Midnight Jewel
Page 17

   “What’s Mister Charles like?” We rarely heard about Jasper’s brother and partner.
   “He has a gentler disposition. I think Mister Jasper would boss him around more, but Mister Charles came into this with much, much more money. His late wife was something of an heiress.”
   “What about Mister Jasper’s wife? No one mentions her.”
   “Mistress Thorn? Living over in Mertonshire, last I heard. They say it’s because it’s better for her constitution than the city air.” Miss Garrison’s voice dropped to a conspiratorial whisper. “But between you and me, I believe she and Mister Jasper are simply happier being together . . . when they’re not together. I guess some marriages work better that way.”
   “I suppose so,” I murmured, thinking of my own future.
 

   A few days later, the results came back, and Jasper and Mistress Mas-terson called us to the library again. Both wore stunned expressions. They didn’t even notice when Cedric slipped in late and stood beside them.    “I know some of you have been waiting for your retake results, so you’ll be pleased they’re in. Most of you showed improvement—for which I’m particularly proud. But there was nothing significant enough to warrant a change in rank or theme.” Mistress Masterson paused. “With one exception.”
   I could hardly believe it. I never doubted Tamsin’s determination, but even I’d found it unlikely she could top her ninety-nine percent score.
   Mistress Masterson exchanged brief looks with Jasper and then turned back to address us. “Adelaide. The improvement you showed is . . . remarkable, to put it mildly. I’ve never, ever seen a girl make such a leap in scores. And . . . I’ve never seen a girl get a perfect overall score. We rarely have theme changes based on retakes, though of course it happens. And in this case, it’s absolutely warranted.”
   I didn’t immediately grasp what had happened. Tamsin, gaping, clearly had.
   “Adelaide, my dear, you’ve replaced Winnifred from Dunford Manor as our diamond,” Jasper said. I glanced back and forth between my best friends in disbelief. “Everyone else who scored above your last result will move down a notch. All girls will still keep their gemstone themes, with a few exceptions.”
   Mistress Masterson took over again and directed her words to Adelaide. “As Mister Thorn said, you’ll be our diamond. You and Winnifred are of similar size, and Miss Garrison should have little difficulty fitting you into her clothes. Since her score was so high, it’d hardly seem fair to assign her a semiprecious stone like the amethyst. We think she’ll show best as a sapphire, and we’ve done a couple of other last-minute switches—which means, Tamsin, you can be an emerald after all. Miss Garrison expects the green fabric to arrive next week, and she and her assistants will work around the clock to make sure you’re properly outfitted.”
   Tamsin showed no joy at getting her coveted color. “But . . . if the ranks shifted down, then that means . . . I’m fourth.”
   “Yes,” said Mistress Masterson.
   “You’ll dazzle them as an emerald,” Jasper told Tamsin. “Even if you aren’t invited to all the elite parties, I know you’ll be in high demand. I’m proud of you. I’m proud of all my girls—though it looks like my son managed to find the top jewel this season.”
   Judging from Cedric’s shocked face, it appeared he hadn’t been informed of this new ranking ahead of time.
   Mistress Masterson dismissed the rest of us but held Adelaide back. Upstairs, all anyone could talk about was the unprecedented switch. I ignored all the questions that rained down on me and steered a visibly distraught Tamsin into the privacy of our room.
   She sat on her bed, hands clasped in her lap. She’d always been fair skinned, but the pallor I saw now made me worry she’d faint. “Tamsin—”
   “How?” she asked softly, looking up at me with enormous eyes. They glittered with unshed tears. “How is this even possible? I gave it everything, everything that was in me. I worked hard. I studied hard.”
   I sat beside her. “Of course you did. It’s just that Adelaide studied . . .”
   I couldn’t finish, realizing how foolish I was about to sound.
   “. . . studied harder than me?” Tamsin supplied. “We both know that’s not true. And my dreams are done.”
   “Of course they aren’t!” I found this shaken, downcast Tamsin far more upsetting than the fiery, temperamental one I usually saw.
   She took a deep breath. “Mira, for some of these girls, being here has been a dream come true. A roof over their heads. Plenty of food. All those dresses. But none of that really mattered to me. I mean, I liked it all, yes, but it wasn’t easy for me to come here. Some days, it’s been agonizing. Being away from the city meant—”
   Adelaide opened the door, and all trace of the subdued girl beside me evaporated. Tamsin was on her feet in a flash, face full of rage.
   “What have you done?” she demanded.
   Adelaide winced. “I’m, uh, not sure what you mean.”
   “The hell you don’t! Has this all been some kind of joke? Coast along and then swoop in at the end to crush everyone else?” Tamsin pushed on when Adelaide didn’t answer. “How did you do that? How did you score perfectly on everything?”
   I could see Adelaide trying to remain calm and put on some semblance of her usual lighthearted manner. But the effort was weak. “I learned a lot of it when I worked in my lady’s house. I was around nobility all the time, and I guess I picked up their ways. You know that.”
   Tamsin clenched her fists at her sides. “Oh yeah? Where were those ways in the last nine months? You’ve botched things continuously—but not always the same things! You run hot and cold, perfect at some things and then failing at the most basic ones. What kind of game are you playing?”