The Emerald Sea Read online

  “Why,” Mira asked, “are there two different forks for seafood and fish?”

  Adelaide looked startled. “Are there?”

  “It’s a mystery we shouldn’t question.” My tone was a match for Mistress Masterson’s. “That, and why the seafood one goes with the spoons and not the other forks.”

  Now Mira did a double take. “It does? That doesn’t make sense.”

  “Are you questioning Tamsin?” asked Adelaide.

  Mira smiled through her weariness. “Never. I’ve done some dangerous things in my life, but even I’m not foolish enough to go there.”

  * * *

  The following three days felt like three years. The feast day of the glorious angel Vaiel gave us a brief respite, but as soon as the festivities were over, it was back to waiting and more waiting. I was practically climbing the walls when word finally came that Jasper had arrived with our results.

  “It’s about bloody time,” I exclaimed, running to the stairs.

  Mira, taller than me, easily matched my hurried stride. “Watch it. They might decide to take away an extra point for that.”

  I bit my lip. Her tone was light, but around here, there was no telling what a slip into the market district’s slang might do.

  We gathered in the library, standing with the grace and good posture drilled into us these long months. Jasper looked supremely self- satisfied, no doubt envisioning piles of gold where each of us stood. He liked us reasonably well, but it was no secret he ran a business and always had his eye on the next big payoff. I’d picked up on his ambitions very quickly, back when I delivered his laundry. And he’d picked up on mine.

  As soon as Mistress Masterson posted the results, our orderliness devolved into a frenzied rush. The first thing I saw was that the list had forty names on it. It was a compilation of scores from all the girls in all the manors. My eyes immediately scanned the top . . . but my name wasn’t in the first spot. Or the second. It was third, with a 99 written beside it. Frowning, I looked back up at the other two names. They were from other manors: Winnifred Cray and Vanessa Thatcher. They each had a 99 too.

  I spun around in outrage. “How am I ranked third? The girls above me have the same score as me!”

  A few of my chattering housemates fell silent. Mistress Masterson, clearly not grasping how disastrous this development was, regarded me with exceptional calm. “Yes. You all tied—it was very impressive. Really, what it came down to is aesthetics. Winnifred, the first girl, would look so lovely in the diamond coloring. Ruby’s the next most precious stone, and that obviously wouldn’t suit you with your hair. So third, as a sapphire, seemed like—”

  “Sapphire? Sapphire? Everyone knows green is my best color. Isn’t an emerald rarer than a sapphire?”

  If I couldn’t claim the honor of the Glittering Court’s most exalted spot, then I at least needed to salvage something.

  The dressmaker who’d accompanied Jasper, Miss Garrison, gave me a cheerful smile. “My green fabric hasn’t arrived yet. Isn’t likely to show until about a week before you sail.”

  “And the categories are approximated,” added Mistress Masterson. I could tell she thought I was being petty, but she couldn’t understand how much I wanted—needed—every advantage I could get to ensure my success in Adoria. “It’s more of a gemstone range we’re going for. We thought it best just to go forward with sapphire so that she could start on your wardrobe. Otherwise, she’d be working at the last minute.”

  “Well, maybe she could just sew a little damned faster.” The words slipped out before I could stop them.

  Mistress Masterson blanched. “Tamsin! You are out of line. You will take sapphire and be grateful that you’re among the top three. And you will watch your language.”

  Her scolding snapped me back to what mattered. This wasn’t a time to let my emotions run wild. Swallowing my anger, I took a deep breath and hoped I looked contrite.

  “Yes, Mistress Masterson. I apologize. But I can retake the exams I did poorly on, right?”

  It wasn’t an option I’d ever expected to need. I’d been so confident that I would earn the top spot. And yes, technically, I had—as far as scores were concerned. But when we sailed to Adoria, when Jasper dressed us up and put us on display for Cape Triumph’s well-to-do bachelors, I wanted Tamsin Wright to be the first name everyone saw on our roster. Not the third. I wanted people to wonder who I was, to go out of their way to meet the girl who led the pack. To find the girl who was the best. That had to happen, because I needed to find the man who was the best. Considering the struggling backgrounds we’d come from, most of my peers would be happy with any husband who could elevate them to a higher class. A class change wasn’t good enough for me, though. I had to have my pick of suitors and seize a man who could and would do anything for me—and could accept anything from me.

  Mistress Masterson’s ire turned to surprise. “Yes, of course. Every girl can. Though, I’ll be honest, with a ninety-nine percent rating, there isn’t much else to achieve.”

  I lifted my chin. “Perfection.”

  She gave me her blessing, but until any scores or ranks changed, I was still a sapphire. One of Miss Garrison’s assistants began taking my measurements and examining swatches of luxurious blue fabrics. They were all so beautiful, so far and beyond the plain cotton dresses I’d worn only a year ago. Half of my mother’s laundry clients didn’t have clothing this fine. I almost felt embarrassed for my outburst and could tell by the glances of many of my housemates that they thought I was behaving absurdly.

  “Tamsin, you know that blue is striking, don’t you?”

  Jasper strolled over to me as the assistant draped sky-blue silk over my shoulder. He wore a neat gray suit paired with a navy jacquard waistcoat. The ensemble was smart and stylish, but it didn’t flirt with flamboyancy the way his son’s fashion choices sometimes did. Jasper’s attention made me feel even more chagrined, but I hid it with a haughty tone.

  “Yes, of course, Mister Thorn. And you know I’m grateful and willing to wear such dazzling gowns. But when you recruited me, you said I had a spark you almost never see around here. ‘I need smart girls. Resilient girls. Girls who understand what needs to be done to secure their end goal and who will fight for the best deal.’ Those were your exact words, sir.”

  Jasper laughed. “The fact that you can quote those words back confirms I was right. I’m not going to talk you out of retakes, but I want you to know that you shouldn’t lose sleep over this. Women are still so scarce over there that truthfully, I could take girls off the street and ship them directly to the colonies with no polishing at all—I’d still make a hefty profit. So when a prospect like you comes over, suitors will line up. They won’t care if you’re third, and remember—the top three all get extra perks and exclusive invitations.”

  Something in my chest lightened. I felt back in control—more driven than ever. “Thank you, sir. You have no idea how much your words mean to me. I’m just fighting for the best deal, that’s all.”

  “That makes two of us,” he said.

  Once I calmed down about my own results, I learned later that Mira had scored an astonishing seventh place. She’d faced the same disdain all Sirminican refugees regularly received when she’d come to Osfrid, so to place higher than most of our housemates—many of whom had looked down on her when she arrived—was quite a coup. I could hardly contain my pride.

  Adelaide placed right in the middle of the list, which didn’t surprise me at all. What did surprise me was her showing up for retakes the following week. She’d been subdued after the results came out but had never mentioned this.

  Amusement sparkled in her blue eyes when she saw how shocked I was. “Hey, I can care about my future too.”

  “Since when?”

  I retook only the exams I hadn’t received a perfect score on, but Adelaide did every single one of them ov
er again. It made for another stressful, sleepless time, and at the completion of my final test, I felt as though I’d used up every last bit of physical and mental energy I had. I staggered upstairs afterward and thought I might very well make good on my previous joke about sleeping through the days until the results came.

  Mira, reading on her bed, greeted me with “There’s a letter for you.”

  My heart nearly burst when I saw what it contained. Olivia had sketched a charcoal portrait of our family for me. Ma, Pa, Jonathan, Olivia, Merry. I drank in the familiar faces and felt tears prick my eyes.

  Mira, passing by on her way to the door, did a double take and then backed up a few steps. “Sorry—I didn’t mean to look. Wow. That’s amazing. It looks just like them.”

  I swallowed back more tears. “My sister made it. She’s very talented.”

  “The older one, right? Olivia?”

  “Oh, yes, of course.” Almost a slip. Almost. I tapped Olivia’s likeness for emphasis. “She must have used a mirror to draw herself. She was practicing self-portraits when I left.”

  “Well, I think she’s figured it out.” Glancing at my face, Mira discreetly retreated, but not before adding, “Don’t worry, Tamsin. You won’t let them down. You’re unstoppable.”

  “I hope so,” I murmured, once alone. I gazed at each face, but it was Merry’s that drew me back over and over. Olivia had perfectly captured the way Merry’s curls lay this way and that against her little cheeks. She’d had those unruly curls since she was born, and for three years, I’d tried in vain to tame them. I traced their shape with my fingertips, smiling in spite of the gnawing in my chest. “Six, I hope so.”

  CHAPTER 3

  THOSE WHO HADN’T RETAKEN THE EXAMS WERE ALMOST as excited as those who had to see the new results. We gathered with Jasper and Mistress Masterson just as we had before. Miss Garrison wasn’t around, but Jasper’s son, Cedric, had turned up unexpectedly, as he so often did. He was studying at the university in Osfro but would be taking a break to accompany us to Adoria and help with the family business. A few girls in the house had a crush on him, thanks to his dapper good looks and seemingly endless supply of charm.

  He came off a little more serious than usual today. In fact, Jasper and Mistress Masterson looked solemn too, which was odd given their enthusiasm last time. A strange feeling twisted in my stomach, warring with the giddy overconfidence of my expected triumph.

  Mistress Masterson cleared her throat. “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—with one exception.”

  My mouth went dry. My fists clenched at my sides. I’d done it. I’d really done it. I was going to be the Glittering Court’s star in Adoria, the wife of Adoria’s most prestigious man. No one would ever look down on Merry—or me—again.

  Mistress Masterson’s gaze shifted in my direction—but not to me. Rather, beside me. “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.”

  Jasper beamed at Adelaide, though tension seemed to strain his smile a bit. “Adelaide, my dear, you’ve replaced Winnifred from Dunford Manor as our diamond.

  “Everyone else who scored above your last result will move down a notch,” Jasper continued. “All girls will still keep their gemstone themes, with a couple of exceptions.”

  They started talking about Winnifred, and the world spun around me. I feared I’d faint. After a few deep breaths, I regained my senses in time to hear Mistress Masterson say, “. . . 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.”

  Her expression said she expected elation from me. I had to wet my lips a few times before my mouth could make words again. “But . . . if the ranks shifted, then that means . . . I’m fourth.”

  “Yes.”

  I didn’t know what to say. I didn’t know what to think. Everyone in the room was watching me, and I oscillated between humiliation and despair. I hadn’t just lost my diamond rank; I’d also lost access to the elite three.

  Jasper attempted to fill the silence with words that didn’t make me feel any better: “You’ll dazzle them as an emerald. Even if you aren’t invited to all the elite parties, I know you’ll be in high demand.”

  He went on and on with compliments for the rest of us and offered his congratulations to Cedric, who had recruited Adelaide for the Glittering Court and would earn a commission when she got married. For his part, Cedric seemed to be the only one in the room as stunned as I was.

  They forgot about me after that. All anyone wanted to talk about now was Adelaide’s amazing performance and how close we were to Adoria. Everything blurred into a haze, and I had no idea how I made it back to my room. I collapsed onto my bed, next to Olivia’s folded picture. Seconds or maybe minutes later, Mira closed the door and walked over to me.

  “Tamsin—”

  “How?” I peered up into Mira’s eyes, desperate for answers. “How is this even possible? I gave it everything, everything that was in me. I worked hard. I studied hard.”

  “Of course you did.” She settled down next to me, her expressive face troubled. “It’s just that Adelaide studied . . .”

  The absurdity of what Mira couldn’t bring herself to say almost made me laugh. “. . . studied harder than me? We both know that’s not true. And my dreams are done.”

  “Of course they aren’t!”

  She squeezed my hand and started to offer reassurances that were cut short when Adelaide entered. At the sight of her face—that beautiful, blue-eyed face that had always appeared so cheerful and guileless—anger suddenly dashed aside my self-pity. I leapt up from the bed.

  “What have you done?” I cried.

  “I’m, uh, not sure what you mean.”

  The weak attempt at deflection only enraged me more. “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? How did you do that? How did you score perfectly on everything?”

  Adelaide quickly grew somber. “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.”

  “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?”

  “It’s no game,” Adelaide said. “My nerves just got the best of me. Things finally came together during the retakes.”

  I didn’t believe it. And I could tell Mira—who was very obviously trying to figure out how to calm the situation—didn’t really believe it either.

  “Impossible,” I told Adelaide. “I don’t understand how or why you’ve been doing this, but I know something’s going on. And if you think you can just ruin my life and—”

  “Oh, come on.” She gave me a withering look. “Your life is far from ruined.”

  That hurt me almost more than everything else—more than the results, more than her lying. She really didn’t know that she’d ruined my life. How could she? I sincerely believed these two would still love me if they knew about Merry, but I’d learned too well that secrets rarely stayed secrets when shared. Jasper wasn’t going to peddle a bride with an illegitimate child, and there was no way I could enda
nger all I’d accomplished.

  And as Adelaide and I continued shouting, the fury within me was directed at myself as well as her. If I’d told her and Mira about Merry, maybe Adelaide wouldn’t have done . . . whatever it was she’d done. But there was no going back now. I had to salvage my future somehow, and I knew with a sickening dread that I wasn’t going to be able to do it with Adelaide around. Every time I looked at her, I’d be reminded of what she had potentially cost me. I couldn’t risk the effect that would have on me. More than ever, I needed to keep a cool and calculating head. That couldn’t happen if I was constantly driven to rage or tears.

  When Mira couldn’t take any more of our arguing, she begged, “Tamsin, please stop and talk this out.”

  Blood pounded in my ears, and I bit off the next angry retort I’d had ready for Adelaide. Studying Mira, I felt a pang of sympathy. She hadn’t asked for this, and now she would suffer too.

  “No,” I told her. Realizing then what I’d have to do, I shifted back to Adelaide. “I’m never speaking to you again.”

  I stormed out of our room soon thereafter and went straight downstairs to the wing that held Mistress Masterson’s office. Jasper used it when he was here, and we generally stayed away. Finding the door ajar, I pushed it open without knocking. Jasper glanced up from his desk and didn’t look entirely surprised to see me.

  “Tamsin.” He leaned back and rubbed his eyes. “There’s nothing I can do to change the rankings.”

  “That’s not why I’m here, sir. It’s the ships I want to change.”

  “Ships?”

  “We’re still taking two to Adoria, right?”

  “So long as none of them back out on me,” he replied. Brides weren’t the only things he sold, and part of the reason he’d accelerated our departure was so that he could get the jump on other merchants. But it also meant risking rougher sailing conditions, and he’d apparently paid dearly to hire the ships.

  I wrung my hands in front of me. “Well, then, I’d like to switch off the Blue Spring ship and go on the other one.”