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Cordelia gulped her tea, mortified.
“Then once you have his attention, you let the spell fade. It has to be so delicately done that he doesn’t notice. Fortunately, men rarely question why they’re thinking about a woman’s breasts.” Her lips curved wickedly. Cordelia stared into her teacup, sure that her ears were turning red.
“Of course, none of that will matter if these wretched servants don’t leave us alone long enough for it to work. Gah!” She flung her head back. “It’s like juggling smoke, and just when it’s starting to take hold, in comes the butler. When I’m lady of this house, I shall see him turned out without a reference.”
“Without a reference?” squeaked Cordelia, who knew, from listening to Alice, that this was a savage blow to any servant. “Isn’t that harsh?”
“He’ll be lucky if I don’t turn him out without his feet,” her mother snapped.
As if on cue, the door opened. The maid bobbed her head and said, “Just brought you a little warm-up on the tea, milady.”
“How kind,” said Evangeline, through her teeth. Cordelia smiled helplessly at the maid, trying to warn her off with her eyes.
As soon as the door closed, Cordelia’s mother leaned back in her chair, pinching the bridge of her nose. The cups began to rattle on the tray and Cordelia grabbed for hers, burning her hand as the tea slopped over the side. The tongs vibrated against the rim of the sugar bowl.
Evangeline exhaled, slowly, and the vibrations stopped. Cordelia swallowed. She could not remember the last time her mother had displayed so much frustration.
It’s because she can’t take it out on anyone. She always gets angry and does something, but she’s not allowed to do anything here, not yet, because it might draw attention.
Cordelia stayed very still, hoping that her mother would not realize that she had a potential victim sitting in front of her.
“About this house party,” Evangeline said abruptly. “The old lady’s mentioned it to you?”
“Yes, Mother.” The thought of interacting with so many new people made Cordelia feel a little ill, but she had tried to express polite enthusiasm. She didn’t think Hester had been fooled.
“Lord and Lady Strauss have a son,” her mother said. “A little older than you, I think. You will be expected to associate with him and be friendly, but it is imperative that you not be caught in a compromising position with him, do you understand?”
Cordelia blinked at her mother, wondering what a compromising position was. Before she could find a way to word the question, Evangeline had continued. “The Strauss fortune is adequate, but I will not waste you on a youth who will linger on an allowance for thirty years, waiting for his father to die.”
“Yes, Mother,” said Cordelia.
Her mother narrowed her eyes. “You will not fall in love with this youth,” she said. “Do I make myself clear?”
Cordelia had not even considered such a thing. Her mouth fell open and she knew that she was gaping like a goldfish flipped out of a pond.
“It’s fine if he falls in love with you. Useful, even.” Evangeline raised a warning finger. “But you will not fall in love. You go about falling in love and you start keeping secrets. At worst you’ll catch pregnant and waste all my hard work. Do you want that?”
“No, Mother.”
“You may think that he’ll marry you once there’s a baby, but they never do, do you hear me?”
“Yes, Moth—”
The sugar bowl turned over, spilling cubes everywhere. Cordelia yelped, then hurriedly began trying to gather them up. When she grabbed one, it vibrated in her hand like a trapped insect.
“I already made that mistake once,” Evangeline said. “I thought your father would have to marry me. But he didn’t, and so I had to take steps.”
Cordelia stopped trying to corral the sugar cubes. Her mother was staring at the ceiling, but Cordelia could hear the soft hiss of water suddenly boiling inside the teapot. “I didn’t know that,” she said.
Evangeline made a short, sharp gesture with one hand. The hissing stopped, and the sugar cubes fell inert on the floor. “He doesn’t matter now. I made you. You belong to me, and you’re not going to ruin my plans with some young puppy.”
“Yes, Mother.”
“If I suspect such a thing, I will have to deal with him, do you understand?”
“I won’t, I swear,” said Cordelia frantically, feeling horribly guilty even though she’d never met the young man. Dealing with him sounded so dreadfully final. The blood of Ellen’s family is already on my hands, I can’t let anything happen to anyone else if I can stop her.
“Mmm.” Evangeline studied her face broodingly. “You don’t know what young love is like,” she said. “Comes over you like a fever. You’ll tell yourself that no one else in the history of the world has ever felt this way before.”