and deal with all the late-night calls. I might even be done already. Lucien said himself that he probably wonât be able to contact me again until she takes that serum, and really, what are the chances that I will be responsible for getting her to the morgue? This is Lucien. He plans things meticulously. Iâm sure the serum will work just as he intended and then Violet will be out of the palace and out of my life.
As Peri and I take shots of whiskey and laugh about my upcoming nuptials, everything feels like itâs shifted back to normal. Even my wedding is something to joke about tonight.
I stay up late, and we continue the party at Jasperâs house and for the first time in a long time, I feel like myself again.
Eleven
I WAKE UP IN THE AFTERNOON, TO C ORA THROWING OPEN my curtains.
âWhat are you doing here?â I demand. Cora hasnât gotten me up since I was about seven.
âYour mother is having a luncheon and you are expected to attend,â she says. âAnd I am the only one she trusts with getting you ready in time.â
She throws off my covers and marches me into the bathroom. She even waits outside the door while I shower. The hot water feels good. My head is pounding.
Cora is so much better than any footman. She has me looking and feeling impeccable in less than an hour. Iâm even early to lunch, by one minute and thirty seconds. Imeet Father in the dining room by the bar.
âWhatâs this one about?â I ask, pouring myself a large glass of whiskey.
âHow should I know?â Father says, taking a long drink. His eyes are red. âI just come when Iâm called.â
Itâs maybe the saddest thing Iâve ever heard him say. Then Aunt Iolite and Uncle Beryl arrive and he brightens up and goes to greet them. I wonder if Father actually hates being the Duke of the Lake. Maybe he would have preferred to stay in a second-tier House.
Mother enters the dining room two seconds before Carnelian and her companion, and ignores everyone but Aunt Iolite.
âDid you have a good time at the Winter Ball?â I ask Carnelian as she comes over to get a drink.
âOh yes,â she says. âAsh told me my dancing has improved greatly. And the Lady of the Lightâs son wasnât too terrible. Not like some of the other boys sheâs tried to foist me on.â
But she glances up at the companion and I can tell she wishes he were an option. Itâs so sad. As if Mother would ever allow her to marry a companion. As if companions were made for marrying at all. Six months in the Jewel and she still doesnât get it.
The companion himself keeps quiet, which is unusualâheâs always the one smoothing everything over. Maybe he drank too much last night, too.
âThe Count and Countess of the Rose,â one of the footmen announces at the door. âAnd surrogate.â
âAmetrine,â Mother calls, and she drags Father over togreet the Countess. Her surrogate has dark skin and long black hair thatâs braided and done up on the crown of her head. She looks very thin, thinner than Violet. And sad. Or maybe angry. I find myself trying to decipher her expression.
âWhatâs this luncheon all about anyway?â Carnelian asks.
âNo idea,â I say. âMaybe she finally found you a husband.â
Carnelian looks petrified.
Then the footman announces Violet. Thereâs something different in the way she carries herself today, though I never would have noticed it if I hadnât been watching her so much. A tightness in her jaw, a strange emotion in her eyes that I canât quite read. When she sees me, I raise my glass to her. Carnelian huffs and crosses her arms over her chest.
Mother and Aunt Iolite descend on her, the Countess of the Rose trailing behind, leaning heavily on her cane.
I hear Mother say, âThe doctor agrees we wonât have to wait so long until the next attempt.â
My