Chapter 10:
Before the Trip
IT WAS THE DAY after graduation.
In her room, Angelica cupped a hand over her bruised cheek. Since it was a minor injury, she’d declined to have it treated, but it still stung. Right now, she was grateful for that pain. She wanted to feel her punishment.
“What I’ve done to Clarice was terrible. I’ll need to officially apologize to her eventually,” Angelica said.
Someone among the first-years had been gossiping about Clarice; one rumor claimed that Clarice had tried to hire herself a personal servant. If Angelica had been subject to the same defamation, she was confident that she’d have reacted as explosively as Clarice did at the party. Angelica knew that she was at fault for not keeping the other first-years in line, which is why she felt such guilt over the matter.
Angelica stood in front of her room’s window, gazing at the distant sky. “I suppose she must’ve set off on her boating trip with Jilk already.”
By the time the couple returned, Clarice would likely have calmed down. Would she accept Angelica’s apology then?
There was a knock at the door. Angelica’s retinue had arrived with news.
“Lady Angelica, we’ve looked into the source of those rumors.”
While Angelica was bereft of all emotion—almost numb, at this point—her followers trembled with barely restrained anger.
“A regional noble was responsible. She went to the markets to seek a personal servant of her own, and she overheard a rumor that someone who was the spitting image of Clarice had been shopping around for a personal servant as well.” Although Angelica’s retinue hadn’t pinpointed the rumor’s exact source, they’d managed to discover who started the gossip at the academy.
Angelica’s brows knitted. “What?”
One of her followers spoke up, voice raised with emotion. “She wasn’t trying to bring Clarice down. She just repeated what she’d heard to a group of friends. But Clarice is just as vicious and cunning as any other court noble. She was worried about being exposed, so she lashed out at you to cover up the truth.”
This follower—and the rest of Angelica’s retinue—were furious with Clarice’s response. This concerned them, too; they were also regional nobles, which was why they had such negative feelings toward the court nobles. Those sentiments had now transformed into outright animosity.
Sensing danger in her followers’ growing anger, Angelica reminded them harshly, “A regional noble spread these baseless rumors about Clarice to begin with. Did the girl in question even have solid proof that it was her?”
Her retinue fell silent.
“Don’t do anything foolish,” Angelica warned them, pointing for emphasis. “As soon as Clarice returns, I’ll apologize. In the meantime, don’t antagonize the court nobles.”
Since Angelica had given her orders, her followers excused themselves.
***
Once the door had closed behind them, one of Angelica’s more passionate followers erupted, “Damn it! After all the trouble we went to running around, trying to get information, is this how things end?!”
A calmer follower hushed her. “Careful what you say. She’s right that we have no proof. To call Clarice and those other court nobles out, we’d need something concrete.”
Angelica’s three followers were more concerned about her response than Clarice’s behavior. “Our lady’s become awfully listless lately. I’m worried that, if she doesn’t pull herself together, she’ll roll over and submit should Clarice and her minions pick a fight again. I don’t want to lose face due to those court nobles. I refuse,” said the third follower.
The passionate follower nodded eagerly. “I’ve never liked those reprobates. They always look down on us, as though they’re somehow more special because they live in the capital.”
The two groups had never been on good terms; still, they’d never fought openly as they were doing now.
“Ever since Clarice scolded the prince and his friends, things have taken a strange turn,” the calmer follower commented. She’d noticed something bizarre unfolding at the academy. “I worry that if this continues, it’ll look like we picked the fight.”
“Huh? How so?” the passionate follower demanded.
“You dummy,” said the third. “She means that it looks like we’re the ones in the wrong, spreading disinformation about Clarice. It’d be one thing if this were retaliation for something they’d done, but if we take all the blame, it’ll put us at a disadvantage.” There was no shame in responding to provocation, but no one wanted to be painted as a mad dog picking pointless fights.
“Then what do you suggest?” demanded the passionate follower.
“What can we do but let our lady apologize and drop the matter?” asked the calm one.
“You’re really just going to sit there and take it?” the passionate follower snapped back at her. “I mean, think about it: If we let her apologize, we’ll look ridiculous!”
The third shook her head, exasperated. “That idea is stupid. Would we even be nobles if we didn’t retaliate?” She’d been mostly calm until that point, but her eyes were now bloodshot as she mumbled excitedly to herself, “They need to pay for making fools of us. Yes—and we’re going to make them.”
The other two snapped their mouths shut.
***
The Atlee family’s airship had docked at the royal harbor. The vessel resembled a luxury yacht built with every comfort in mind for its highborn owner. The figurehead on its bow was a beautiful woman cradling an enormous book in her arms. The ship itself was painted pale green. It gleamed in the sunlight.
As Marie and I approached Dan, who was busy hauling luggage onto the ship, we declared our shameless purpose in coming.
“We’re seeing Her Ladyship off!”
“Here we are!”
Dan gave us an annoyed look. “What’re you really here for?”
“C’mon, sir,” I said. “We really just came to see her off.” I smiled innocently at him, flashing my teeth.
He sneered at me as though he didn’t buy that for a minute. “You barely know her. You have no reason to see her off.”
Dan was a third-year, but he was part of the general class. He came from a knight family, so he was far below us socially, which was also why he couldn’t take a sterner tone with us. Seniority was normally the factor that decided the pecking order, but even at the academy, one couldn’t overcome the chasm that separated a mere knight’s son from genuine nobility.
But enough of that. I scanned the area for Clarice. “So, uh, where’s Her Ladyship?” I asked eagerly. “I was hoping to chat with her about what happened yesterday.”
Dan didn’t hide his displeasure, scrunching his whole face at me. “She has nothing to speak to you about. Anyway, it was the regional nobility who spread those rumors about her hiring a personal servant. They’ve always been like this, resorting to the most sinister, undignified—ah, no offense to you two, of course. The point is, if you want to hear about those rumors, go ask the people who started them.” He’d lost his temper for a minute, seething with anger at the culprits.
Now that he’d so clearly rebuffed us, I was at a loss as to how to proceed.
“I can speak with you for a bit,” interrupted a voice. Clarice had come down the gangway from the ship.
Dan spun around to face her. “My lady?!”
“I’m aware that I made too much fuss yesterday,” Clarice said reflectively. “Jilk’s running late, so you’ll be a perfect distraction while I wait.”
Marie screwed up her face. “Someone as punctual as Jilk is late?”
She had played the game, like me. She knew Jilk well enough to understand how obsessive he was about punctuality. I shared Marie’s perspective, of course. Still, the moment she blurted out her question, Clarice’s face clouded.
“You seem to know him awfully well,” she said suspiciously.
Marie had, in fact, tried to sidle up to Jilk before, and her guilt over that seemed to bring on a cold sweat. It wouldn’t be surprising if Clarice already knew all about it.
“Um,” Marie hedged hesitantly, “that’s, uh…”
Since she was struggling, I interjected, “We both share quite a few classes with him. He takes his attendance so seriously that Marie just thought his being late for your trip was unusual.”
“Oh, of course. It is odd for him to be late,” Clarice admitted. “Perhaps something happened with the crown prince, and that’s why.”
Once Clarice bought my excuse, Marie slumped with relief. This was hypothetical, but if Marie had actually romanced Jilk and the other guys, she’d have made a real enemy of Clarice. I was glad she hadn’t, especially when I thought about the fury on Clarice’s face during that incident at the party. Thankfully, there was no way Marie would ever have succeeded at winning those guys over.
Clarice motioned us aboard her ship. “Come. If you want to speak more, I’d prefer to do it inside.”
***
Clarice guided us inside, to what looked like a drawing room, where she had tea served to us. The frankness of our questions exasperated her—especially on top of us shamelessly showing up at the harbor—but she answered us nonetheless. “I figured you’d want to ask about what happened yesterday, but I never expected you to cut to the point without any preamble. Is that Miss Deirdre’s influence?”
“I know we’re acting impudently, but how could we not be curious? Last time, you smiled and waved these rumors off. Then, last night, you showed up and slapped Miss Angelica across the face.” I shrugged helplessly. “I can’t help wondering what pushed you to go that far.”
Clarice sighed at my directness. Avoiding my gaze, she said, “Even my patience has limits. Angelica didn’t seem to be making any attempt to address the constant stream of vitriol against me, so I lost my temper. Well? Does that answer satisfy you?” She hadn’t mentioned the real reason she’d been upset: The rumor that she wanted a personal servant.
And as if reading my mind, Marie interjected, “It seemed like you were really upset about the whole personal-servant thing.”
Clarice picked up her teacup and took a sip, then responded, “I have plenty of excellent people who adore me and look after my needs already. I have no need for such a servant.”
Clarice’s compliment so touched Dan that he had tears in his eyes. He was currently standing behind her; he’d been the one waiting on us. If his reaction was anything to go by, the people around Clarice really did adore her. Still, her answer only made me more curious about why she’d exploded with such anger at the party.
I was about to press the matter when Clarice’s gaze moved to the clock. “Jilk is unusually late. Perhaps I should send someone to retrieve him.”
Close to half an hour had passed since Marie and I arrived. Clarice looked genuinely worried by the delay.
“My lady,” Dan cut in quickly, “Might I propose that my men and I visit the dorm and Lord Jilk’s house to locate him? We can be quick if we go on our airbikes.”
Clarice smiled at him. “Thank you, yes. Be careful out there.”
“We’ll do you proud, my lady!” He hurried out of the room.
“Men are something else, right?” Marie said as she watched him go.
Clarice chuckled. “He’s awfully pure and adorable, isn’t he?”
I wasn’t really sure how to react to what they’d both said. I got the feeling that silence was the best option, so I sipped my tea, biding my time.
***
The ticking of the clock seemed to echo through the room. More than two hours had passed since Dan and his men set out to retrieve Jilk. Marie and I had missed our opportunity to leave; we were still stuck in the room with Clarice. It was nearly lunchtime when Marie’s stomach let out noisy rumble, sounding for all the world like the growl of a voracious beast.
Clarice and I stared at Marie, who flushed bright red. “It was me,” she admitted, on the verge of tears.
We already know. You don’t need to state the obvious. I felt kind of bad for her, though, and Clarice smiled wanly before rising from her seat.
“I’ll have some food prepared for you,” she said.
That at least freed us from the awkward atmosphere that followed Marie’s faux pas, but we still weren’t free of this place. Once Clarice had left, I turned to Marie. I was sure she could tell what I wanted to say.
“I seriously can’t wait to see what kind of delicious cuisine they’ve got on a ship like this,” she told me.
On second thought, she was completely clueless. The only thing on her mind was food.
“Ignore your stomach, and focus on the real issue: Jilk. I’m starting to get worried that he’s this late. He might’ve gotten caught in an accident or something,” I told Marie. Maybe Jilk had wanted to come but couldn’t.
I didn’t have long to entertain the possibilities: Dan barged into the chamber. “My lady!”
“She just left the room,” Marie told him. “She went to have lunch prepared. Is Jilk here?”
Dan’s shoulders rose and fell in rapid succession as he struggled to catch his breath. “That bastard blew off his promise to Her Ladyship! And can you believe why? To spend time with that scholarship student!”
Apparently, Olivia hadn’t yet given up on romancing Jilk. But come on, you jerk! If you weren’t going to turn up, you should’ve at least told the lady.
Dan bowed his head to us. “I’m sorry to ask, but could you leave? Whatever happens next must be dealt with by those closest to Her Ladyship.”
“Sir?” I blurted back feebly.
Dan clenched his fists tightly, arms trembling. His fury at Jilk sharpened the lines on his face; he was probably on the verge of exploding. “It’s bad enough that he made a fool of Her Ladyship by breaking his promise to her, but to think that he did so to spend time with another woman… How could this possibly be allowed to go unpunished? Her Ladyship was so excited about their trip together. He needs to pay for this!” His voice was like a whip cracking through the air.
The door Clarice had disappeared through earlier cracked open. I spun to face it. Clarice stood there with a tray of food in her hands, her expression tinged with melancholy. “So,” she said in a weak voice, “he’s not coming, then.”
Dan strode toward her. “My lady, we’re prepared to set out and punish him for this. You need only give us the order. We’ll teach him a lesson. Then maybe he’ll finally—”
Yikes. They were already prepared to carry out an attack on Jilk.
Tears welled in Clarice’s eyes. “There’s no need. Don’t do anything foolish,” she said. “We’ll cancel the boating trip. I won’t be able to enjoy it anymore; not after this.” She set the tray on the nearby coffee table. Tears raced down her cheeks as she turned away and ran out of the room.
“My lady!” Dan hastened after her.
Only Marie and I were left in the room.
“What should we do?” Marie turned to me, her voice concerned. “If we let this go, they might charge out and do something horrible to Jilk.”
If they laid a hand on Jilk, it would be a huge scandal, given his close, brotherly relationship with the crown prince. Clarice wouldn’t get off easily, nor would Dan and his accomplices.
“Time to call Luxion,” I said. “We’ve got to make sure they don’t do something stupid.”
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