You Are Mine (22 page)

“
Please tell me they
aren't all dresses for me.”

Her cheeks grow rosier. “They are.
There should be enough that you won't have problems finding
something to wear.”

“
All the time your workers
spent and the materials, I simply can't accept this. You should try
to sell them in your shop.”

Katherine frowns and moves to the bed.
She opens a package on top. “No tarnished would wear such a thing,
and you are my only other customer.”

In the package is a black gown. She
holds it up. Another two piece. Embroidered with silver thread,
almost too light of a shade to be acceptable, but such a small
amount, it will pass. She's right, it's decorated more than
anything a tarnished would wear.

“
Katherine,
it's
—
” I
don't know what to say.

“
It's lovely.” Cynthia
moves to brush the gown with her fingers. “It matches your
hair.”

“
That's what I was
hoping,” Katherine says.

I press my lips together and reach for
one. “May I?”

Katherine says, “Please
do.”

I take the string off it. Another
lovely two piece awaits. We all start opening packages. The joy
within me grows with each new reveal. Dresses with laces in the
front and two pieces with buttons. Matching gloves and ribbons.
It's too much, but it's perfect.

I tell Katherine, “These are
beautiful.”

“
Let's try them on and see
if they need any adjustments.”

So I try things on and stand while
things are pinned. Then another dress. And another. Most need few,
if any, adjustments. Katherine got them just right. Waverly and
Cynthia ohh and ahh over the choices. I feel like doing the
same.

“
Well, I'm starved,”
Cynthia says when I've tried all the dresses and I'm back in one
that fits. “Why don't I bring us a tray for lunch? Then I'll help
with some of the sewing if you'd like, Katherine.”

“
You can sew?” she
responds.

“
She's the best seamstress
in our household,” I say.

“
I can get the food so you
can stay and work.” Waverly stands.

Cynthia beats her to the door. “I'll
grab it. It'd be nice to stretch my legs.”

“
Let me help at least.
It's part of my job and I don't mind”

“
That'd be great. We'll
see you ladies soon,” Cynthia says.

After they've left, Katherine says,
“They seem nice.”

“
Cynthia's sweet. I don't
know much about Waverly, yet. Did you know that in Envado, servants
are paid?”

Katherine keeps her gaze on the skirt
she's hemming. “I'd heard. How do you feel about that?”

I lower my voice. “It's a little
strange, but a good idea. As much wealth as the Chancellor has, I
don't envision it being a problem, but if we ever get close to
going into debt, it would be nice to work it off before becoming
indentured.”

“
Could you handle a life
of work?”

“
I think so. I wasn't
pampered at home. I did as much as the servants both here and back
at Father's. Maybe a little more work. I suppose I wouldn't really
know until I tried. If I become tarnished, I will find
out.”

Katherine looks up from her work. “Do
you think it's a possibility?”

“
It's always a possibility
now that I'm engaged. I'll spend the rest of my life worrying it
may become my fate.” My gaze roams over her inked face. “Not that I
mean to imply your life is undesirable.”

“
It's not for everyone, or
even most, but sometimes it's for the best.”

What can she mean by that? She goes
back to stitching, but keeps darting her gaze to me. “Do you ever
think about escaping?”

“
I've thought of it more
than I should,” I whisper. Since coming here and learning
more.

She finishes the hem and sets the
skirt to the side. Grabbing a hold of my hand she says, “Serena, I
can help. If you ever want to escape, or need to, I'll do whatever
I can to help.”

I glance at the door. If anyone should
overhear us talking like this, what would be our fate? I don't want
to find out, but I also want to know what she means. “How would you
do such a thing?”

“
We'd make something
work.” She gives my hand a squeeze. “Will you come to me, if you
need to?”

I think of what I've been through. Do
I want to leave? Truly leave? What would my sisters do without me?
“How would I ever promote your dresses if I weren't
here?”

She sits back and smiles. “It'd be
harder. But the offer stands.” She grabs another skirt and threads
a needle.

“
Do you mind if I ask a
personal question?” I say.

“
You can ask. I may not
answer.”

“
Fair enough.” I shift in
my chair, wishing my stitches were good enough to help out. If I
could maybe it would keep us away from this conversation. Or at
least give the appearance I was doing something useful instead of
delving into questions a woman shouldn't ask.

“
How did you get to be a
tarnished?”

“
Ouch!” A dot of blood
forms where she pricked her finger.

“
Are you all right?” I
move to help her, but she stops me with a wave.

“
Happens all the time.”
She grabs a discarded piece of fabric to dab it with. “I became a
tarnished like everyone else. Why do you ask?”

“
Father and mother
threatened that if I didn't behave, my future husband might force
me to become one. I wondered what it was like.”

“
Most male tarnished
become so at their three-year-old test. Without magic, they're
never given a chance to know anything else.” A bitter edge taints
her voice.

“
You don't
agree?”

“
Who am I to say what the
council laws should be? I'm not a man and certainly not a
warlock.”

“
But if you were, would
you agree?”

“
If you were, would
you?”

I watch her hands deftly weave the
needle in and out of the cloth. Should non-magic men be tarnished
from childhood? Should they experience a life more like what I grew
up with instead of being tarnished? Living a life of hard labor
whether with a warlock or trying to make things work on their own
like Katherine? They still have choices, but not as many as the
warlocks do.

“
Are many tarnished
children beaten?”

For the first time since the subject
began, she looks at me. “What?”

“
I know your men can't hex
anyone, but do the caretakers beat them?”

Her lips tighten. “Tarnished children
have already been through testing and taken out of their homes.
That's hard on any three-year-old. We know better than to beat
them.”

“
No one ever
does?”

“
Sometimes it happens, but
it's the exception. Personally, I'd never raise a hand to a child
and neither would any other tarnished I associate with, man or
not.”

Perhaps the compulsion
comes with those who use magic. “I think
that
—
”

My door opens. I exchange a look with
Katherine. Did they hear us? The conversation is over. For now, at
least. Cynthia and Waverly enter with trays of food. I rise to help
them, hoping my actions will help them think everything is as it
should be.

“
This looks delicious,” I
say. “I don't know which I'll eat first.”

“
You should have seen
Phyllis's face when we came to grab a tray,” Cynthia says. “I don't
think she's very happy with you.”

No hint that she overheard something
she shouldn't. I shrug. “I wasn't very happy with her
either.”

Once the plates are dished and my
hunger abated somewhat, I say to Katherine, “These clothes will be
more useful than you know. Apparently when a council member gets
married, they hold a ball. It will give me the perfect chance to
show everyone your dresses.”

Katherine eyes widen. “When's it
taking place?”

“
You'll get paid from all
those warlocks who attend and don't want their possessions out
done.” Cynthia laughs. “It's the day before the wedding. I can't
wait.”

“
A ball before the
wedding?” Katherine says.

I wish the wedding didn't have to be
associated with it. Every time it's brought up, my insides mush
together. The ball though, it's coming together better than I
hoped. “I'm trying to get help planning everything. Cynthia has
many ideas. Hopefully, my other sister Bethany, will be able to
help. She's always had a knack for helping mother plan, though she
hasn't attended any as of yet. And instead of just helping put
everything together, maybe Waverly can give us an Envadi
flare.”

“
I don't know how things
differ, but I'd be willing to tell you what things are like in
Envado,” Waverly says.

“
We've already discussed
how I can't pay,” I say, hoping I'm not being too forward. That she
really does want people to see me wearing her things, “but maybe
you could make my ball gown? I might be able to get you some new
orders from it.”

“
Sounds good, if we can
convince the other guests to buy something. And for your dress,
it'd be a thrill to do. I'll get started on ideas right away.”
Katherine stands. “I must go anyway. I'll take these dresses and
get them to you as soon as they're finished.”

“
You're already doing so
much. Thank you, and don't rush. I'll manage with what I have,” I
say.

“
Then I'll only work on
outfits I want to. Let me know how the ball plans go.”

“
I will.”

Waverly gathers the dresses that still
need alterations and packages them. The rest go in my closet.
Tomorrow, I'll be able to dress myself and I owe it all to
Katherine's generosity. But the conversation about the tarnished
makes me wonder if there is more to her than just the generosity
she has shown.

Cynthia's moving toward the door to
help Katherine, when it bursts open. Chancellor Zade looms before
us, his gaze stopping on Katherine.

My hand goes to my throat. Is he going
to chastise me for having a tarnished over? Will he punish her for
being here? It's my fault, not hers.

“
I heard you had a guest,”
he says.

I lick my lips. How much do I tell
him? Is it worse if she's here for no reason or if he knows what
she's been helping with. No reason would be worse. “Y–yes. My
seamstress.”

He does the most astonishing thing. He
walks to her with his hand outstretched. “Good to meet you, I'm
Zade.”

With more confidence then I'd have,
she places her hand in his and tilts her head down. “I'm aware of
who you are Chancellor. If you'll excuse me, I was just
leaving.”

“
I didn't mean to scare
you off.”

“
We finished what we
needed to.”

Will he ask what we did? If he sees
the dresses, will he make me give them back? Punish her for them? I
grip the side of my chair.

“
I'll see you out then.”
He takes a few packages from her and looks at me a moment before
they depart.

The packages were within his
possession. Will he open them while escorting her out? My grip
tightens as I worry about what he'll do if he discovers just what
kind of dresses a tarnished has been making for me.

Chapter
Twenty-One

A
cool breeze sends a shiver through me. Or maybe fear is
making me feel colder. I pull my shawl tighter around me. Though
there are guards posted and protection spells, I can't help but
check around me for an intruder. If I wasn't so sick of being
inside, I wouldn't bother venturing out. But staying indoors has
been hard.

Stopping in front of the biggest water
feature in the garden, I scan the area for signs of trouble. When
none appear, I let myself relax a bit. There's been no further sign
of problems. Maybe Chancellor Zade took care of them.

The pond is decorated with fish and
lily pads. Flowers are blooming all around, just like the rest of
the garden. With a bit of work, in two months it will be a
beautiful sight and hopefully fall won't be too cool for our guests
to enjoy.

I debate if I'm brave enough to go
further into the garden when I hear the clomp of footsteps. I whirl
toward the direction the sound comes from. Am I about to be
attacked again? There's no way to ring for a servant out here. If I
scream, will a guard be close enough to hear? Or will the attacker
cast a spell to keep anyone from hearing my cries for
help?

The sound moves closer. What should I
do? Before I decide, Chancellor Zade strides around the hedge. Most
of the tension drains away. Not an intruder, just the Chancellor.
He's most improperly attired without his coat. Though I find myself
not wanting to, I avert my gaze anyway. He doesn't look angry.
Maybe he's not upset about the dresses. Or perhaps he didn't even
open them.