You Are Mine (31 page)

Chapter
Twenty-Nine

D
elivering invites drags on longer than I expected. It starts
at the Grand Chancellor's house. His son, Nathaniel, greets us and
accepts the invitation. We don't stay long before moving on to
Chancellor Ryan's house.

He's nothing like Zade. Arrogant to
the point of thinking we delivered his invitation before anyone
else's, even the Grand Chancellor's. I guess being only one of two
Chancellors could make a person think they're above everyone, but
he pushes the limits. At least none of the other councilmen we
visited are as arrogant. We visit several more before heading home.
After another long carriage ride this morning, we're ready to
deliver more.

I stare at the next door, belonging to
a house not far from my Father's where we just came from. No one
came to greet us. We had to leave the invitation with the footman.
I haven't even seen my littlest sister yet. Does she look more like
mother or Father? What will her fate be?

After that disappointment, I was
hoping we could be done, but I suppose we do need to deliver as
many as we can. I brush one of Katherine's best dresses free of
wrinkles and try to prepare myself for another forced conversation.
At least they haven't lasted very long. Yet.

“
You're doing fine,” Zade
says.

Though his confidence in me
heartening, I shake my head. Before I can respond, the door
opens.

Like before, Zade steps forward and
says the line Bethany quietly suggested. “We've brought an
invitation for the household.”

“
Please, come in.” The
thin footman moves aside and motions us inside.

The hall is elegant. Stone tile lines
the floor. White walls reach far above even Zade's head, with
windows at the top. We enter and the footman closes the door behind
us. The morning sun warming us from the many windows, it's a
pleasant temperature. Much better than the fall air.

“
Please wait and I'll see
who's available.”

Once he's gone, I whisper, “It feels
good in here.”

“
It's spelled to feel the
perfect temperature,” Zade says.

“
They can do
that?”

He nods. “The same spell is on our
house, too.”

That explains a lot. “This is
nice.”

“
Yes. Councilman Daniel is
level headed. Hopefully his wife is the same.”

The footman returns. “Follow
me.”

He leads us to a nearby sitting room.
There are more windows, lighting the golden colors of the room.
Matching golden sofas and chairs are clustered together throughout.
A woman waits in the middle, by the closest set. “Welcome to our
home.”

This is the first time we've been
greeted by a woman. It's usually just been a warlock, sometimes a
wife in the background. She's much shorter than me and a pudge of a
woman. The tattoo above her collar bone is a triangle with v's cut
out of each corner, ringed by interlacing triangles. Simple, but
unique. Her brown eyes are full of life.

Zade recovers much faster than I do.
“Thank you.”

“
You'll have to forgive
Councilman Daniel, he's unavailable to greet you
himself.”

This explains her sole presence. Yet,
why let his wife greet us by herself instead of a
servant?

“
Don't worry about it,”
Zade says.

“
I don't believe we've
been properly introduced. I'm Annabelle, Councilman
Daniel's.”

“
Pleasure to meet you. I'm
Chancellor Zade and this is my intended, Serena.” I give a curtsy
enjoying this introduction better than the one Thomas always gave
at the tournament. “I've enjoyed working with Councilman Daniel.
He's a good man.”

“
Yes, he is. Won't you
please sit?” She indicates a couch with a table in front of it
filled with refreshments.

I perch on the couch. Once I'm
arranged, Zade says, “You have some nice hunting grounds. I wonder
if you'd let me explore them.”

Annabelle's smile widens. “Please,
feel free. Would you like someone to show you around or do you
prefer solitary exploration?”

“
Solitary exploration
suits me.” He kisses my gloved hand. Heat floods my checks. It must
have been to help spread word that he's interested in me as a wife.
Though it's only to save his life, it doesn't stop the warmth
sweeping through me. “Enjoy your visit.” With a bow at Annabelle,
he leaves the room.

I stare after him feeling lost. He's
taken charge of everything until this point. I squeeze my hands
together, wishing they were free of their gloves.

“
Just us girls then.”
Annabelle settles in a chair across from me.

I pull the invitation out of my
handbag and give it to her. Before I have too much time to think on
it, I say, “We're hosting a ball and would like the privilege of
having the company of your husband and you.”

“
Hand delivering the
invitations, what a nice touch.” Her eyes brighten as she scans it.
“And it's been spelled. However did your future husband come up
with the idea?”

After grabbing a cup and saucer off
the tables, I take a sip of lemon water, trying to think of what I
can say and what I should avoid. “He's Envadi, you know. He has new
ideas about a great many things.”

“
I've heard.” She grabs
her own cup. “If you don't mind my asking, what did he think of
your engagement dress?”

The cup slips on my saucer. I hurry to
correct it before it spills. Either she was there or word must be
traveling about my taboo incident. She's curt. Two can play at that
game.

“
He approved. Did you know
that in Envado, they don't have engagement ceremonies and when they
marry, the bride wears a white dress sort of like a ball gown,
trimmed with their favorite color of ribbons and
flowers?”

Her brows shoot up. “I hadn't heard.”
After taking a sip, she says, “I would've enjoyed a wedding dress
like that.”

My breath goes out of me. She's
perfect to introduce to Katherine. Afraid it will give away my
shaking hands, I set my cup down. “If you're interested, I know
someone who creates magnificent dresses. She's making my ball gown.
In fact, she made this as well.”

“
That dress. Really?” She
sets her own cup down. “It's beautiful, but does seem a little
different.”

I take a deep breath. I want to help
Katherine, but I don't want to endanger either of us or Zade.
Whatever trouble I get in will reflect poorly on him and make
things worse. “The buttons in the back are only decoration. These
laces in the front are the true way of tightening and loosening the
gown. I often dress and undress myself.”

“
Often? You have other
dresses like this?” Her face is void of emotion.

Suddenly, I feel as if I've said too
much. Given too much away. I haven't mentioned Katherine's name
yet. Perhaps she can escape punishment. But I've put myself and
Zade in danger.

A moment passes. Though I try hard not
to, I end up fidgeting with my gloves. How can I reply to ease her
fears about me?

“
I'm afraid I've been too
frank,” she says. “I didn't mean to scare you. It's just, your
engagement dress was a welcome change. To know you've also managed
to change your everyday dresses is unbelievable. I'd love to know
who your seamstress is and utilize her.”

Relief rushes through me. “Your
husband wouldn't mind?”

“
No more than yours.” She
grins.

But will she mind the seamstress?
“What are your feelings on the tarnished?”

She mumbles, “We, uh, don't have any
tarnished servants.”

“
You don't? How do you
manage without them?” I've never heard of such a thing before. Even
Zade has tarnished servants.

A high-pitched laugh bounces through
the room. “Oh, we get by.”

“
Your husband must be owed
a lot.”

She grabs a pastry. “Before getting on
the council, he was a banker. Met a lot of people who were trying
their best to stay out of debt but struggling. He now hires some of
them and pays them to help keep them out of debt.”

This is going better than expected.
“Our owners are more alike than we first thought. Mine also pays
his workers, though he also employs the tarnished at the same price
instead of giving them just food and shelter.”

The pastry falls to her lap. “He pays
the tarnished?”

“
He does.”

She picks up the fallen pastry and
sets in on a plate. Then she brushes the crumbs from her skirt.
“I've never heard of such a thing. It may be something I should
mention to Daniel.” Her voice trails off.

“
Have you spoken to many
tarnished?”

“
Not a one.”

I can do this. “My seamstress is a
tarnished.”

“
Your seamstress? How did
that come about?”

“
None of the regulars
would make what I desired for my engagement gown.”

Her eyes widen. “But she
did?”

“
Yes. I've discovered the
tarnished are very capable.” More than capable.

“
Perhaps I'll get one. The
ease of dressing myself would have advantages.”

I don't mention the breeches. That's
too far for me. Or the gun slit in my pocket. I've no idea how she
would react to it and I've pushed everyone's safety enough for one
day.

She scoots closer to the edge of her
chair. “Who's this seamstress?”

I give Katherine's information, all
the while silently hoping good things come of it and not ill. After
that, our conversation drifts into the more mundane. Despite the
shift in topics, she's still not afraid to say what she
means.

A while later, Zade returns. Having
him back in the room fills me with relief, though he's breathing
hard and his clothes look a little ragged. My shoulders roll down
as the tension seeps from them. I feel as if I succeeded with
Annabelle. At least I hope I've helped Katherine without making
anything worse for Zade.

“
Your grounds are great.
If Daniel ever needs a hunting partner, be sure to let me
know.”

“
Only if you'll bring
Serena to keep me company.”

He grins at me. “A woman does need a
break from her intended once in a while.”

She laughs. “I'll be sure to give him
word.”

We're shown out and Zade escorts me to
the carriage.

“
You two seemed to get
along.”

“
Better than expected. She
has Katherine's information, though only time will tell if she
makes use of it.”

“
Good to hear. I had high
hopes for them. Let's end the day on that note.” He scans the area
around us.

I look around, but see nothing. “What
are you looking for?”

“
Someone followed us
here.” His jaw tightens.

After a second look, I still see
nothing. “Trouble?”

“
Nothing new.”

But from the set of his jaw, I can
tell it is serious. He hurries me into the carriage and gives
directions to the driver to head home. My gut twists. I think
someone just tried to kill him. Again.

Chapter Thirty

T
he last chair is set in place. I survey Zade's room. A few
servants are putting the remaining pieces of the desk together. The
woodworker did a good job adjusting things to the proper size. Or
at least it looks that way. It will be hard to know until he uses
it. As long as everything is big enough, it's perfect, and the
project somewhat helped to distract me from the fact that someone
is trying to kill him.

All his chairs have been replaced with
larger ones, except for one, which is left for a guest. The bed
matches my new one perfectly, except mine has a canopy with a soft
indigo cloth draped across it, an idea I borrowed from Julia's
room. The size of the bed is too much, but something about the
folds of cloth around me is comforting. Cynthia and I couldn't see
Zade wanting the canopy, so his is plain.

The new desk will be left by the old
one when it's assembled. There are so many papers, we didn't want
to move any of them. The woodworker said if it works, it would be
easy enough to make a second for his study. I rest in an over-sized
chair, Cynthia across from me in the regular sized one.

“
You did a good job. Thank
you,” I say.

“
Do you think Chancellor
Zade will like it?”

I shrug. Maybe? It's hard to know, but
I like it. I hope he does, as well. If it helps him feel more
comfortable, it will have been worth the work. I want him to be
comfortable. And safe, but I can't do anything about the latter.
“We'll see.”

“
If he doesn't like it, he
can donate his bed to me and we'll get another canopy. Yours is
fantastic.”

“
It's big enough, I could
probably go back to sharing it with you and our sisters and not
even notice.”

She giggles. “It is most likely.
Perhaps we should go to dinner.”