Midnight Jewel (The Glittering Court #2)(15)

Rebuked, Adelaide remained silent, but I could tell she wasn’t convinced. After a few more instructions, we were sent back to our rooms, and my friends’ reactions were about what I’d expected. Tamsin was already reaching for her books, and Adelaide seemed indifferent—about the tests, at least. Sailing in storm season still bothered her.

Me? I was just restless. I didn’t know what to think. Leaving sooner meant I could get to Lonzo sooner. But it also meant my exams, my marriage, and the end of this protected world with my friends would come sooner. Troubled by a tangle of conflicting feelings, I finally left for a walk around the house. I needed space and the chance to clear my head.

I passed a couple of other girls coming and going to the washrooms or kitchen, but most were settling into their rooms for the night. Downstairs, village workers were finishing the last of the picnic’s cleanup, and I started to steer clear of them until I saw one who had a familiar stoop and baggy coat.

I approached him quietly as he stacked some crates. “Did they let you in here,” I asked, “or did you just pick the locks?”

He jumped and glanced back at me. After giving me a brief, wry look from underneath his floppy hat, he returned to his work. I could see a bit more of his face than that night outside—though still nothing substantial—and it was mostly what I’d observed before. Scraggly beard, scars, dirt. His eyes, dark and sardonic, were the same as well.

“Would you come after me with a knife if I did?” he asked.

“That depends on if you’ll tell me what the pick with the double curve is for.”

That surprised him again, enough that it warranted a second look. While the hat drooped over part of his face, the chandelier above clearly illuminated the cheek I’d seen before. It had the same weathered surface and same star-like scar. Except . . . was it in a different place? I could’ve sworn that last time, that scar sat in the center of his cheek. But I saw now that it was much closer to his ear, the one with the nick in its side. I’d obviously been wrong. It’d been dark and rainy that night, and other matters had preoccupied me.

“You tried to use that one?” he asked.

“I’ve used all of them,” I replied proudly. “All around the house. Still figuring out how to make a few work. But that one I can’t even find a lock for.”

“It’s for safes,” he said after a small coughing fit. “Big safes, the kind banks use. I doubt you’ve got any around here.”

“Have you broken into any safes like that?”

He snorted. “I wouldn’t be hauling away your dishes if I had. Looks like you had some sort of fancy affair going on.”

“A ballroom picnic—since it’s too cold to have one outside. Although I think it was more of a ploy.”

He had turned his face from me again but couldn’t resist that observation. “How so?”

“Jas—Mister Thorn let us spend time with our families. I think he hoped it would soften the shock of us going early.”

He stopped his work. “Early?”

“We’re leaving for Adoria in just about a month. Our exams start right away.”

“A month,” he repeated, staring off in the distance. “That isn’t a prime sailing time. It can be done, but it’s not pleasant. And sometimes it’s, well . . . never mind. Thorn must want to get a jump on other traders. What fool captain did he get to agree to this?”

His keen interest was startling. “I don’t know anything about that. Just that I have to be ready in time. Exams. Dress fittings.”

The man nodded absentmindedly and seemed to give up on his work altogether. “I have to go.”

“What about these?” I gestured to the boxes he’d abandoned.

“Someone else will come for them. Or you can feel free to jump in.” He turned toward the door. “Good luck with your tests and dresses.”

“Wait,” I called as he started to walk away. He paused. “I . . . I did what you said. About information. I used the picks to find out about Clara’s past, and you were right. She has a secret, and now I know it. And she knows that I know.”

He was angled away from me but seemed to be smiling. “So no more gossip?”

“No more anything. Information is power.”

“Well done. You’re a natural.”

“Do you want your picks back?”

“Keep them. I told you I have extras.”

“But why? Why give them to me at all?”

“Because you strike me as a woman who’s going to want to go a lot of places that other people say you can’t. These will help even the odds.” He strode to the door more confidently now, and I knew he’d no longer be delayed. “Thanks for the help,” he called back, just before shutting the door. I stared after it, mystified.

“What help?” I asked. The empty room didn’t answer back, and after a few more moments, I trudged back up to my room to prepare for the last chapter of my training in the Glittering Court.





CHAPTER 5


I SPENT THE NEXT WEEK WITH MY HEAD IN MY BOOKS. Language remained my top priority, no matter what Professor Brewer said. My accent’s implications in daily Adorian life bothered me. I needed a husband with means who’d treat me as an equal. That latter attribute could actually be harder to find, but the more options I had, the better. Likewise, the more Osfridian I appeared while searching for Lonzo, the more influence I’d exert.