Total pages in book: 142
Estimated words: 137017 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 685(@200wpm)___ 548(@250wpm)___ 457(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 137017 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 685(@200wpm)___ 548(@250wpm)___ 457(@300wpm)
Bella! My darling, my lamb, my little sneaky baby genius!
Father took the invitation from her and opened it, putting his glasses on to read it. “This invitation is addressed to Alicia both inside and out, and it’s got the Alansia seal at the bottom.” He slid his gaze towards Sophia, who now looked more afraid than heartbroken. “Do you have one, Sophia?”
She said nothing.
“Do not make me repeat myself.”
Huh.
So that was where I got it from.
Actually, I’d hated repeating myself in my past life, too, but it was nice to know that I had a little something in common with my father.
Sophia shook her head, and I caught my stepmother clenching her jaw again.
“Then what’s the commotion?” Father looked between them, a hint of ice to his tone. “Alicia attended a tea party she was invited to, and Sophia attended one she was not. It seems the blame for any incident that happened today lies solely with Sophia.”
“She’s been attending in Alicia’s place, darling,” my stepmother said, injecting overt sweetness into her tone. “Since her accident. I thought it was proper for a lady of the house to attend some of the bigger events.”
I tilted my head to the side and touched my fingers to my cheek. “That’s quite strange. Lady Vivian Trelawney accompanied me to get a dress for the ball after the tea party, and she told me Sophia has been attending events in my stead for a few months, citing that I was suffering from an illness. I wasn’t aware of it until several days ago when I realised all my invitations were only from low-ranking noble families.”
The air in the room tightened to an almost suffocating point.
“Annalise, Sophia, we will discuss this later.” Father’s angry gaze swept the room, sending a chill reverberating through it. “Alicia, follow me.”
“Yes, Father.” I turned. “Bella.”
Bella fell into step behind me, and we’d only been gone for mere seconds when a crash came from the vicinity of the sitting room.
Father cricked his neck immediately after, but he didn’t say a word until we got to his office. “Bella, I’d like to speak with you as well.”
“Yes, my lord.”
I reached back and squeezed her hand. He wasn’t angry at us, but that didn’t mean he was any less intimidating.
“Is what you said true?” Father asked me as he sat down at his desk.
I nodded. “Bella went out to run an errand for me a few days ago, and another maid brought me my invitations. They were all from the houses of viscounts or lower. Looking back, I can see that’s been a pattern for a while now. I asked the maid who sorted my invitations, and she confirmed it was Mother. She fetched me the others on my request, and they were delivered to me already opened.”
“How did you get the invitation, Bella?”
An excellent question. “Yes, how did you? I instructed Annie to put them back on the table.”
Bella grimaced. “Annie came to find me after. She was uncomfortable with the situation, so I asked her which ones you were attending and took the letters from the envelopes. I brought it with me today just in case. The invitation from Marchioness Velian that you accepted is hidden in my pillowcase.”
Ha!
Smart.
Although my stepmother ran the household, the one person she couldn’t touch was my personal maid. She wouldn’t be able to punish Bella for this—per my father’s rules, Bella was under my jurisdiction, not my stepmother’s.
“Very well. I will deal with this and make sure Sophia sends a retraction of any attendances she’s already confirmed under your name.” Father scribbled something down. “If Sophia thought she was attending today, what happened to her RSVP?”
“I told Barney the errand boy to get rid of it and that I’d pay him for his troubles,” I said brightly.
He almost looked proud of me for my slyness. “Alicia, you should have come to me. I would have dealt with it.”
“I appreciate the sentiment, Father, but I felt it was something I had to deal with myself.” I bowed my head. “I’m sorry for the trouble it’s caused.”
He waved his hand. “I told you I’ll handle it. Bella, you may return to your duties.”
“Yes, my lord.”
“Please take some refreshments to my room and prepare a bath,” I asked. “But not tea. I’ve had enough of that for today.”
“Yes, my lady.” She curtsied before leaving the room, closing the doors behind her.
Father looked at me. “Well, aside from that small issue, how did the tea party go?”
Oh, were we going to make small talk? Goodie.
“Very well, thank you. You were correct when you said it was a good place for me to start.”
“Of course, I was. Did you say you left with Lady Vivian? Did you manage to find a dress?”
“I did, but not at a boutique. I didn’t have time to get a custom dress ordered, and Lady Vivian said she’d ordered more than one for the spring events, so we went to the Trelawney estate.”