Changeling (Sorcery and Society Book 1)(47)

I blinked at her owlishly. Had we been attending different parties? Callista thought that her conversation with Alicia had been “going well?” Did she really think she could bully her way into a friendship, just because she thought it would benefit her?

As if my mark could sense my annoyance, the metal dragonfly on my palms seemed to heat up all at once. Callista hissed, dropping my hand.

“I will keep that in mind for future reference,” I said, offering her the barest hint of a smile. “Now, if you’ll excuse me.”

A soft knock sounded at my door. Callista didn’t budge from her spot, seeming relieved at the excuse to stay. I frowned, uneasy at having Callista in my room for a moment longer than necessary. I called, “Come in!”

The “important social connection” herself skipped into my room on her tiny slippered feet, carrying a spray of flowers and a book. You could barely see Alicia through the odd floral arrangement, certainly not comprised any variety of roses I knew. Each blossom was a different color, and the tightly bound petals were shiny and slick.

Alicia stopped short at the sight of Callista, and frowned.

“Little Alicia, darling!” Callista exclaimed. “How are you?”

“Just fine, thank you,” Alicia said, in a frosty tone that would have impressed my patroness. Because while it seemed acceptable for me to call her “little” in my head, I was certainly socially savvy enough to know that I shouldn’t say it aloud. Callista made a welcoming wiggle of her fingers, to lure her into a… hug, maybe?

Alicia ignored her, walking past her to hand me the flowers. “For you.”

“Thank you! They’re lovely.” I touched the center flower, a lovely bright bloom in Castwell green, and it fluttered open. I realized that while the greenery was fresh and fragrant – almond leaves for gratitude – the rose was made of a long silk ribbon rolled tightly into a blossom shape. As it snaked through the air, the ribbon folded itself and looped like a pair of wings, flapping with purpose across the room and landing in a neat roll on the bed. Phillip flitted toward the ribbon to peck at it, as if he didn’t appreciate some other thing flying in his space.

Delighted, I laughed and clapped my hands.

“Fantastic!” I exclaimed. This was the reason to study magic, I told myself, the ability to produce such wonder. One by one, I touched each rose and their ribbons followed suit, unfurling into a ribbon-butterfly and flying across the room.

“They’re for you, to say thank you for the social,” Alicia told me, beaming sweetly. Feeling slightly guilty for not reading the card before I tugged my bouquet apart, I plucked the card from the foliage. I read it aloud, “With sincere thanks, to replace the kind gift that you gave my sister. Your humble servant, Gavin McCray.”

My smile was so broad that it nearly hurt my cheeks. I’d never received such a lovely, thoughtful gift, and I certainly never received such a gesture from a boy. And this particular gesture coming from this particular boy had an ecstatic warmth flooding my whole body. He’d noticed me! And even better, he’d noticed a kindness I’d done his sister. Not the cut of my gown or the smoothness of my complexion, but something true and good in me. Somehow that justified the moments I’d devoted to thinking about Gavin over the last few weeks. He was a sweet boy, who loved and protected his sister. Compared to some of the other Guardian boys I’d seen, he was practically mythical.

And I’d completely forgotten that Callista was still in the room. And that she planned to hook Gavin like a plate-bound trout. Callista plucked at one of the ribbons on my bed with a disdainful sneer she could not hide. “What an odd and unseemly gift.”

“Really?” Alicia asked, her eyes wide with feigned wonder. “Because he put so much thought into it. He really wanted Cassandra to know the depth of his appreciation. I helped him choose every ribbon at Madame Beamis’s millinery shop.”

My lips twitched as Callista tried to row backwards, to recant the insult, but she couldn’t. “Well, Alicia, I was hoping to catch you before we all left for the weekend. My mother and I would just love it if you came to tea tomorrow. And if you happened to bring your brother with you, well, that would just be lovely for everyone, now wouldn’t it.”

Alicia and I both shot Callista incredulous looks. Gavin McCray had to be three years older than us. And, as my Papa would say, Callista was about as subtle as five pounds of fertilizer in a three pound bag. Alicia flushed a pale pink and shook her head, clearly searching for some sort of excuse as to why she couldn’t oblige, so I jumped in.

“Oh, that’s so sweet of you to offer, Callista,” I said, looping my arm through Alicia’s. “But Alicia has already accepted an invitation for tea at Raven’s Rest tomorrow.”

There was an awkward moment, when Callista clearly expected me to include her in the never-issued invitation, but I smiled blithely as she stewed like one of my mother’s braised apples.

“Some other time then,” Callista sniffed. With her nose in the air, Callista swept from the room.

I laughed, shaking my head, re-reading the card, admiring the precise block printing of Gavin’s card.

“She’s a delight,” Alicia muttered, making me snort.

Just then Ivy came bustling into my room, out of breath. She collapsed against my vanity seat and gasped out, “Callista is on her way here.”