Total pages in book: 101
Estimated words: 94782 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 474(@200wpm)___ 379(@250wpm)___ 316(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 94782 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 474(@200wpm)___ 379(@250wpm)___ 316(@300wpm)
My mother prods me along, encouraging my manners as I greet her mechanically.
“I believe the last we met, you were telling me how you’d lost your shoe.”
“Of course.” She turns her attention to her mother, who seems to be preserved by plastic as she forces a tight smile.
“Your Highness.” Narcissa greets me in a slightly less dramatic fashion. “It’s such a pleasure. I think you’ll be amused to learn we brought her heel with us for the occasion. We thought it would provide a bit of humor.”
“I don’t doubt that,” I remark dryly, wondering what they will produce.
“Magnolia.” Narcissa snaps her fingers. “Go and fetch your sister’s shoe, will you, darling?”
“Is that really necessary?” My mother arches a brow at me. “We’re about to have tea.”
“It won’t take long, I’m sure.” I nod and help my mother to her seat at the table while Narcissa and Lavinia follow suit. Calder isn’t far behind, but my father has willfully chosen to abandon this mission, given that we can barely tolerate each other for longer than twenty minutes.
My mother gestures for the steward to prepare our tea, and I look at Calder, who seems far too amused by this turn of events.
“I thought perhaps you could show Lavinia some of our beautiful city this week?” My mother opens the conversation.
Lavinia does her best to remain poised, but her eyes betray her satisfaction. She already feels like she’s won, and I don’t have the patience to deal with this situation. But the alternative is to send her away only to have the king produce someone else to fill her place. The question is, how long can I tolerate Lavinia before things implode?
“I have a busy schedule this week,” I answer stiffly. “But I could find some time on Friday, perhaps.”
“Perfect!” Narcissa exclaims.
“In the meantime, I’ve organized for them to tour the palace grounds and see a few highlights around the city,” my mother says. “Then I thought if the weather improves over the next few weeks, we could take them out onto the yacht.”
“That sounds amazing.” Lavinia plays her role perfectly, vying for an Academy Award. “I can’t think of anything I’d love more.”
The steward appears with our tea and an assortment of finger sandwiches, scones, and pastries about the same time Magnolia enters the room. Unlike her sister, she isn’t quite as skilled at hiding her true colors as she forks over the silver heel.
“See?” Lavinia displays it with an unwavering confidence that she’s fooling everyone. “Just like the other one.”
“Is it?” I challenge.
She holds my gaze as her mother lets out a nervous laugh. “Well, they did have to add some additional crystals, since the others had fallen off.”
“It’s a lovely shoe.” My mother nods. “I’ve never seen one quite like that.”
“I don’t suppose I have either.”
My words leave an unsettling silence in the room, which my mother quickly covers by asking the steward to pour the tea. After selecting our preferences and filling our plates, I sit through another hour of conversation, answering questions and nodding along as Lavinia and her family attempt to charm the queen.
“I have to leave,” I interrupt the women as my watch signals the new hour. “Calder and I have a sporting match we promised to attend this evening.”
“Oh, I didn’t realize.” My mother frowns. “Both of you?”
“Yes,” Calder covers smoothly. “Thor has been invited to do some sport shooting over at the Eriksen estate, and I said I would join him as well.”
“I see.” She sets down her teacup. “Well, Thor, please do let me know about your schedule this week. I like to plan ahead, as you know.”
Her words cast a gloomy shadow over the room. My mother doesn’t like to plan ahead. She’s always been known for her lively spirit of adventure. But the truth is, she doesn’t want anyone to know how advanced her cancer is, and the only way she can control that is to organize everything around her.
“I’ll let you know.” I kiss her on the cheek, and Lavinia rises, expecting a similar farewell. I dismiss her with a nod.
“Lavinia, Narcissa, Magnolia. Until next time.”
13
Ella
I wiggle my fingers against the restraints, attempting to bring some blood flow back to my limbs. It feels like hours have passed, but the clock on the mantel is too far away to tell for certain. Several times, I’ve considered screaming for help, but the fact that nobody came to my rescue during my great escape this morning makes me believe I’m in a part of the house that isn’t easily heard.
The quarters I’m in, as Thorsen called them, consists of a bedroom, a bathroom, and an office. Each room is decorated in shades of white and gold, and it’s surprisingly light and airy. Every piece of furniture seems more expensive than the last, and I can’t imagine what the rest of the estate must look like. But right now, I’m more concerned about all the instruments of torture around me. Whips and paddles and ropes of varying lengths. Half of the room is outfitted like a tool shed with strange apparatuses carefully hung from hooks. Beneath those, a white apothecary cabinet spans the length of the entire wall. It would have been convenient if I had noticed those things this morning before I heard the door unlock. But in my rush, I grabbed the first thing I could, which turned out to be a bedside lamp. When I close my eyes, I can still recall the sickening thud it made when it came in contact with Thorsen’s skull.