The Glittering Court

  “You told me once—”

  “That I planned on staying virtuous until my wedding night?” I guessed. “That’s true. It’s a principle I believe in. But, well, I have a very creative definition of ‘virtuous.’ And if this is the last night I can be with you, I plan on pushing the limits of that definition as far as they can go.”

  His mouth was on mine again, filled with a demand that made me shudder. His hands slowly moved up my hips—up, up until they reached the top of the dress’s low-cut bodice. He traced the edge of the neckline and then began untying the intricate silver laces that held it all together. I’d nearly pried his suit coat off when the door to the attic landing suddenly opened.

  Mira had warned me she thought someone else was using this window as an escape, but I’d never really expected to cross paths with that person.

  And I’d certainly never expected it would be Clara.

  Chapter 19

  To say there was a lot of fallout would be something of an understatement.

  I’d feared many things since coming to Adoria. I’d worried I’d be forced into a marriage I didn’t want. I’d been concerned the discovery of my identity would get me dragged back to Osfrid. And most of all, I’d always, always feared for Cedric being hung as a heretic.

  But being hauled into Charles and Jasper’s office for “indecent behavior” had never crossed my mind.

  “Do you know what you’ve done?” Jasper cried. “Do you have any idea what you’ve done? This will ruin us!”

  Cedric and I sat side by side in hard-backed wooden chairs while Jasper paced in front of us with hands clasped behind his back, very much like some sort of courtroom attorney. Charles stood against the opposite wall and looked as though he was still having trouble coming to terms with these new developments. It was the morning after “the incident.” We’d both been sent back to our respective rooms last night, with hired men on watch, in case we attempted to flee.

  “I think ‘ruin’ is kind of a strong term,” said Cedric calmly.

  “Oh, really?” Jasper came to a halt in front of us. Fury smoldered in his eyes. “You don’t think this is going to get out? Because I assure you, it’s already gotten out. The rest of the girls are under lockdown, but the servants and the hired men know. This will be all over Cape Triumph by the end of the day, and no man will come near us. I’m not naïve. I know some of these girls didn’t come to us as blushing maidens.” Charles looked startled by that revelation. “But we’ve always preserved that image of purity, letting our prospective clients believe their wife’s virtue is still intact. Now, there’s hard proof that that’s not the case.”

  The mention of virtue reminded me of my own glib words last night: I have a very creative definition of “virtuous.”

  “Nothing happened.” Cedric was remaining remarkably cool-headed, given the situation. Maybe it was the result of years of dealing with his father’s moods. “Her virtue is still intact.”

  Jasper fixed me with a look I didn’t like. It made me feel . . . unclean. “Oh? I have a hard time believing that. From what I heard, her clothes were scattered across the floor.”

  A deep blush filled my cheeks. “That’s a lie. That’s Clara trying to make things worse.”

  “Well, at least you’re acknowledging things are bad to begin with,” snapped Jasper. “The truth doesn’t matter. It will get twisted—for the worse. By the time this story’s told enough, you’ll be as brazen as some Alanzan harlot sprawled in the grass. Everyone’s going to know my son had his way with one of our girls. And everyone’s going to think that’s how it is—that all the men here are sampling our goods.”

  I didn’t like being referred to as “goods,” but the rest of his words struck me in a way I hadn’t expected. Cedric’s silence told me they’d affected him as well.

  Seeing he’d gotten through to us, Jasper added, “I know you think I’m ruthless—that I go too far to make a profit. And maybe that’s true. But one thing I’ve always done is maintain a reputable business. Now that’s all been called into question.”

  “Then I’ll make it right,” said Cedric. “I’ll marry her.”

  “Cedric—” I began. I had no problem with the idea of marrying him, but he had to know the obstacles standing in our way were nearly insurmountable. Jasper knew that as well.

  “Do you have a fortune set aside that I don’t know about? A stash of gold under your bed that will cover her price?”

  Cedric’s jaw clenched. I hated seeing him humiliated, but Jasper’s point was valid. Cedric didn’t even have the funds to buy his stake yet, not until the painting deal went through—if it went through. And clearly, my commission was off the table.

  “She still has time left on her contract,” replied Cedric. “I’ll earn the fee.” I was about to say Cedric had better things to spend his money on—hoping he’d pick up on the hint about Westhaven. But then he said something that sent me reeling: “I love her.”

  A bright feeling blossomed within me. It was the first time the subject of love had ever come up between us, though I don’t think either of us had ever doubted it was there. Uncaring of Jasper’s disapproval, I found Cedric’s hand and clasped it. “I love him too.”

  Jasper rolled his eyes. “This is all very touching, but unfortunately, we live in the real world—not some cheap copper romance novel.”

  Charles cleared his throat, expression uncertain. “Perhaps . . . perhaps we could lend him the fee. He is family, after all.”

  “No,” said Jasper swiftly. “No special treatment. He violated our policies, and he’ll live with those consequences. If others know he received a favor, it’ll only worsen things—confirm the idea that we’re taking liberties here. He’ll deal with this disaster the same way anyone else would have to.”

  “We will deal with this,” I corrected.

  A knock at the door stopped Jasper from rolling his eyes again. He nodded for Charles to open the door, and sighed. “This had better not be another one of those girls finding some excuse to get a peek in here. I’m sure they’re all gathered outside the door trying to listen.”

  But it was no eavesdropping girl. Instead, it was Mistress Culpepper who stood there when Charles opened the door. “Forgive me,” she said, face contrite. “But Mister Doyle and his mother are here. I wasn’t sure if I should send them away or not.”

  Jasper groaned and briefly covered his eyes with his hand. “And there’s another thing destroyed by this debacle. I told you this would spread.” He deliberated a moment and then gave a nod to Mistress Culpepper. “Yes. Bring them in, and let’s get their outrage over and done with. It’s no more than you two deserve.”

  Warren and Viola soon entered. Both were dressed exceptionally formally for a morning call, the dark color of their clothing seeming to emphasize the gravity of the situation. I could tell immediately they knew what had happened. Jasper personally escorted Viola to a seat, and Charles hastily arranged the office chairs in a semicircle, as though this were some friendly social occasion in a parlor.

  The exasperation Jasper had displayed before was wiped away. He was in performance mode and wouldn’t show any weakness to the Doyles. “Mistress Doyle,” he began. “It’s always such a delight to have you in our home. I swear, you grow lovelier each time—”

  She held up a hand to silence him. “Oh, stop with your con man’s prattle. You know why we’re here.” She pointed an accusing finger at me. “We demand justice for the appalling, deceitful way she—”

  “Mother,” interrupted Warren. “That is not why we’re here. Although I’m sure you can all imagine our shock when a messenger showed up at our house this morning with the, uh, news.”

  Jasper put on a look of perfect contrition. “And I’m sure you can imagine how truly sorry we are for any miscommunication that may have happened in our recent interactions.”

  “‘Miscommunic
ation?’” Viola’s eyes widened. “Miscommunication? That girl said she’d marry my son last night. Then we hear this morning that she went straight into your son’s bed. That doesn’t really seem like a laughable misunderstanding.”

  “Again,” said Jasper, “we are truly sorry for the inconvenience this may have caused you. You have every reason to be upset.”

  “Upset, certainly . . .” Warren grew hesitant as he glanced between Cedric and me. “But not necessarily surprised.”

  Even Jasper faltered. “You knew?”

  Warren gestured toward Cedric and me. “About this specifically? No, no, of course not. But I could always tell there was something holding her back. No matter my entreaties, no matter how faultless I thought my logic . . . well, none of it worked. And I kept thinking, ‘What good reason could she have for not accepting?’ Now I understand.”

  “She’s a conniving little—”

  “Mother,” warned Warren. His civility toward us incensed her, and honestly, I was surprised by his attitude as well. “Tell me, Mister Thorn. What’s going to happen now?”

  Jasper was back in comfortable territory. “Well, the first thing that’s going to happen is that you will have top priority in socializing with any of our remaining girls. And of course, there’ll be a substantial discount—”

  “No,” said Warren. “I mean to them.”

  I could practically see the wheels spinning in Jasper’s head as he tried to figure out how he might best get out of this situation with his business and reputation intact.

  “Well, Mister Doyle, we run a pristine establishment. Honor and virtue are values we hold very highly. You’ve no doubt heard some sordid exaggerations about what happened last night—when the truth is much blander, I’m afraid. My son and this young lady, of course, plan to marry.”

  Cedric and I exchanged only the briefest of amused glances at Jasper suddenly signing on to that plan.

  “How kind.” Ice filled Viola’s voice. “You’re giving your son a beautifully wrapped, glittering gift. An expensive one at that, considering what you were trying to charge the rest of us.”

  “And he’ll be paying the same,” said Jasper. “There is no special treatment around here when it comes to our girls. No gifts. Before they’re married, he’ll pay the base fee that any other man would have.”

  Viola regarded Cedric incredulously. “And pray tell, young man, where will you be getting such funds? Are your father’s wages that good?”

  “Many things are still being worked out, Mistress Doyle,” Cedric replied.

  Warren gave us an indulgent smile. “Well, perhaps I can help them work a little more easily.”

  From the way Viola’s head whipped around to look at her son, it was clear this was an unplanned turn of events. No one in the room really knew what to expect, and I had no reason to believe anything altruistic was to come, despite the smile Warren gave me.

  “Adelaide, you’ve heard me speak many times about the gold claims in Hadisen and how we don’t have enough men to work them. I personally own a number of them, and they’re simply lying around. What I’d like to propose is that Mister Thorn take on one of those claims and mine it for me.”

  That stunned us all to silence. After almost a minute of processing, Jasper unsurprisingly spoke first. “You want my son—my son—to mine a gold claim for you? You know he was a university student, don’t you? Studying business? He’s never done real manual labor in his life. He doesn’t even like the outdoors.”

  I wondered what Jasper would think if he knew the truth about his son’s spiritual practices.

  “Forgive me if I sound ungrateful, but can you elaborate on how this would help me?” asked Cedric.

  “I own the land, and you would own the right to work and control it,” explained Warren. “And you keep whatever gold you can mine out of it—after paying me an owner’s commission, of course.” He beamed. “If you get lucky, you could strike it big right away and solve all your financial problems!”

  “But most people don’t strike it big right away,” pointed out Jasper. “Otherwise, Hadisen and the other gold colonies would be filled with mansions instead of shantytowns. Your offer is very kind, but Adelaide’s fee must be paid in less than two months in order for her to meet the terms of her contract. There are no guarantees of that.”

  “I’ll guarantee the fee,” said Warren. “Should he not mine enough within the time frame, I’ll cover the fee to meet her contract, and his debt will switch over to me.”

  Warren’s face was open and guileless, but I felt a chill run down my back. I didn’t like the idea of Cedric being indebted to someone, especially this someone. And I certainly didn’t trust Warren’s being so generous about all of this. His mother, as it turned out, didn’t like it either.

  “Warren,” she scolded. “This is preposterous! You have no business giving him a claim title. You don’t owe him anything. We were supposed to come here to express our outrage and hire an attorney to file a formal grievance! Helping him further this illicit relationship was never part of our discussion this morning.”

  Warren turned to her, exasperated. “What good would any of that do, Mother? Soothe your hurt feelings? Or do you expect me to bully them into letting me marry a woman whose heart belongs to another?”

  “Well, not anymore! Not now that she’s used goods.”

  I shot to my feet, angered at being referred to as “goods” again—and in a much less flattering way. “I beg your pardon, Mistress Doyle, but there’s nothing ‘used’ here. I’m still a virgin and will stay that way until my wedding night. It’s true this situation has gone in a direction none of us expected, but my morals have remained the same.”

  Viola crossed her arms. “I don’t like it, Warren. I don’t like it at all.”

  “And I don’t like it that I have gold just lying around in Hadisen! Squatters have already started moving in. I want honest, hardworking men I can trust on those claims—law-abiding men who follow the rules. Would I have liked to marry Adelaide?” His eyes held me for a fraction of a second as I sat back down beside Cedric. “Yes. But as I said, I could hardly marry her knowing she loves someone else. And so, instead of a wife, I have a potential settler. Mister Thorn here is exactly the kind of person I’d like to help build Hadisen into greatness—assuming he wants to stay. Once your debt is paid, you’d be under no obligation, Mister Thorn. But our colony is going to need people like you—like both of you—to become a civilized place.”

  Considering Warren’s attitude toward the Alanzans, I found it unlikely Hadisen was the kind of place we’d want to stay. Not that it mattered. There was no way we could accept this offer.

  “I accept,” said Cedric. “I’ll work your claim as part of a larger arrangement to pay Adelaide’s fee.”

  I forcibly clamped my mouth shut so my jaw wouldn’t drop. In the given circumstances, I had no intention of showing anything but perfect unity between Cedric and me. Once we were alone, I planned on telling him exactly how terrible this plan was. Jasper expressed my thoughts for me.

  “Are you out of your mind? What do you know about mining?”

  “No more than most of the adventurers who set off for the claims. I’m sure I can learn,” said Cedric.

  Warren nodded. “Absolutely. We’ll get you started. Panning is the most basic type of gold extraction, and you can move on to other techniques from there.”

  “There’s one condition,” added Cedric. He took my hand again. “Adelaide comes too.”

  “First,” snarled Viola, “you’re in no position to set conditions. Second, you don’t get to marry her before the financial details are fulfilled. Unless you plan on some sort of sinful arrangement.”

  Cedric shook his head. “Of course not. But considering all the rumors and slander that will spread around Cape Triumph, I think it’d best for her to be removed from that—somewhere
far away.”

  Our eyes met briefly, and in that way we had, I understood his true motivations. Taking me from Cape Triumph would offer an added level of protection, should Viola decide to take any sort of revenge and reveal my identity. It would be a lot easier to elude bounty hunters in the wilderness than the city.

  “I’ll help him mine it,” I said. “I’ve read about the panning process—it’s something I could do.”

  “Living on the claim with him would only stir up more rumors, regardless of your virtuous principles,” Warren told me. “But there are a number of families traveling with children, and I’m sure many would appreciate a governess with your education. We might be able to set up a boarding arrangement—though there might be some household labor involved. And the conditions would be rough.”

  “I’m sure household labor wouldn’t be a problem, considering her humble background,” quipped Viola.

  “I’m not afraid of hard work,” I said resolutely.

  Jasper looked me over. “You’re as naïve as my son. However hard you think you worked as a lady’s maid, it is nothing compared to what you’ll face on the frontier.”

  “I’ll do whatever it takes.”

  Warren clasped his hands together, face alight. “Well, then it’s settled. We leave in a week, and I’ll make the appropriate arrangements.”

  Despite my declaration, I was still uneasy about all of this. It wasn’t exactly too good to be true—but nearly. I needed to talk to Cedric more extensively, assuming we were ever allowed to be alone again. Jasper seemed to be undecided on this deal. He didn’t really believe we could handle frontier life. I also suspected he didn’t want us to have a happy ending after the trouble we’d caused him. On the other hand, painting this in a seemingly honorable way—one sanctioned by a man of Warren’s repute, who’d been courting me—might save face and ensure no future business fallout.