The Glittering Court
Page 65

“Tamsin!”
I pushed through the crowd, uncaring of who I ran into. She turned at the sound of my voice, and my heart sang at the sight of that familiar face. I barreled into her, nearly knocking her over with a giant hug. I didn’t care if she hated me and pushed me away. All that mattered was that she was alive and that at this moment, I could hold her in my arms. She was real and solid. My friend had returned to me.
And she didn’t push me away. She returned the hug, clinging to me fiercely. “Oh, Adelaide . . .” she began. Sobs choked her words. A moment later, Mira appeared, throwing her arms around the two of us. We stood there like that for a long time, the three of us locked together, full of joy despite our tears.
“Where have you been, Tamsin?” I whispered when I could finally bring myself to pull away. “Where have you been? We thought . . . we thought . . .”
Her brown eyes sparkled with tears. “I know. I know. I’m sorry. I wish we could have sent word sooner, and I’m sorry for everything back in Osfrid—”
“No, no.” I squeezed her hand. “You have nothing to apologize for.”
Until that moment, I’d only been looking at Tamsin’s face, taking in the features of this friend I loved so much. But now, after a chance to catch my breath, I could see so much more. She wore a dress of deep blue-gray, made of some plain fabric. It had no ornamentation or frills. Her hair spilled across her shoulders without any obvious styling and was covered by a simple kerchief. Glancing around, I saw the other missing girls dressed similarly.
“What happened to all of you?” I asked.
Before she could answer, a loud stomping on the floor drew our attention. Gradually, others began to notice, and the din of conversation faded. Jasper, seeking to be heard, stood on top of a chair. I was pretty sure I had never, ever seen him look so genuinely happy.
“Friends! Friends! You’re witnessing a miracle right before our eyes. Something none of us thought possible. I’ve just learned that—as you can no doubt tell—the Gray Gull wasn’t lost at sea! It sustained great damage in the storm and was blown off course—far, far north to the colony of Grashond.”
I turned to Tamsin in disbelief. The northern colonies were known both for harsh conditions and a harsh population. They were also nearly four hundred miles away.
Jasper peered around. He looked as though someone had just dropped a giant bag of gold at his feet. Which, I supposed, someone had. “Who do I have to thank for this? Who do I have to thank for saving my girls?”
For a moment, nothing happened. I could see now that along with our missing girls, there were some men who looked like sailors. A few other strangers were dressed in plain clothing like Tamsin, and one of these got pushed forward. He was a young man with tawny blond hair and a surprisingly calm countenance, given this bizarre situation.
“I wouldn’t say any one person saved them, Mister Thorn,” he said. “Our whole community came together to care for them until the roads were clear enough for travel.”
A Glittering Court girl I didn’t know spoke up. “But Mister Stewart was the one who advocated for us. Who made sure we had places to stay and . . . and vocations to keep us busy.”
“I’m in your debt then, Mister Stewart,” said Jasper, offering a showy bow. “You have saved not just them—but all of us. Thank you.”
A bit of the young man’s coolness faltered at all the attention and admiration. “You can call me Gideon. And there’s no need to thank me. It was simply our duty under Uros. My only regret is that you had to worry about them for so long. The roads made no travel or communication possible until recently.”
“Well, they’re here now, and say what you want, but we still owe you a great deal—something I’d love to talk more at length about. But first, I need to speak to these gentlemen about certain commercial matters.” He nodded toward the sailors. “While I do that, Gideon—my brother and son would be happy to entertain you and your colleagues in our parlor. I’m sure you’d appreciate some refreshments after your journey. I have an excellent brandy I’ve been saving.”
“We don’t drink spirits,” said Gideon.
Jasper shrugged. “Well, we’ll find a beverage you can drink. Water or something. Mistress Culpepper, will you see that our new girls are taken care of? I’m sure they need refreshments too.” He eyed some of them askance. “And now that their journey is over, I’m sure they’d like to change out of traveling clothes and into their finer wares.”
A few of the girls exchanged uneasy glances. “We don’t have those, uh, finer wares anymore,” said one. “They’re gone.”
Jasper allowed himself only a brief flicker of surprise. His miraculous pile of gold had just gotten a little smaller. “Well, then, I’m sure we can put together a wardrobe from the other girls—especially the ones who are engaged.”
“I’ll see to it,” said Mistress Culpepper. “And that they’re roomed properly.”
I pulled Tamsin close. “She’s staying with us,” I said.
No one seemed to mind who stayed where, so long as there was room for all of us. The second floor of the house became a frenzy of activity as girls were shown to their rooms, and everyone scrambled to provide the newcomers with clothes. Mira and I were raiding our own closets when Heloise popped into our room, her arms full of green dresses. She smiled warmly at Tamsin.
“You were the emerald, right? I inherited your spot, but I don’t need these anymore. Not now that I’m engaged.”
“Congratulations, and thank you.” The smile Tamsin gave her in return was genuine but tinged with weariness. After Heloise had left, Tamsin sat heavily on the bed, putting the dresses in a heap beside her. “To tell you the truth, I don’t care what color I wear anymore, so long as it’s not this blasted cheap wool.”
I sat down next to her. “Was it awful up there?”
“Not awful, exactly.” Tamsin frowned, lost in some memory. “But very, very different than what we’re used to. Gideon was right that they took care of us, and really that’s all that matters.”
I wanted more details about her time away, but Tamsin seemed reluctant. The Grashond settlers—who called themselves “the Heirs of Uros”—just barely escaped the designation of heretics in the eyes of the orthodox church. The Heirs kept the same liturgies and stressed the importance of priests and churches as the way to Uros, but they did so in a very simple way. No grand cathedrals. No gifts or decorations at holidays. No excessive food and drink. No elaborate clothing.
When Mira suggested cleaning up, Tamsin jumped at the chance. While she was away, Mira explained to me, “Maybe it wasn’t awful, like she said, but it couldn’t have been easy. And she must have been terrified. Sometimes, when you go through something like that, it takes a while for you to want to talk about it.”
Once Tamsin returned, cleaned and dressed in one of Heloise’s silk poplin dresses, she seemed like her old self again—very much like her old self again.
“Well, I’d better remember all my manners and get used to doing my hair and face again,” she said briskly. “It’s late in the season, but I plan on making up for lost time. I hope you’ve left some men for the rest of us. You must have both gotten slews of offers by now.”