The Falconer (Elizabeth May) Read Online Free PDF Page A

my way to the refreshment table. The levels in the punch dispensers indicate they’re all empty.
    Humming the tune for the waltz, I settle next to Catherine, gathering my stole to hide any blood that might have seeped through the ribbon tied clumsily around my bodice. ‘The headache’s gone,’ I say.
    Catherine looks visibly relieved as she passes me my reticule. ‘Thank goodness you’re here. People have been asking after you and Mother has been pestering me about leaving. I didn’t know how much longer I could hold everyone off.’
    ‘You gem. I appreciate your efforts to keep my reputation intact.’ I nod towards the couples. ‘Why aren’t you dancing?’
    ‘You know my mother thinks the waltz is indecent.’
    I watch the couples dancing. They spin around the room, bodies pressed together. Close, intimate. The way dances should be.
    ‘Your mother would find the sight of a chair leg indecent,’ I tell her.
    Catherine sputters a laugh, a satisfyingly unladylike sound. ‘Aileana!’
    ‘What? I do believe the waltz has been acceptable for many years now.’
    ‘Oh, do tell her that,’ Catherine says drily. ‘I should dearly love to hear my mother lecture someone else about it.’
    ‘Where is the esteemed lady, anyway?’ I scan the room. ‘Using the opportunity to approach remaining gentlemen on your behalf?’
    ‘I’m afraid my introductions have already been made.’ Catherine nods to a place over my shoulder. ‘She’s, ahem, glaring at you .’
    I turn. Lady Cassilis is surrounded by her friends, the other matrons of Edinburgh whose daughters are yet to wed. They have no doubt been discussing their plans to ensnare the poor, foolish men of Edinburgh, but the viscountess doesn’t appear to be listening.
    Heavens. She could scare off a revenant with that scowl. I survey my crooked bow. Perhaps I look worse than I thought. Lady Cassilis is probably wondering yet again why she let Catherine badger her into becoming responsible for me at formal events.
    With a sweet smile, I wiggle my fingers at the viscountess. Lady Cassilis couldn’t look more appalled if I spat on her.
    ‘I take it she’s angry with me, then?’ I grin at Catherine.
    ‘You missed five dances! Of course she’s angry with you. I hope your headache was worth it.’
    ‘It was,’ I say.
    Catherine studies my hair, my face, then the awkward state of my dress. ‘Forgive me for being so blunt, but you look ghastly.’
    Unconcerned, I wave a hand between us. Hair arrangement is not a great talent of mine. Nor, apparently, is tying ribbon over my dress to hide my injuries.
    ‘That’s a horrible thing to say,’ I tell her. ‘What if I’d just escaped a perilous situation?’
    Catherine examines me from head to toe again. ‘Barely, I assume.’
    ‘Your confidence in me is inspiring.’ I glance around. No one is paying us any attention. Some groups have begun to filter out through the doors, finished for the night. ‘See, no one else has even noticed I look different.’
    ‘They’re all tozy from the punch. Someone must have emptied a considerable amount of spirits into it.’
    So that’s why the dispensers were empty. ‘I can’t believe I missed that,’ I say. ‘How very disappointing.’
    ‘Don’t change the subject. Tell me what happened.’
    ‘Very well. It was a faery.’ I decide to betray a bit of truth, just to see how she responds. ‘An especially nasty one, like the one you used to be afraid lived under your bed.’
    ‘Fine,’ Catherine says drily. ‘Keep your secrets. But I demand extra shortbread at luncheon in recompense for abandoning me half the night.’
    ‘Done.’
    After a few long goodbyes among Lady Cassilis and her friends, she, Catherine, and I take the air coach for the hour-long journey home from the Hepburns’ estate in the countryside. Catherine attempts polite chatter, but eventually even her manners fail. Lady Cassilis stares austerely out the window the entire time. The only noises are