Midnight Jewel (The Glittering Court #2)(19)

Mistress Masterson took over again and directed her words to Adelaide. “As Mister Thorn said, you’ll be our diamond. You and Winnifred are of similar size, and Miss Garrison should have little difficulty fitting you into her clothes. Since her score was so high, it’d hardly seem fair to assign her a semiprecious stone like the amethyst. We think she’ll show best as a sapphire, and we’ve done a couple of other last-minute switches—which means, Tamsin, you can be an emerald after all. Miss Garrison expects the green fabric to arrive next week, and she and her assistants will work around the clock to make sure you’re properly outfitted.”

Tamsin showed no joy at getting her coveted color. “But . . . if the ranks shifted down, then that means . . . I’m fourth.”

“Yes,” said Mistress Masterson.

“You’ll dazzle them as an emerald,” Jasper told Tamsin. “Even if you aren’t invited to all the elite parties, I know you’ll be in high demand. I’m proud of you. I’m proud of all my girls—though it looks like my son managed to find the top jewel this season.”

Judging from Cedric’s shocked face, it appeared he hadn’t been informed of this new ranking ahead of time.

Mistress Masterson dismissed the rest of us but held Adelaide back. Upstairs, all anyone could talk about was the unprecedented switch. I ignored all the questions that rained down on me and steered a visibly distraught Tamsin into the privacy of our room.

She sat on her bed, hands clasped in her lap. She’d always been fair skinned, but the pallor I saw now made me worry she’d faint. “Tamsin—”

“How?” she asked softly, looking up at me with enormous eyes. They glittered with unshed tears. “How is this even possible? I gave it everything, everything that was in me. I worked hard. I studied hard.”

I sat beside her. “Of course you did. It’s just that Adelaide studied . . .”

I couldn’t finish, realizing how foolish I was about to sound.

“. . . studied harder than me?” Tamsin supplied. “We both know that’s not true. And my dreams are done.”

“Of course they aren’t!” I found this shaken, downcast Tamsin far more upsetting than the fiery, temperamental one I usually saw.

She took a deep breath. “Mira, for some of these girls, being here has been a dream come true. A roof over their heads. Plenty of food. All those dresses. But none of that really mattered to me. I mean, I liked it all, yes, but it wasn’t easy for me to come here. Some days, it’s been agonizing. Being away from the city meant—”

Adelaide opened the door, and all trace of the subdued girl beside me evaporated. Tamsin was on her feet in a flash, face full of rage.

“What have you done?” she demanded.

Adelaide winced. “I’m, uh, not sure what you mean.”

“The hell you don’t! Has this all been some kind of joke? Coast along and then swoop in at the end to crush everyone else?” Tamsin pushed on when Adelaide didn’t answer. “How did you do that? How did you score perfectly on everything?”

I could see Adelaide trying to remain calm and put on some semblance of her usual lighthearted manner. But the effort was weak. “I learned a lot of it when I worked in my lady’s house. I was around nobility all the time, and I guess I picked up their ways. You know that.”

Tamsin clenched her fists at her sides. “Oh yeah? Where were those ways in the last nine months? You’ve botched things continuously—but not always the same things! You run hot and cold, perfect at some things and then failing at the most basic ones. What kind of game are you playing?”

“It’s no game,” Adelaide said. “My nerves just got the best of me. Things finally came together during the retakes.”

“Impossible. I don’t understand how or why you’ve been doing this, but I know something’s going on. And if you think you can just ruin my life and—”

“Oh, come on.” Adelaide’s composed fa?ade began wearing down. “Your life is far from ruined.”

“That’s not true. I had it. I was in the top three—the three who get shown the most!—and then you came along and pulled that out from under me. You knew how important it was to me but still went ahead and destroyed everything I’ve worked for.”

That was when Adelaide finally lost it. “Tamsin, enough! I’ve gone along with your theatrics for nine months, but this is going too far. Exactly what in your life has been destroyed? You can converse about current politics, eat a seven-course meal, and play the piano! Maybe you’ll miss out on a few parties, but you’re still going to marry some rich, prestigious man in the New World. You’ve come a long way from being a laundress’s daughter, and if you were my friend, you’d be happy at how far I’ve come too.”

Tamsin flinched a little at if you were my friend, but she didn’t back down. “That’s the thing. I can’t tell how far you’ve come. I’ve lived with you all these months but don’t know anything about you. The only thing I’m sure of is that you’ve been lying to us all, and this ‘triumph’ of yours just proves it!”

I felt sick to my stomach. All the hope I’d joyously built up was crumbling before me. No, no, I thought. I can’t lose this. I can’t lose this tranquil bubble. I hated seeing Tamsin so upset. I hated seeing her direct that raw emotion at Adelaide. And I hated the way it changed Adelaide.