already gone, or made an excuse to go to the powder room.
Tori stood first and cleared her throat. “I am Victoria Strongfoot, also known as Tori if we happen to be bosom friends. Absolutely spiffingly enchanted to be here this afternoon.”
It took everything in me not to snort at her faux pompous air. Some of the debutantes looked scandalized, while a few had suppressed smiles.
Genevieve went next and executed her introduction with perfect dignity and grace. After the other debutante at our table, Rachel Estelle, did the same, I realized it was down to me and Olivia. The poor girl looked petrified. I took it as a sign to go next.
“Hello. I’m Amarante Flora,” I said, opting for a quick curtsy. “Lovely to be here.”
As I sat, Olivia stood shakily, tucking a braid behind her ear.
“I-I’m Bolivia...um, Olivia Sternfeld. Happy to m-m... ”
The rest of her sentence faded into a whisper. I couldn’t help but feel sorry for the girl as she sat and sunk into her high-necked dress.
The queen gave a warm smile Olivia certainly didn’t see six inches into her collar.
“And that concludes introductions,” the queen said, bringing the attention back to her. “It is truly a pleasure to have you all here today. I hope you will familiarize yourself with the palace and your fellow debutantes this afternoon, as you will be spending the next two months in each other’s company. Now. Let us have some tea.”
Waiters streamed in, bringing cakes and sandwiches piled on layered tiers. They poured the tea and set out bowls of sugar cubes. It wasn’t long before I was chewing on a pastry. Genevieve quietly sipped her tea. Tori shoveled cucumber sandwiches into her mouth. Rachel was looking off somewhere, and Olivia had shrunken in on herself, hunched over so low that her nose touched the tablecloth. She gave the softest, high-pitched whine. I paused my chewing.
Rachel inched away uncomfortably. Tori was munching too loudly to notice and Genevieve seemed to be daydreaming about something.
I cleared my throat. “Olivia? Are you alright?” I asked in a low voice.
She looked up. Tears, among other fluids, were rolling down her face and gathering to the tip of her pointy chin. A large drop plopped into her tea.
“N-n-no,” she sniveled. “I-I’m always...l-like this.”
“You didn’t do so bad,” I said.
Olivia shook her head so violently that her braids whipped her cheeks .
“I-it’s...I can’t,” she said. The rest of her words drowned into another high-pitched whine. This finally drew Genevieve and Tori’s attention.
“Hey now, what are you crying for?” Tori said, setting down a half-eaten sandwich. “Embarrassed about your introduction?”
Her words, though blunt, were not unkind. Olivia stopped crying and looked at Tori with a quivering lower lip. She nodded.
Tori shrugged. “I was like you once. Terrified of people. But being a blacksmith’s daughter toughened me up a few notches. My Pa always says fear holds everyone back. The way to get over it is not to become fearless, no, but to decide once and for all that you don’t give a blooming crap about what anybody thinks of you. Makes life a lot easier, you know?”
Genevieve coughed delicately.
“B-but it’s so hard to m-make friends and Mummy...Mummy wants me to marry.”
My eyebrows raised at the thought of marrying Olivia off. I could hardly imagine the girl surviving a short stroll without a chaperone, much less being courted by a young man.
“You don’t have to worry about the first part,” Genevieve said warmly. “We’re already your friends, Olivia.”
Olivia stared at us, large eyes widening. “But I barely talk to you.”
“It’s not too late to start,” I said.
The girl looked like she was going to cry again.
“So, what brings you to the Season?” I asked quickly.
Olivia, thankfully, blinked back her tears. “My mother says I should marry soon so Cedric wouldn’t have to worry about me. ”
Tori raised a brow. “Either way you’re still leeching off a man. Does it matter which one?”
“I wish Cedric was attending too,” Olivia said with a sigh. “He’ll have to eventually, when he inherits grandpa’s fortune.”
“He’s not chaperoning you today?” Genevieve asked.
“No. I wanted to do this myself,” Olivia said. She gave us a small grin. “And I’m glad I did.”
Tea went on in peace. The queen was seated at the far table with Narcissa and Julianna who behaved more amiably than I had ever seen. Tori, Genevieve, Olivia, and I conversed. After an hour or so, we were allowed to leave the gazebo and wander about the Queen’s Garden. The four of us took a stroll amongst the hydrangea bushes.
Unfortunately, we came up behind Julianna, flanked by Samantha and Tessa. None of them noticed us.
“Have you heard that Prince Ash is attending the Season on behalf of Crown Prince Bennett?” Samantha said.
Julianna scoffed. “Don’t tell me you fancy him, Samantha. That’s ridiculous.”
“Absolutely ridiculous,” Tessa said.
Samantha’s face grew red. “Of course not,” she said, raising her chin. “I still haven’t forgiven him for soiling my gown.”
I rolled my eyes. The way she looked at Prince Ash at the Debutante Ball said enough.
“It’s unfortunate he’s in the way of making an impression on Crown Prince Bennett,” Julianna said. She smoothed the skirts of her peach dress and fluffed her hair.
“But isn’t Narcissa engaged to the crown prince?” Tessa piped up.
Julianna scoffed. “Of course she isn’t. That’s just a rumor she spread herself, no doubt. Her chances are as good as ours,” she said. “It helps that she’s the duchess’s daughter, but Her Grace has taken a liking to me in the past year. And Father has been increasing his influence in court.”
I almost laughed. To think she switched her sights from Cedric Sternfeld to Crown Prince Bennett in a matter of weeks! I must’ve made a noise, for Julianna turned around. She gave an outraged gasp.
“You people!” Julianna narrowed her eyes at me. “What are you doing here?”
Tori crossed her arms. “If you haven’t noticed, we’re debutantes too.”
“I wasn’t talking to you,” Julianna said in disgust, shouldering past Tori. “Amarante, have you come to gloat? Now that you’ve danced one dance with the bastard prince, you think you’re better than us?”
It seemed that she hadn’t gotten over her failure to humiliate me at the Debutante Ball. I rolled my eyes, having no wish to make a scene at yet another Season event. Instead, I focused on the cobblestone path where several loose rocks littered the perimeters, intending to walk past them without a word.
“Don’t you dare ignore me!”
My vision swam for a second.
Just as Julianna stepped forward, a rock rolled beneath her slipper, glowing purple.
Her ankle twisted.
Then, the most unfortunate thing happened.
Julianna fell back and jabbed Olivia in the ribs with her elbow.
“Ack!” Julianna shrieked as Olivia lost her footing and fell bodily into the hydrangea bushes. Tessa and Samantha gasped .
“Olivia!” I rushed over to the bushes but an explosion of color assaulted my vision. I teetered on my feet as bursts of neon yellow riddled the back of my eyelids.
“Burning barnyards, are you alright?” Tori asked, taking Olivia’s arm. Everyone was too busy fussing to notice my reaction. I blinked rapidly. The color melted away.
Petals of violet, pink, and purple clung to Olivia’s gown as she stood, trembling. There was a body-sized dent in the bush she had fallen into.
“What in heaven’s name is going on there?”
Duchess Wilhelmina strode down the path in a maroon gown, her shoes clacking against the cobblestone. My stomach turned. Julianna pushed herself up and curtsied.
“Amarante shoved me and I fell, Your Grace,” Julianna whined. Tessa and Samantha nodded vehemently.
Tori almost growled. “Absolutely not,” she said. “You fell on your own and rudely elbowed Olivia in the ribs.”
Julianna’s nostrils flared. “Watch your mouth when you’re talking to me, country commoner.”
“Look who’s talking, you horse-faced, spoiled—”
“Enough!”
The duchess’s voice boomed over the other two. Tori resorted to glaring venomously at Julianna, who was flushed to the ears. Duchess Wilhelmina looked to me.
“There always seems to be trouble when you’re around,” she said with a sneer.
I couldn’t tear my eyes from where Olivia had fallen. I hadn’t noticed it before, but lined between the hydrangeas were bushes of stinging nettle. The neon yellow started pulsing before my vision again, and I looked to Olivia’s exposed arms. Red splotches riddled with small bumps marred her skin.
“Look at me when I’m talking to you, Miss Flora,” Duchess Wilhelmina said sharply.
I pointed at Olivia’s growing rash. “We need to get her a physician, Your Grace,” I said, hating how my voice wavered.
Samantha squealed. “Oh! That is disgusting.”
Olivia whimpered when she saw the rashes on her arm. Her eyes brimmed with tears. “I-I’m so sorry, Your Grace, I didn’t mean to,” she whimpered. Tori gave me an incredulous look from over Olivia’s shaking head.
“What is going on?”
Everyone curtsied again as Queen Cordelia appeared up the path.
“It seems that one of our debutantes has a talent for causing trouble,” the duchess said, giving me a disdainful look.
“She—” Julianna whined.
“Your Majesty,” Tori cut in before Julianna could say anything more. “Julianna tripped and caused Olivia to fall into the bushes.”
Queen Cordelia nodded. “I see,” she said. She gently put her hand on Olivia’s shoulder. “What happened to your arm, my dear?”
Olivia’s eyes welled with fresh tears and she began blubbering. Duchess Wilhelmina looked at her in distaste.
“There is stinging nettle between the hydrangeas, Your Majesty,” I said, toeing the spiky leaves with my slipper. “They’re planted all over. It’s what caused Olivia’s rash.”
Queen Cordelia raised her brows. “Indeed? How odd,” she said. “I’m quite sensitive to stinging nettle myself. Thank you, Miss Amarante. I will ask the gardener to remove them.”
I blushed, surprised that she remembered my name.
Duchess Wilhelmina exhaled. “You are not fit to be in public right now, Miss Sternfeld. Have someone escort you inside.”
Julianna’s jaw dropped.
“S-Sternfeld?” she whispered, her face reddening.
The duchess surveyed the rest of us somewhat scornfully. “You may all go.” She walked off.
I was sure Julianna would’ve shot me a withering look if it weren’t for the queen’s presence.
“There will be a physician sent for you, Miss Olivia,” Queen Cordelia said.
Tori, Genevieve, and I escorted Olivia into the entrance of the south wing where a decrepit physician gave her a jar of ointment and a melted candy stick from his pocket. After gingerly applying the balm on Olivia’s arms and wrapping it in gauze, we emerged from the building only to find that the debutantes had long gone home.
“Good riddance,” I said. “I’ve had enough of the Season already.”
Tori sighed. “Amen to that.”