Midnight Jewel (The Glittering Court #2)(18)

“I . . . I’m sorry, what?”

She gestured to my chest with a swatch of red silk. “You can fill out a corset, no question. We’ve got to push and squeeze some of these girls to make it look like they’ve got any sort of cleavage at all. But you’ve got the real thing, and we can show it off. They wear lower necklines over there, you know.”

“Er, ah, thank you? But I’m sure there are others . . . that is, I mean everyone knows that Ingrid . . .” I couldn’t finish.

“Her over there? Oh, yes. We’ve actually got to rein her in. Too much, if you can believe it. And she’s so short that it makes her look unbalanced—like she’s going to fall over. You’ve got enough here to catch the eye, and you’re tall and slim enough that all the proportions work perfectly.”

I was too mortified to respond.

“Don’t look like that,” she said. “We won’t do anything indecent, but my job is to make the most of what everyone’s got. You’ll thank me later.”




“What a day,” I told my roommates when I was finally allowed the safety of my bedroom. Tamsin had taken comfort in the thought of retakes and now brimmed with energy. “Didn’t all that . . . unsettle you, even a little?” I asked. I couldn’t bear to tell them of Miss Garrison’s continued analysis of my cleavage. Even recalling it made me cringe.

“I was born for this,” Tamsin declared. “The only unsettling part was that I was wearing blue, not green.”

Adelaide, stretched out on her bed, gave an exasperated sigh. “Green, blue. It’s not life or death.”

Tamsin’s expression said otherwise. “Easy for you to say, Miss Amethyst. You look ravishing in purple. You’re lucky to have landed where you did.”

Adelaide didn’t respond, and I realized she must not have mentioned her retake plans.




Tamsin soon found out about those plans when she and Adelaide both showed up the following week for retakes, along with a handful of other girls. Tamsin was floored, especially when she found out Adelaide wanted to redo all the exams, not just a few subjects. What actually shocked me the most was seeing Adelaide study just as diligently as Tamsin.

During the time that was going on, my only real duties were to show up for my dress fittings. My beautiful red wardrobe increased day by day, and along with being overwhelmed by the opulence, I just couldn’t get over the price of it all. One dress would’ve fed us for months back in Osfro.

“How do they afford all of this?” I asked Miss Garrison at one point. “Do our contract prices really cover the cost of clothes and passage to Adoria?”

“Yes, actually. And then Mister Jasper gets even more back by either selling your dresses or reusing the materials for next year’s girls.” She looked up from her hemming to study the scarlet velvet gown I wore. It sat off the shoulder and glittered with beaded embellishment. “Although Mister Charles insists that each girl can keep one, if she wants, for her wedding. This would be an excellent one.”

“What’s Mister Charles like?” We rarely heard about Jasper’s brother and partner.

“He has a gentler disposition. I think Mister Jasper would boss him around more, but Mister Charles came into this with much, much more money. His late wife was something of an heiress.”

“What about Mister Jasper’s wife? No one mentions her.”

“Mistress Thorn? Living over in Mertonshire, last I heard. They say it’s because it’s better for her constitution than the city air.” Miss Garrison’s voice dropped to a conspiratorial whisper. “But between you and me, I believe she and Mister Jasper are simply happier being together . . . when they’re not together. I guess some marriages work better that way.”

“I suppose so,” I murmured, thinking of my own future.




A few days later, the results came back, and Jasper and Mistress Masterson called us to the library again. Both wore stunned expressions. They didn’t even notice when Cedric slipped in late and stood beside them.

“I know some of you have been waiting for your retake results, so you’ll be pleased they’re in. Most of you showed improvement—for which I’m particularly proud. But there was nothing significant enough to warrant a change in rank or theme.” Mistress Masterson paused. “With one exception.”

I could hardly believe it. I never doubted Tamsin’s determination, but even I’d found it unlikely she could top her ninety-nine percent score.

Mistress Masterson exchanged brief looks with Jasper and then turned back to address us. “Adelaide. The improvement you showed is . . . remarkable, to put it mildly. I’ve never, ever seen a girl make such a leap in scores. And . . . I’ve never seen a girl get a perfect overall score. We rarely have theme changes based on retakes, though of course it happens. And in this case, it’s absolutely warranted.”

I didn’t immediately grasp what had happened. Tamsin, gaping, clearly had.

“Adelaide, my dear, you’ve replaced Winnifred from Dunford Manor as our diamond,” Jasper said. I glanced back and forth between my best friends in disbelief. “Everyone else who scored above your last result will move down a notch. All girls will still keep their gemstone themes, with a few exceptions.”