The Glittering Court Read Online Free PDF Page A

saw uneasiness on thosestriking features. He was afraid Ada was going to opt out. Did the Glittering Court have quotas to meet? Was he on the hook to come back with someone?
    â€œMister Thorn has made it all sound very lovely,” she replied. “But I kind of feel like some trinket being bought and sold.”
    â€œWomen always feel that way,” I said.
    But in the end, Ada accepted Cedric’s offer anyway because, as she saw it, she had nowhere else to go. Over her shoulder I scanned the contract, which was mostly a more formal explanation of what Cedric had told us. When she signed, I did a double take.
    â€œThat’s your full name?” I asked. “Adelaide? Why don’t you go by that?”
    She shrugged. “Too many letters. It took me years to learn to spell it.”
    Cedric seemed to struggle to keep a straight face. I wondered if he was starting to question this choice and if Ada could really be made into part of his “new nobility.”
    Contract in hand, he stood up and bowed to me. To her, he said, “I have other contracts to deliver this afternoon and some errands to run at the university. You can take the day to pack your things, and our carriage will come to retrieve you this evening and take you to your manor. My father and I will join you along the way.”
    â€œWhere is this manor?” I asked.
    â€œI’m not sure which one she’ll be assigned to,” he admitted. “I’ll know by tonight. My uncle maintains four for the Glittering Court, with ten girls each. One is in Medfordshire. Two are in Donley, another in Fairhope.”
    They were true country houses then, I noted, placing each location on a mental map. They were each at least half a day from where we were in Osfro.
    He delivered a few more last-minute instructions before making motions to leave. I offered to walk him out, which was a bit unorthodox, and took him back toward the garden I’d been in earlier. “University. So you’re a student then, Mister Thorn.”
    â€œYes. You don’t sound surprised by that.”
    â€œIt’s in your manner. And your coat. Only a student would set his own fashion standards.”
    He laughed. “I didn’t. It’s actually an Adorian fashion. I’ve got to look the part when I go with the girls.”
    â€œYou get to go too?” Somehow, that made this entire thing even more agonizing. “You’ve been there before?”
    â€œNot in years, but—”
    He drew up short as we rounded a corner and heard more sniffling. Old Doris the cook was trudging toward the kitchen, trying not to cry as she walked.
    â€œDon’t take this the wrong way . . .” Cedric began. “But there are a lot of tears in your household.”
    I shot him a wry look. “Much is changing. Doris won’t be going with us either. She’s blind in one eye, and my cousin doesn’t want her.”
    He turned to study me, and I averted my gaze, not wanting him to see how much this decision pained me. In her condition, Doris wasn’t going to have an easy time finding work. It was another argument Grandmama had won. I was losing my edge.
    â€œIs she good?” Cedric asked.
    â€œVery.”
    â€œExcuse me,” he called out to her.
    Doris turned in surprise. “M’lord?” Neither of us bothered to correct her error.
    â€œIs it true that your services are for hire? I can understand if someone else has already hired you on.”
    She blinked, her one good eye focusing on him. “No, m’lord.”
    â€œThere’s an opening over in one of the university’s kitchens. Four silvers a month and room and board. If you’re interested, it’s yours. Although if the thought of cooking for so many is daunting—”
    â€œM’lord,” she interrupted, pulling herself up to her full but short height. “I have overseen seven-course dinners hosting a