Midnight Jewel (The Glittering Court #2)(93)

Adelaide flounced onto the bed and buried her face in her hands. I moved swiftly to her side and put my arm around her. “What happened?”

She dropped her hands and shook her head. “Oh, Mira. I don’t know what to do. I don’t know what’s going to happen.”

“Tell me what already happened.”

Tears began to roll down her cheeks. She was one of those people who still looked beautiful while crying. “Cedric and I—we—that is—Clara found us—and now . . . I don’t know.”

It was strange to have poised, eloquent Adelaide so at a loss for words. But even with her lack of coherency, a feeling of dread began to build within me. Was it possible that I wasn’t the only one who’d done some scandalous things tonight?

“Adelaide, what did Clara find you and Cedric doing?”

“Nothing!” she exclaimed. “I mean, it was only kissing. Not whatever she’s saying. We only kissed. Just like the last time.”

“Last time? How many . . . times have there been?”

She wiped at her face. “Only those. I’ve loved him longer than that, ever since . . . well, I don’t know how long. We can’t get married, though. But there’s no way I can marry anyone else. Not anymore. What are they going to do to Cedric? What are they going to do to me? I’m going to have to go to a workhouse!”

“You absolutely will not. I’ll smuggle you out on a ship before that happens. Now, let’s get you cleaned up. You’ll feel better.”

I helped her get out of the elaborate dress and into a nightgown. As I washed the makeup from her face with a cool cloth, my mind raced. I was an even worse friend than I’d thought. Because in looking back, I realized that I should’ve known a long, long time ago that Adelaide and Cedric were in love. It was so obvious in the way they sought each other out, the way she used to light up whenever he visited Blue Spring. Any friend of theirs would have seen it. Any friend whose head wasn’t filled with spies and pirates.

As she grew calmer, I got a slightly clearer version of the story. Apparently, she and Cedric had only recently discovered their love, and they’d tried to ignore it—resulting in both of them being miserable for the last month as Adelaide was trotted out for man after man. Everything had exploded when Clara had walked in on them kissing in the attic tonight.

“What are they going to do to Cedric?” Adelaide asked again. “They can’t ignore this. We’re all supposed to be protected and virtuous.”

I certainly wasn’t in the ranks of the virtuous anymore. I felt embarrassed that Adelaide and Cedric—so deeply in love—had managed to restrain themselves. As for me, I’d shamelessly given myself to . . . what? What was Grant to me?

I couldn’t unburden myself to Adelaide now. Not anymore. She had too much going on without taking on my problems. She spent most of the night telling me variations of the same story, crying, and worrying about what would happen next. When she dozed a little near sunrise, I stayed awake and watched over her.

Mistress Culpepper came knocking early and told us Adelaide needed to be downstairs in thirty minutes for a meeting with the Thorns in their private office. We were released from our confinement and allowed to clean up in the washrooms, but the bodyguards still hovered in the hallway. Adelaide’s hysteria had faded, and she stood ready to face what was to come. There was no sign of last night’s tears, and she strode down the stairs with her head high.

The other girls were already up, lingering in the foyer or parlor or anywhere that kept them within sight of the office. Once Adelaide had gone inside it and shut the door, I stood in the hallway opposite it and crossed my arms over my chest.

My defensive stance made the others steer clear of me, though I saw a few eye me curiously, no doubt hoping I had some new piece of the story. I stared straight ahead and stayed silent, even when I heard Clara recounting a very exaggerated, very unflattering version of what had happened last night.

I only broke my silence to ask loudly, “What were you doing in the attic last night anyway, Clara?” When she promptly stopped her story, I suspected I wasn’t the only one who had discovered the trellis.

Things got more interesting when Warren Doyle and his mother showed up at the front door, insisting they speak with Charles and Jasper.

“I—I’m sorry,” said Mistress Culpepper, more flustered than I’d ever seen. “Mister Charles and Mister Jasper are currently engaged with, ah, Mister Cedric and Miss Bailey.”

But after a quick check with the Thorns, the Doyles were admitted to the office. I wondered how they could have found out so soon. Certainly not from us cloistered girls. The bodyguards, I supposed. This was good gossip for a festival night.

“Who in the world is that now?” exclaimed Mistress Culpepper when another knock sounded. “Does everyone in the city know? Answer it, Judith.”

When Miss Bradley opened the door, it was obvious those waiting outside weren’t from Cape Triumph. Three men and a woman in plainly cut clothing of blue-gray wool stood on the front porch, their expressions solemn. One man looked a little older than me. His companions were middle-aged. I glanced beyond them in astonishment. More people—a lot more people—dressed in similar clothing stretched out into the house’s yard. Most appeared to be women.

The younger man took off his hat, revealing neatly cut blond hair. “Good morning, Mistress. My name is Gideon Stewart. Can you tell me if this is the household of Mister Charles Th—”