The Glittering Court (The Glittering Court, #1)(13)

“That’s not going to matter—not over there.”

“You don’t know ‘over there’ like I do,” came the biting reply. “You just threw away your commission.”

“That’s not—”

The words were abruptly cut off when the two speakers reached the carriage’s doorway. One of them, an older man in his forties, had only the faintest touch of silver in his brown hair. There was a dashing look about him, and he bore enough resemblance to Cedric Thorn to make me realize this must be his father, Jasper.

The other man joining us was, of course, Cedric Thorn himself.

My mouth went dry as our gazes locked. Even while being chastised by his father, Cedric had swaggered up to the carriage with that same self-assured ease I’d seen previously. Now, he came to an abrupt halt, so suddenly that he nearly tripped over his own feet. He stared at me like I was an apparition. His mouth opened to speak and then shut abruptly as though, perhaps, he didn’t trust himself.

Jasper beamed when he saw Tamsin, oblivious to the silent drama occurring between Cedric and me. “So lovely to see you again, my dear. I trust your pickup was fine?”

Tamsin’s earlier calculation and wariness vanished as she returned his smile. “Oh, everything’s been lovely, Mister Thorn. The carriage is beautiful, and I’ve already made a new friend.”

His eyes fell on me, and I had to drag myself away from Cedric’s pinning gaze. I noticed that Jasper, at least, regarded me with approval. “And you must be our other lovely companion. Ada, right?” Jasper extended his hand to me, and after several awkward moments, I realized he expected to me to shake it. I did, hoping my unfamiliarity with the gesture didn’t show. “You, I have no doubt, will have men beating down our door in Adoria.”

I wet my lips, having difficulty finding my voice. “Th-thank you, sir. And you can call me Adelaide.”

Somehow, that comment seemed to snap Cedric out of his daze. “Oh. Is that what you’re calling yourself now?”

“It’s an improvement,” I said pointedly. “Don’t you think?”

When Cedric didn’t answer, Jasper nudged him. “Stop delaying. We need to get going.”

Cedric studied me a beat more, and I felt as though we both stood on a precipice. He was the one who’d determine which way we tipped. “Yes,” he said at last. “Let’s go.”

Jasper entered ahead of him, sitting beside Tamsin and taking up most of the seat on that side. Obligingly, the Sirminican girl scooted over on our side, creating extra space. Recognizing the cue, I moved as well. After a slight hesitation, Cedric sat down beside me. It still made for close quarters, and our arms and legs touched. My grandmother would have been scandalized. He barely moved, and I could feel that his body was as rigid as my own, both of us tense as we came to terms with this new situation.

Most of the subsequent conversation was carried by Jasper and Tamsin. I learned the Sirminican girl was called Mira, but she said as little as Cedric and I did. I commented once on the beauty of her shawl, and she drew it closer. “It was my mother’s,” she said softly, her words laced with a Sirminican accent. There was a sadness in her voice I understood, one that stirred up an ache in my chest that had never entirely gone away. Without knowing anything else about her, I instantly felt a connection and asked her no more.

When the carriage came to a full stop after about twenty minutes, Jasper looked up with satisfaction. “Finally. The gates. Once we’re outside the city, we can get some real speed.” We could hear agitated voices on the other side of the carriage door, and as the delay increased, Jasper’s expression grew annoyed. “What’s taking so long?” He opened the door and leaned out, calling to the driver.

The driver hurried to the door, two gate guards behind him. “Sorry, Mister Thorn. They’re checking everyone leaving. Looking for some girl.”

“Not some girl,” corrected one of the guards harshly. “A young noblewoman. Seventeen years old. A countess.”

I stopped breathing.

“Who are these girls?” demanded the other guard, peering inside.

Jasper relaxed. “Certainly not countesses. We’re with the Glittering Court. These are common girls, bound for Adoria.”

The guard was suspicious, studying each of us in turn. I wished again I’d thought to change my hair.

“What’s this girl look like?” asked Jasper conversationally.

“Brown hair and blue eyes,” said one of the guards, his gaze lingering fractionally longer on me. “Same age as this lot. Ran away earlier this evening. There’s a reward.”

I almost felt indignant, since I liked to think my hair was more of a golden brown. But it was a common enough description that it could apply to half the girls in the city. The vaguer, the better.

“Well, we’ve got a Sirminican, a laundress, and a housemaid,” said Jasper. “If the reward’s big enough and you want to pass one of them off as a countess, be my guest, but I assure you, we’ve seen where they come from. Hardly posh conditions . . . although, Cedric, weren’t you in some noble’s house today? Isn’t that where you got Adelaide? Did you hear anything?”

The first guard’s gaze locked onto Cedric. “Sir? Where were you?”

Cedric had been staring straight ahead this whole time, perhaps hoping a lack of eye contact would render him invisible.