The Glittering Court (The Glittering Court, #1)(9)

“It’s just . . . well, I’m a little disappointed I probably won’t ever get a chance to see you again.” Perhaps realizing that was too open, he gave a hasty bow. “Farewell, and best of luck to you, my lady.”

One of the guards outside the gate unlocked it for him, and I watched him walk out the gate, admiring the way the velvet coat hugged his body.

“But you will be seeing me again,” I murmured. “Just wait.”





Chapter 3


The plan had been forming in the back of my mind ever since Ada had tearfully signed her contract. I had a chance to outsmart the bad things looming over me. And, as my father had advised, I needed to act quickly. As more and more details became clearer, my excitement grew, and it was all I could do not to shout it to the heavens.

Mastering myself, I walked quickly—but sedately—out of the garden, back to the drawing room, where Ada sat morosely. I dodged two servants lugging my grandmother’s chaise lounge and was glad Cedric hadn’t seen that. It looked like we were being looted.

“Well, you must be excited,” I said cheerfully to Ada. “Such an exciting opportunity ahead of you.”

She rested her chin in her hands. “As you say, my lady.”

I sat down beside her, feigning astonishment. “It’s a great thing for you.”

“I know, I know.” She sighed. “It’s just . . . it’s just . . .” Her attempts at self-control failed utterly, and tears ran down her cheeks. I offered her a silk handkerchief. “I don’t want to go to a strange land! I don’t want to sail across the Sunset Sea! I don’t want to get married!”

“Then don’t go,” I said. “Do something else when Grandmama and I leave. Get another job.”

She shook her head. “I signed the contract. And what can I do? I’m not like you, my lady. I can’t just walk away. I don’t have the means, and no other noble families are hiring—at least not at this level. I’ve looked.”

Walk away? Did she really think I could? Ada looked at my ancestry and wealth as if that was power, but really, a commoner had more freedom than me. Which was why, perhaps, I needed to become one.

“You’re the Countess of Rothford. Someone with a name like that can’t move among the nameless.”

“What would you do then? If you had the means?”

“If I wasn’t working here?” She paused to wipe her nose. “I’d go to my family in Hadaworth. I have cousins there. They have a nice dairy farm.”

“Hadaworth’s as far north as you can get,” I reminded her. “That’s not an easy journey either.”

“There’s no ocean!” she exclaimed. “It’s still in Osfrid. And there are no savages there.”

“You’d rather work on a dairy farm than marry an Adorian adventurer?” Admittedly, this played into my plans better than I’d expected. But it sounded so comical, I couldn’t help but ask, “How did you even end up being referred to this Glittering Court?”

“Lady Branson’s son John attends the university with him—Master Cedric. Lord John heard him talking about how he needed pretty girls for some task his father had set him. Lord John knew you were disbanding the household and asked his mother if there were any girls who needed a place to go. When she approached me . . . well, what could I do?”

I took her hand in an unusual show of informality between us. “You’ll go to Hadaworth. That’s what you’ll do.”

Ada gaped, and I led her up to my bedroom where other maids were sorting clothes. I sent them off to new tasks and then produced some topaz earrings from my jewelry box.

“Here,” I said, handing them over to Ada. “Sell them. More than enough to buy passage with a reputable group traveling to Hadaworth.” I’d expected her to have some greater lifelong dream, one I might not be able to afford. This was a bargain.

Her eyes widened. “My lady . . . I . . . I can’t. I can’t take these.”

“You can,” I insisted, my own heart racing. “I, uh, can’t bear the thought of you being miserable. I want you to be with your family and find happiness. You deserve it.” That wasn’t entirely a lie . . . but my true motivations were hardly so altruistic.

She clutched the earrings in her hands, and hope started to bloom on her face. “I—no. I can’t. That contract! That’s binding. They’ll find me and—”

“I’ll take care of it—no need to worry. I’ll get you out of it. I can do those kinds of things, you know. But to make sure it will all, um, work out, you need to leave now. Right away. It’s just after midday. Most of the traveling merchants will be finishing business and heading north soon. And then you need to disavow all knowledge of the Glittering Court. Never, ever tell anyone they approached you.”

Her eyes were huge. “I won’t, my lady. I won’t. Never a word. And I’ll go now—as soon as I pack.”

“No, don’t. I mean, don’t take too much. Pack lightly. You can’t look like you’re leaving for good. Act like you’re just going off on an errand.” I didn’t want anyone noting her departure, possibly stopping her and asking her questions.

She nodded at the wisdom of my words. “You’re right, my lady. Of course you are. Besides, with these, I can buy new clothes when I reach Hadaworth.”