Lady Alma

by A. G. Marshall

  It wasn’t proper to go outside in my nightgown, but I was too angry to care. I ran to Mirella’s without even bothering to put on shoes.

  She met me at the side door.

  “Alma, you’re safe! What on earth happened?”

  “She dismissed Tía Teresa! I didn’t even get to say goodbye!”

  I burst into tears.

  “Oh, Alma!”

  Mirella pulled me up the stairs to her sitting room. She ordered a servant to bring food and waited until I stopped crying to ask questions.

  “Why?” she said when I calmed down.

  I took a shaky breath.

  “She thinks Tía Teresa was responsible for what happened in the ballroom. That she did it on purpose.”

  “But, Tía Teresa-”

  “I know!”

  Mirella paused for a moment.

  “Alma, someone was responsible for your corset mishap. Are you sure, even by accident, that Tía Teresa didn’t cause it?”

  “Of course not! The corset was enchanted with fairy magic to make breathing easier. Do you think the fairies could be playing a trick?”

  Mirella shook her head.

  “You know the fairies don’t leave their mountain. Do you think the Salarians could have done it? You danced with one of them.”

  “Ethan. He seemed nice enough.”

  Mirella chewed her lip, deep in thought.

  “Where did Tía Teresa get the corset?”

  “The Dark Market.”

  “That was a good find. You can buy lots of things that aren’t guild approved there, but I’ve never seen fairy magic for sale.”

  “Maybe it was faulty, and that’s why they sold it. Oh, Mirella. My mother’s dress is ruined!”

  “And it was so beautiful! More than one nobleman thought so.”

  She gave me a sly look.

  “Now is not the time for gossip, Mirella!”

  “How many times did Prince Lorenzo dance with you?”

  “Only twice.”

  Some of my despair slipped away as I remembered Lorenzo’s smile. Mirella grinned at me.

  “But he claimed you for the first and last dance, and you went out to the balcony together. What did he say?”

  She leaned forward, her eyes glittering with curiosity. Of course she would ask that, and I was under oath not to talk about it.

  “He didn’t say much. Just that it was shameful we hadn’t met before.”

  Mirella squealed.

  “Maybe he wants to call on you!”

  “Whatever he wanted from me, he won’t want it now. Not after what happened.”

  My face burned red, but Mirella shrugged

  “That sort of thing can be forgotten if you look fabulous for your quince. You should send Prince Lorenzo an invitation. He wouldn’t dance with you twice if he didn’t want to get to know you better.”

  “Mirella, he doesn’t want to call on me, and I’m not sure I’ll have the courage to have a quince now. I don’t even have Tía Teresa to finish my dress.”

  “I can’t believe your father agreed to send Tía Teresa away. She’s like family!”

  “He might not know. He’s at the castle serving on the prince’s council.”

  “The prince asked for your father’s advice? Alma, that’s a good sign.”

  I shook my head.

  “Father has trading experience and is a don now. I’m sure that’s the reason.”

  “You don’t have to be so practical about it. You were the belle of the ball. Dream a little.”

  “My corset exploded, Mirella. The whole court saw me in my chemise.”

  “At least they noticed you. I didn’t get any Rosas Rojas. Not a single one. Dons danced with me to ask about you.”

  Her tone was light, but I saw the hurt in her eyes. I tried to smile.

  “Our first royal ball. Not quite what I imagined.”

  “I’ll say. Next time I’m trimming my dress with gold and wearing diamond feathers in my hair. Velia can keep her subtlety.”

  I laughed.

  “Just don’t wear red. That brings all kinds of trouble.”

  “And stay away from fairies.”

  Mirella studied me with a familiar gleam in her eyes. She was scheming.

  “He must be in love with you,” she said. “He must have seen you from afar and loved you all this time.”

  “Mirella, that’s ridiculous.”

  “Why else would he single you out? He must have said something!”

  “Maybe because my father is head of the Merchant Guild.”

  “Was the head,” Mirella said. “He’ll have to retire now that he’s noble. If Prince Lorenzo wanted to dance with the head of the Merchant Guild’s daughter, he should have asked me.”

  “Mirella, it didn’t mean anything. I’ll never see him again.”

  “Of course you will. Men in love always find a way. What else did you talk about?”

  I searched my memory for something I could tell her without breaking my oath.

  “He said he didn’t want to dance with Rosa. Did you know she was reading during the ball?”

  “I saw that. So he doesn’t like Rosa. That’s good. What else did he say?”

  “We didn’t talk that much. We danced and stared at the rose garden.”

  Mirella narrowed her eyes and crossed her arms. She could be persistent when it came to gossip. I sighed.

  “I don’t want to get my hopes up, Mirella. It’s nothing. Even if it was something, it won’t be anything now. Not after the corset.”

  I could tell she didn’t believe me, but I couldn’t say anything else about my meeting with the prince without breaking my oath.

  Not that I wanted to talk about any of it anyway. I wanted to forget everything that had happened last night.

  In my dream, Lorenzo had been concerned for me. He hadn’t cared that I had cast bad luck on his King’s Trial. But that had only been a dream, and I didn’t want to tell Mirella about that either.

  I could have told her that Carlo thought the prince was playing a game with me, but talking about Carlo’s behavior also felt awkward.

  Mirella glared at me a moment longer, trying to break my resistance. I didn’t break, and we knew each other well enough to know when persuasion was a lost cause. She sighed.

  “Fine, he isn’t in love with you. Believe that if you want.”

  “It’s true.”

  She shrugged.

  “So what did you think of Don Diego?”

  I giggled. That was a safe topic, and I had plenty to say. We chatted for hours about the dons we had danced with. It was nearly dark by the time I left, and I nearly felt better.

  Donna Senona stood in the doorway, waiting for me. The sick feeling in my stomach returned.

  “Where have you been, Alma?”

  “Visiting Mirella.”

  “I’ve had servants looking everywhere for you. You can’t keep disappearing like this.”

  “If Tía Teresa were here, she could have told you where I’d be. I often spend the day with Mirella.”

  Donna Senona’s lips clamped together in a tight line.

  “You are not to leave the house tomorrow, Alma. We need your help preparing for our guests.”

  “Preparing for guests is a job for the lady of the house. That is you, isn’t it?”

  “Alma, this is a stressful time. I would appreciate your cooperation.”

  I took a deep breath, doing my best to stay calm.

  “Fine. How may I assist you?”

  “It will not be as dull as you think.”

  She smiled at me as we walked up the staircase. I didn’t like the edge in that smile.

  “I noticed that you have not received any education in magic. If you had, you might have been able to prevent last night’s mishap.”

  “Donnas are forbidden to learn magic.”

  “You’re not a donna. You will assist the apprentices in the laundry room tomorrow. We need to wash the linens before our guests
arrive. Beatrice, the head of our laundry, has agreed to find someone to teach you the basics.”

  I stared at her.

  “You want me to work magic? Laundry magic?”

  “It is not so bad as you make it sound, Alma. You might even enjoy it.”

  “Father and I decided years ago that I wouldn’t pursue a trade. That I would live life as a donna so I could become one someday.”

  “I talked to your father about this, Alma. He agrees that strategy carries some risks. What will you do if no one proposes?”

  I exhaled slowly. They didn’t think I could marry well. Or possibly that I could marry at all. Had one night really ruined my chances?

  “It is a common practice among wealthy guild families,” I said. “Mirella has done the same thing. Carlo apprenticed with his mother, but Mirella doesn’t know any magic. She has spent her life preparing for a noble marriage.”

  “That is their concern, and you are mine. Alma, I want you to be prepared for whatever comes your way. You can’t rely on a marriage that may not happen.”

  “And what will Rosa do tomorrow? Will you make her wash linens? She can help without using magic.”

  “I have other duties for Rosa.”

  My hands trembled with rage. I stood on my tiptoes and tried to look her in the eyes. I barely reached her chin.

  “How dare you? Just because I’m not a donna, you think you can turn me into a servant? This is my home! I have been mistress here for fourteen years!”

  “This has nothing to do with rank, Alma. I will not see my daughter made helpless. You will learn to protect yourself.”

  “From what? Dirty sheets?”

  I ran up the stairs.

  “And I’m not your daughter!”

  I was halfway to my room by the time I thought to say it. If she heard me, she didn’t respond.

  Chapter 10

  I stayed in bed the next morning until I was sure Donna Senona would be finished with breakfast. Without Tía Teresa’s help, I had no way of getting into any of my gowns. I wrapped a robe over my nightgown and fumbled with a sash to tie it closed.

  I wanted to run to the castle, demand to see my father, and get this whole mess straightened out.

  But I couldn’t do that in a nightgown.

  A young woman waited for me in the dining room. She was shorter than me and significantly wider. I stared, more because of her height than her fully bloomed figure. I rarely met people shorter than me.

  She wore a pale yellow dress with an apron. The apron strings gathered the fabric around her waist to create a dramatic hourglass shape. A carved wooden pin marked her as a Laundry Guild apprentice.

  “You’re to come with me after you eat, Miss Alma.”

  I nodded at her and ate as slowly as possible.

  But it is only possible to eat so slowly.

  She gave me a sympathetic look as we descended the stairs to the servants’ quarters. I ignored her.

  “You’ll need proper clothes,” she said, gesturing to my velvet robe.

  “What a shame I couldn’t find quite the right thing in my closet.”

  She stared at me for a moment, then grinned.

  “It won’t be so bad, miss. Although I’m not sure we’ll have the right size.”

  We stopped in a room filled with pale yellow dresses identical to hers. She sorted through the rack.

  “I took all the short ones,” she said, more to herself than to me. “And I’ve already stretched them. You’re too much of a bud to fit anything of mine.”

  She chose a dress and snapped her fingers.

  My robe and nightgown appeared in her hand. The yellow uniform appeared on my body.

  The bodice fit, but the skirt was far too long. Several inches of fabric draped on the ground. She snapped her fingers. The skirt shortened, but the fabric bunched and wrinkled as it did. She grimaced.

  “Sorry, I’m not good at shrinking fabric. I’m used to stretching clothes so they fit me. I’ll have someone hem a dress for you this afternoon.”

  “No need. What was your name?”

  “Renata, miss.”

  I smiled at her, trying my best to look charming.

  “Renata, I have gowns of my own that already fit. It would save everyone some trouble if I could wear those to work.”

  Or if I could wear them and escape to the castle.

  The laundry apprentice shook her head.

  “Those won’t be suitable, Miss Alma. Trust me, you don’t want to wear all those layers in the laundry room.”

  I grimaced at my reflection as we passed a window. The dress bunched and wrinkled where Renata had tried to shrink it, and the color didn’t suit me at all. I had never seen a real apprentice look so disheveled.

  Renata noticed my discomfort and smiled.

  “I’ll have something better for you tomorrow. One of the tailor’s apprentices can hem a dress for you.”

  Well, if an apprentice could be troubled to hem a servant uniform for me, what was I worried about? All my problems were solved.

  Renata handed me an apron. She watched me fumble with the strings for a few moments, then tied them for me. I tucked the extra fabric from the skirt into the apron so I wouldn’t trip on it.

  We walked through the estate to a large building hidden in the woods behind the house. I coughed as we entered. The air was hot and full of steam from the boiling tubs of water that filled the building. Laundry Guild apprentices waved their hands over the tubs, and colorful light flashed as they worked their charms. The light tinted the steam, so the room looked like it was filled with multicolored smoke.

  A tall woman with a pinched face observed everything from a raised platform. She wore a bronze medallion that marked her as a leader of her guild.

  Head of the Laundry Guild. How exciting. Was this the future Donna Senona wanted for me? Not likely, since I was just starting my magical education. If I was going to be a leader, I would have been accepted into a guild by now. Only the very best magicians became guild leaders.

  I wouldn’t even make it as an apprentice starting so late. She meant for me to be a servant.

  Renata led me to the woman on the platform.

  “Laundry Mistress Beatrice,” she said with a curtsy, “This is Miss Alma.”

  I refused to curtsy to her, even if she was a guild leader and I was dressed as an apprentice.

  Beatrice raised an eyebrow but did not comment on my attitude.

  “She’ll stay with you, Renata, and she’s not to work any charms. I can’t afford to have anything go wrong today.”

  “I thought I’d form a soul link and let her experience a loop,” Renata said. “Will that be alright?”

  Beatrice nodded and frowned at me.

  “Don’t mess anything up, girl. If the donna is trying to sabotage us, she’s doing well. Sending a complete beginner to train when guests are coming!”

  My face flushed. It was one thing to work as a servant. It was quite another to be a disheveled, unwanted servant.

  “We’ll start you off nice and easy,” Renata said.

  She led me to a large vat in the corner. The other apprentices chatted as they worked, but no one waved or smiled at us.

  “I’m not stupid. I can handle whatever it is you do.”

  Renata smirked. Just a little, but I saw her.

  “I turned a whole tub of tablecloths pink my first day on the job. We can’t afford mistakes like that right now.”

  I glanced around the room. Everyone seemed relaxed as they waved their hands and worked their magic. Some of them even looked like they were having fun. They smiled as they made the water glow with colorful lights.

  How hard could it be?

  “Stand there,” Renata said.

  I stood.

  She pulled a lever, and water flowed from a trough into her tub. She snapped her fingers, and a red light glowed under the tub. The water steamed and bubbled.

  I stepped forward to get a better look. Renata shook her head.
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  “Stay put. I’ll let you know when I’m ready for you.”

  I stood, inwardly fuming. Knowing magic would ruin my chances of being a donna, but I felt the need to prove myself somehow. I was just as capable of learning magic as these apprentices. Donna Senona had set me up to fail, and I wanted to prove her wrong.

  Renata’s arms jiggled as she waved her hands. Her palms glowed white, and a pile of sheets flew from a hamper into her tub.

  “Now then,” she said, “Do you know how soul magic works?”

  I wanted to say yes and put her in her place with a brilliant explanation. But the truth was, I had no idea.

  Renata sighed.

  “I expected as much. Fine ladies shouldn’t be allowed to meddle in such complicated matters. But we have no choice, do we?”

  I glared, but she wasn’t really looking for an answer from me.

  “The spells and charms are powered by your soul,” she said.

  “The energy that keeps you alive,” I answered, glad I could contribute something.

  Renata nodded, not looking as impressed as I had hoped she would.

  “The energy keeps you alive. So if you use it incorrectly, you will die. Do you understand?”

  I nodded. It all made sense now. Donna Senona was trying to kill me!

  My eyes must have gone very wide, because Renata came over and patted me on the shoulder.

  “I won’t let you try anything too complicated, miss. Magic is only dangerous if misused. You’ll be my partner today. I’ll draw energy from your soul so you can see how it feels. That’s all.”

  I would have to trust this stranger with my life? This apprentice? That did not make me feel any better, but Renata kept talking as if everything were normal.

  “You never want to use your soul energy in a spell directly. That is very dangerous. Instead, you create a loop and power your magic by the motion. Like a windmill.”

  I blinked.

  “A water wheel?” she tried again.

  What was she talking about?

  “Like a kite,” Renata was losing patience. “The wind moves a kite, but the kite does not hold the wind. At least, not all of it.”

  “My soul is a kite?”

  She threw her hands upward, and the red light under the laundry tub flared.

  “Your soul is the wind! You move your soul. Your soul moves the kite.”