Cinders Like Glass: Victorian Retellings by Kae Clarissa

Author:Kae, Clarissa
Language: eng
Format: epub
ISBN: 9781954615045
Publisher: Carpe Vitam Press
Published: 2021-08-14T16:00:00+00:00

19

Lady Ada Whitworth

* * *

On the carriage ride home, Nikolas sat silent on the bench. He’d not apologized for his behavior or the rough treatment to Ada. Not that she would expect it. Just before the earl died, he’d visited her in their childhood home. He’d fidgeted for a while before hesitantly confessing his faults as a brother. Ada had said nothing, waiting for his laughter to come. Surely he had been joking. But the laughter never came. The weeks following had been glorious.

And then her father died, taking the warmth of the family with him.

At night, in the quiet of her room, Ada grieved for him. She screamed into her pillow. She didn’t cry at the funeral. Nor did she confide her loss with Lady Rochelle—no, the woman was crippled by her own grief. Ada waited for the return of an affectionate brother. But she was alone.

Nikolas deposited her at the front door like a brute. He did not enter the home and greet his mother—Lady Rochelle was asleep. A part of Ada wondered if he knew that. Or if he was still angry at some betrayal he’d mentioned.

Ada had walked with a heavy heart to her room. Without a maid, she undressed and readied for bed. The room was cold, not from the lack of a fire, but from her future. She sat on the bed and stared at her hands. The late earl had given her a gift, a talent to improve the world around her. She’d wanted to share his legacy, not bring shame to her family.

Nikolas had somehow stolen the letter she’d had a servant give to Sir Lyell at the masked ball. She didn’t understand how a sketch could be used for a nefarious purpose. She only knew it had to do with France and England—and worse, her brother. She was now ensnared in their plot.

Ada groaned, her head in her hands. Nikolas had never shown an interest in her art. He’d been rather repulsed and critical. He—like Lady Rochelle—had made their dislike clear. Neither wanted the expense of her tutors and supplies. Never mind that Ada carefully refused the late earl’s offers for new dresses. She was very much aware of how much she cost the household.

Both Nikolas and Sir Conroy had pointed to her sketch of the queen. She’d drawn the royalty’s portrait next to Sir Lyell’s. The first time they pointed, she’d assumed it was to Lyell’s. Why would Nikolas have need of an artist?

She went to her desk and gathered her latest sketches. This time she would include a few of the duke. Ada felt a twinge of guilt, but any cartoon including Girard sold at a much higher rate. A sketch of her brother used to garner more sales, but she’d overdrawn him. Thames readers no longer cared about the rakish earl.

Ada slid her sketches into the package, her fingers trembling. If Nikolas had stolen her letter to Sir Lyell, he must have kept a careful watch at the ball.

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