You Are Mine (26 page)

“
This is another of
Serena's new gowns.” Cynthia finally breaks the silence. “Isn't it
lovely?”

“
It is,” Bethany says. “I
wish I could have one like it.”

“
Best of all it's a two
piece.” I grin. Father should hear this. It will make him furious,
but it's not unlawful. Or maybe it was too impulsive. Will he find
a way to punish her from a distance? Or what if he punishes my
other sisters? There's nothing I can do to protect them.

“
I didn't realize before,
but I see it now. How clever.” Bethany grins. “I'm going to enjoy
your new wardrobe. I wish we were the same size so I could pilfer a
dress or two.”

I laugh. “And I'll be glad we
aren't.”

“
You should meet
Katherine,” Cynthia says. “Didn't Waverly need to talk to her
anyway? We could go to town and stop by for a visit.”

Will letting Bethany meet Katherine
put the seamstress in danger as well? If Bethany is to help with
the ball, she'll have to meet her sooner or later. I'd like to see
Katherine anyway.

“
But we don't have a
chaperon,” Bethany says.

Cynthia starts to protest, but I stop
her. “She's probably right. I like going out on my own, but
Chancellor Zade scolded me the other day for it. I'll see if he is
interested in going to town today.”

Cynthia scrunches her nose. “You're so
strange sometimes. Go ask then. We'll want to spend all day there
if we can. Especially to make the carriage ride for you worthwhile.
We'll meet you back at the house.”

I head back for the Chancellor. After
trying so hard this morning to avoid him, here I am rushing back. I
go straight for the dining room, hoping he's still there. When I
enter the dining room, he's still at the table, spells hovering
before him. More spells of different colors flash through the
window every so often, joining the others. I wait at the other side
of the room where he can see me, wondering what the spells are
for.

Several minutes later he says, “Why
are you standing there?”

“
Because I need to speak
with you?”

“
Then come here and
talk.”

I don't dare get any closer. “What are
those spells doing?”

He looks at the lights, then at me.
With a wave of his hand, a black one zooms out the window. Though
there are still several in front of him, no new ones appear.
“They're bringing me news from home and around
Chardonia.”

“
How can you get news from
light?”

“
Come here, I'll show
you.”

I hesitate a moment, but not long. I'm
too curious. Once I'm next to him, he waves his hand and a green
light moves to the front. I gasp. From this angle, the light is
made of words.

“
I've never seen anything
like it.”

“
I don't suppose you
would. Seems like Chardonians like to keep most magic from
women.”

Could it be true? It makes sense. Most
spells I've seen have been hexes. Father occasionally did something
different like chill his wine, but that happened rarely.

“
I know you didn't come
here to talk about this. What did you need?”

“
You've been scolding me,”
I blurt out, still thinking of how I know mostly hexes. What else
can they do with magic?

“
No, I've been reading the
paper. If you're referring to last night, forget I mentioned
anything. About the kiss any way. I'm serious about everything else
that was said.”

My face warms at mention of this kiss.
“Not about that. I told the girls you've been scolding me for going
out on my own.”

“
Why?”

I lower my voice. “Because we're being
spied on and it just isn't done. I love doing it, but it gives
people an impression you don't want to make. Sure it's not against
one of the laws you listed, but it's still expected. This is a good
way for you to show your dominance. Take control of your
possessions.” When he says nothing, I continue, “Unless you don't
want to take us to town. We could stay home. That would show your
dominance as well.”

After staring at me a moment, he rubs
the bridge of his nose. “What are you doing in town?”

“
Taking the girls to see
my seamstress.”

His voice deepens. “We've got to get
ready for the ball, woman. Call for the carriage.”

I gape at him. He waves a hand at me
and I stumble from the room feeling confused. Why did he suddenly
become so harsh? After a few moments, I realize he was teasing.
It's something I've done with my sisters, but never a warlock. Not
sure how to feel about that, I find the girls and call for the
carriage.

Once everyone is ready, we begin
loading into the carriage, except Zade who rides alongside on
horseback. Waverly pouts over not being able to ride with him. He
insists it isn't proper in Chardonia. When Cynthia and Bethany
aren't watching, he winks at her. I spin away from them, a twisting
in my gut.

The ride is filled with
talk of the ball, Cynthia and Bethany quickly drawing Waverly out
of her pout. I stare at the solid doors, wishing I could watch the
scenery go by. If I learned to ride a horse like Waverly, I could
be out there as well. If it got rid of dealing with carriage
sickness, it would be worth it. Wait
—
What am I thinking? Horses
are huge and have big eyes. Not to mention, Zade's right, it isn't
proper.

When the carriage stops, the footman
opens the door, and everyone else piles out. I wait, giving myself
a minute to let my stomach settle.

Zade leans in. “Are you
coming?”

A breeze blows in from outside,
cooling me. “Yes, I just need a moment.”

“
She gets carriage
sickness,” Bethany calls out.

“
You do?” Zade
asks.

“
Yes.”

“
That's easy enough to
fix. I have a spell that would help if you'd like.”

Should I allow him to cast a spell on
me? I've never wanted a spell cast on me before, but it would be
nice not to be ill. The truth spell wasn't so bad. “Does it
hurt?”

“
Not at all.”

Maybe spells other than hexes aren't
so bad. The light spell he showed me that brings news wasn't. I
take a deep breath. This well help me feel better. I can let him do
it. “Then yes, would you please?”

“
Of course.” A blue light
glides from his hand and surrounds me before penetrating my skin.
My stomach instantly settles.

“
How's that?”

“
Much better, thank
you.”

“
Glad I could
help.”

He holds out a hand. An unfamiliar
tingle races through me as my gloved hand touches his. As soon as
I'm on the ground, I let go of his hand, though part of me doesn't
want to, but the feeling continues. After I straighten my skirt, he
pulls the door of the shop open. I'm more aware than ever of his
close presence when I pass him.

Katherine looks up, with puffy eyes,
from speaking with another tarnished. “Welcome. I'm so glad you all
came. This is my assistant, Mavis. Please, come in.”

Everyone moves to stand next to me,
Zade entering the shop and closing the door once we're all in. I
wait for Zade to say something, but he only stares at me. It makes
his role appear less domineering, but hopefully a minor
detail.

“
Morning, Katherine,” I
say. “You've met everyone except my sister Bethany.”

“
Nice to meet you and
welcome to everyone. Please pick a seat. Mavis will you help them
get settled?”

Mavis, who has a narrow, happy face,
steps forward. “Of course.”

“
Thank you.” Katherine
turns to me. “Would you help me gather some
refreshments?”

I wonder at her asking me and not
Mavis, but I've done more than enough in a kitchen to know my way
around. Really, it's been too long since I've helped. Plus, the
distance from Zade might help clear my awareness of him. “Of
course.”

I follow her past the main seating
area down a small hall to a tiny kitchen. She pumps water into a
jug and directs me to cut the stems off some
strawberries.

In a lowered voice she says,
“Chancellor Zade visited a few days ago.”

“
Zade?” I pause cutting.
Once the shock has worn off, I resume, fear making me smash the
berries more than slice them. “Was he angry about the
dresses?”

“
Not at all.”

While I'm grateful he didn't punish
her, why else would he visit? She pulls out a tray and fills it
with glasses. When the tray is full, she turns her attention on me.
“I thought you should know he finished paying for the entire
wardrobe I gave you and commissioned ball gowns for you, your
sisters, and Waverly.”

“
He did?” I'm too stunned
to put the strawberries in the jug. Katherine takes them from me
and does it. Dresses? Not only mine, but Cynthia and Bethany's? And
Waverly, a servant?

“
Actually, he overpaid.
Insisted on it.”

She grabs a plate of biscuits and
places it on the tray. It's all ready to go, but we stand there.
Hearing this is not helping to distract my thoughts from him as I'd
prefer. I don't know what to think of him.

“
Why did he pay
you?”

“
I don't know, but I
wanted you be aware of what he did,” she says. “He's different.
Next time you need something, ask him for the money. I doubt he'd
want to know what it's for.”

Would he really be so careless about
his money with me? “He's supposed to let me know when I need
something.”

“
But men don't always
know, do they?”

They rarely do. “But that's not how it
works.”

“
It will if you
ask.”

I look at her swollen eyes. “Are you
all right?”

She rearranges the glasses. “I'm
fine.”

“
No, really Katherine, how
are you? You don't seem yourself.”

“
I'm not,” she whispers.
“But no one can do anything about it.”

“
What happened? At least
let me try.”

“
It would only lead to
more trouble.”

Despite my protests, she picks up the
tray and leaves the room. What could possibly be the problem? She's
done so much for me, I hate to see anything bad happen to her. It's
easier to focus on her situation than on Zade as I grab the jug and
follow after her.

Everyone is settled on the chairs and
sofa. Katherine has left the tray on the table and is handing
everyone a glass. After pouring everyone some strawberry lemon
water, I set the jug on the table next to the tray and pass around
the biscuits. Once everyone is served, I grab my own and take the
only free space left, next to Zade.

“
Waverly,” I say, “the
idea of having an exotic theme is a good one. Can you tell us more
about balls in Envado?”

“
Well, I've never been to
a Chardonian one to compare it to, but next to weddings and babies,
they are the most celebrated events. Magicians come from all over
to cast for them.”

“
Spells at a ball?” At the
one I attended, there weren't any.

“
What sort of spells?”
Cynthia asks.

“
The gowns for one,”
Waverly says. “It's one of the few times women wear formal dresses,
the type that takes two or three people to get you into. All of
them are spelled in some way. They change colors, styles, they
sparkle. They vary as much as the people in attendance.”

“
A spelled dress?”
Katherine says. “I've never thought of that.

I say, “You haven't? Seeing the
dresses you've created so far and hearing your ideas, I was sure
every idea for a dress had crossed your mind.”

“
Would you be able to
spell a ball gown or two for me, Chancellor?” Katherine
asks.

“
Changing colors is simple
if you have examples. Sparkles or flashes easy as well. But, I've
never been great at switching styles. It'd help if there were two
dresses I could spell to become one alternating piece.”

Wearing even more new dress styles?
How will people react to this? Will we get in even more trouble for
it? I don't know if having spelled dresses is a problem or not.
Despite problems that may arise, I'm curious to see what they'd be
like. Maybe even wear one. And wearing one that Zade helped to
spell for me? The thought brings the tingling feeling
back.

“
It sounds as if you've
had a lot of experience with this before,” Cynthia says.

“
A few times. I've a
sister I help on occasion.”

“
And your sister told me
you
—
”
Waverly starts, but Zade interrupts.

“
She was always grateful
for my help. Always.”

She giggles. “That's not what I
heard.”

“
Servant gossip is highly
unreliable.” He scowls.

“
Actually,” Katherine
says, “servants are one of the best sources of
information.”