Mistress Masterson brought us to attention as Jasper stepped forward to speak. “I hope you all enjoyed your day. It was a true delight for me to meet the wonderful people who helped raise you. But their visit isn’t the only surprise you’re getting today.”
He waited, building up the tension in the room. Although his disposition was sunny and reassuring, Mistress Masterson’s strained expression told me all wasn’t well. My sense of foreboding returned.
“I hope you’re all excited about Adoria, because we’re going there—two months earlier than planned.”
Chapter 7
No one spoke. Everyone was too stunned. It was Jasper’s next proclamation that really elicited a reaction.
“As a result, you will also be taking your exams early. They’ll start in one week.”
Beside me, Tamsin gasped and put a hand to her chest. Other girls, wide-eyed, turned to each other in alarm and began whispering. “Hush,” warned Mistress Masterson. “Mister Thorn isn’t finished speaking.”
“I know this change in plans is unexpected,” Jasper continued. “But really, it’s a reflection of your outstanding progress that we feel confident in bringing you to Adoria early. In just a couple of months, you’ll be in a whole new world—adored and coveted like the jewels you are. I know my brother will be overcome when he sees this year’s class.”
Charles Thorn, the Glittering Court’s chief financial backer, alternated procurement with Jasper each year. He was in Adoria now and would sail back to Osfrid in the spring to recruit the next batch of girls while Jasper oversaw our progress in Adoria.
“I have no doubt you’ll all perform excellently in your exams,” Jasper continued. “I’d love to stay but must check in on the other manors as well. Cedric, however, will be coming soon to supervise during your exams and offer moral support.”
I cleared my throat and stepped forward. “Isn’t it dangerous?”
Jasper frowned. “Cedric offering moral support?”
“No. Making the crossing in late winter. Isn’t that still storm season?”
“I like to think of it more as early spring. And I’d hardly make the journey myself if I thought we’d be in danger. Surely, Adelaide, you haven’t gained some sort of nautical knowledge I don’t know about, have you? Surpassing mine and that of the ship’s captains who agreed to take us?”
It was a ridiculous question to answer, so I didn’t. Of course I didn’t have any seafaring expertise, but I had read the countless books on Adoria’s history that were part of the curriculum here. And there’d been plenty of tales about early settlers learning the hard way that winter crossings weren’t advised.
We were dismissed to our rooms, and Tamsin, as I expected, had a lot to say. She flounced down on her bed, uncaring of wrinkling her lawn dress.
“Can you believe this? They’ve moved up our exams! To next week.”
Mira also looked uneasy, and I remembered to appear appropriately concerned. We could’ve taken them today, and it would have made no difference to me.
“That’s not a lot of time to study,” Mira said.
“I know!” wailed Tamsin. “But on our way out, I heard Mistress Masterson say that at this point, we either know it or we don’t.”
“She’s right,” I said, earning astonished looks from both of them. “Come on, you don’t think we can all get passing grades in every subject? None of us are going to get cut.” A girl would have to fail in multiple subjects to get removed from the Glittering Court’s trip to Adoria, and anyone doing that badly would have long since been asked to leave.
“I don’t want to just get a passing grade,” said Tamsin. “I want the best grades. I want to be the diamond.”
“The what?” Mira and I asked in unison. I’d heard her talk about excelling many times, but I’d never heard mention of any diamond.
Tamsin leaned forward, her brown eyes alight. “It’s this year’s theme. When they present us in Adoria, they always have some sort of theme. They tailor our wardrobes around it and assign each of us roles roughly equivalent to our scores. Last year it was flowers, and the top girl was an orchid. The next was a rose. Then a lily. I think the year before that, it was birds. This year, it’s jewels.”
“And the top girl is a diamond,” I guessed.
“Yes. The top three girls across all manors get invited to the most parties in Adoria and get special introductions to the most eligible men. I mean, technically we’re all exceptional, but Jasper and Charles build up a lot of mystique around those three. It creates demand—and increases the marriage fees. And that increases the surety money that we get to keep for ourselves.”
Again, it was of little concern to me. I’d make sure I placed in the middle of the scores, just as I always did. Tamsin unquestionably did the best in Blue Spring, and I couldn’t believe there was any girl in the other manors who was more motivated.
As the exams loomed nearer, the next week became a flurry of activity. Our regular lessons were cancelled, so that we could each devote our time to studying in those areas that needed the most work. The instructors who rotated through all four manors stopped by more frequently, offering tutoring to those who requested it. The manor was in nonstop motion.
As for me, I had to contrive areas of study to make myself look busy. Tamsin became withdrawn, isolating herself with books, and I was surprised at how much I missed her frenetic energy. Mira didn’t even really need me to drill her in language anymore. She slipped into her accent during casual conversation, but when prompted, her Osfridian was nearly indistinguishable from a native’s. In fact, it was better than that of some of the other girls, who’d come in with atrocious lower-class dialects. Sometimes Mira even practiced the accents of other languages for fun.