Free Empire Girls by Suzanne Hayes

what you’re talking about. If he was looking at anyone, it was you.”
    “Nope. I know a flirt when I see one. Trust me, sister. Go to him. He might be the first chink in the armor, you know?”
    “Maybe...”
    “Well, I’m going downstairs. It’s stuffy up here, and I want to explore a little. Will you be all right? Would you like me to bring you some water?”
    “No, I’m fine. I feel better up here.”
    “I don’t think I’ll ever understand you, Rose,” she said and then skipped down the stairs. I held my breath, afraid she’d fall on those heels of hers. But then I heard laughter and greetings...and I knew she was safe. I heard a gaggle of girls leave the building, slamming the double doors behind them, so I went to the window between our two beds that faced the street. She was walking arm in arm between Maude and Viv. They weren’t so bad, those girls. They were just...new. I looked up across another set of streets beyond the rooftops of the shorter buildings. One good thing about the penthouse was its bird’s-eye view. I’d always enjoyed being alone and seeing things from a safe distance.
    The attic was stuffy, though. So I struggled to open the window, and when it finally screamed its way ajar, the breeze that blew in smelled like baking bread. And in that moment I was back in my own kitchen. My past came rushing over me like the sounds of the city outside. The days of Mother and Father having academic talks on the porch with friends. I remembered staying up late and listening—so late the crickets almost drowned out their voices, as they talked of Father’s drawings and Mother’s work with Suffrage. And then, after Mother died, all the lovely meals I’d made and the dresses I’d sewn. I realized that I was without a chore for the first time since I was fifteen. And then I wondered over the thousands of days that Papa had to tell us about Asher, and yet never did. The thousands of days that our father had not been a father to Asher yet could have. How would Asher ever forgive us for being the children that Father did choose to raise? I was just as afraid of finding Asher as I was determined to get my house back. And I couldn’t do one without the other.
    Looking out of windows can make so many things clear. The city stretched out in front of me like a tattered quilt. I propped the window up with a splintered piece of window frame and then went to my trunk and finished unpacking. I took Ivy’s idea and placed my books on the wide window ledge. They looked pretty there. I thought I’d go find a flower or two to spruce up the rooms, and maybe wash my face, as well. I felt so dirty.
    As I went to the door that led downstairs, I looked into Maude and Viv’s side.
    That’s when I saw a little bed tucked under an even-steeper gable. I knew right away that it must belong to Claudia, that lovely little girl who seemed to work so hard. I’d go find her...not Sonny.
    The washroom was a floor below. It wasn’t anything special, and I noticed it was clean. I splashed some water on my face from the basin and left quickly, my heart beating fast, terrified someone might walk in on me. I don’t think I’d realized how many people would be sharing one space. I thought of taking a bath in the chipped porcelain tub. What if someone came in then? I looked for a lock and was horrified to see a tiny hook that could be unlatched on the outside by anyone’s finger.
    I’d returned to the hall when I heard Ivy’s heels clicking on the stairs before she rounded the corner and found me. She was simply glowing. I supposed she’d been on a walk embracing the city already.
    “Rose! You’ve come down! Here’s your water. I know you said you didn’t want it, but Sonny simply insisted.” She placed the glass on the landing, not even handing it to me. “Now, I’m off to a party! We’ve both been invited. You should go through my trunk and pick a dress, then come downstairs.”
    A party?
    “Ivy, I’m in no