Pandora Gets Greedy by Carolyn Hennesy

Author:Carolyn Hennesy
Language: eng
Format: epub, mobi
Publisher: Bloomsbury Publishing Plc
Published: 2012-08-31T04:00:00+00:00

Chapter Eleven

Candied Violets

That afternoon, four hundred snow white doves were delivered in ivory cages to the house of Lucius Valerius. Then came twelve thousand red and orange butterflies in a large teak crate, twenty trained monkeys, three alligators, thirty lion cubs, ten snow leopards from the slopes of the mountains in the Far East, ten black swans, and an entire family of tame white tigers. The forty elephants were tethered together in the courtyard.

“Tigers, check,” Varinia said, referring to her master list. “Elephants, check. Jugglers, acrobats, mimes, and fire-eaters have all checked in. Good. Now we’re just waiting for the two exotic Asian dancers with the fifteen-foot yellow python.”

“Oh … well, naturally,” sighed Balbina, surveying her once spotless marble floors.

Pandy and Alcie worked like never before, moving furniture, smashing walnuts and dates, kneading pastry dough, milking goats, polishing floors, setting out cushions, picking up swan poop, feeding elephants, beating rugs. And, all the while, glancing furtively to each other. When they had taken the second sack of bread into the food-preparation room, Balbina had found only the long loaves; no rolls with candied violets. It was several hours later that Pandy had found the bag of them, magically transported to the end of her cot, and had quickly hidden the bag below.

As Apollo and Phoebus Apollo were heading into the west, dragging the golden orb of the sun behind them, Pandy and Alcie were in the great hall sweeping the floor for the third time. All of a sudden, they heard a muffled shriek from the upper floor and a commotion on the stairs. Varinia and Balbina hurried in from the food-preparation room along with several other house slaves. Melania and Iole were the first down the stairs and into the hall, Melania’s eyes searching frantically for her mistress. But before she could speak, a shape appeared behind her.

Rufina.

Who was now quite … enormous.

“Daughter!” Varinia cried at the sight. “Are you all right?! Was she attacked, Crispus? Is there a beehive somewhere close by? I see no stings! Rufina, why are you … swollen?”

“Stop it, Mother!” Rufina snorted. “You know, all you ever do is tell me to diet. ‘Don’t eat this, don’t eat that!’ Diet, diet, diet. Minerva’s toenails, I’m awesome, and nobody gets it! I only had two rolls the entire day! Perhaps I’m actually undernourished, did you ever think of that, huh? Besides, I just looked myself in my glass and I don’t think I’ve ever looked lovelier.”

She glanced at Pandy and Alcie, who stood with their mouths open.

“In fact, there’s a certain stable boy who might be very interested in putting his eyeballs on me right now.”

“It’s the rolls,” Pandy whispered to Alcie. “The olive rolls. She started eating one before she even went upstairs. They had to be enchanted!”

“Yeah,” Alcie whispered back. “And they’re so enchanted she can’t even see what they’ve done to her!”

Varinia cleared her throat, not at all interested in continuing the discussion with her daughter in front of the servants.

“What is

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