Chapter 12: On Guard

I knew I was in for a severe case of mothering and henning, but I had no idea just how protective Georgina could be. From the moment I was woken by Clara the next day, I was followed by either her or Kate, or even Bernard, kept under careful eye. Even Sassafras seemed to be a part of the conspiracy to protect me from anything remotely resembling harm.

My irritation rose rapidly, from the stodgy breakfast where Georgina alternated between patting my hand and hiccupping her way through a bout of crying, to Kate's hurt and hollow expression indicating I'd damaged her already frail self worth, perhaps irreparably, to the way Hugh watched me from the moment I entered a room until I left it and even feeling him follow me after that.

I was not some fragile china doll to shatter at a mere breeze. What, did they think I attracted danger? That somehow leaving me alone for even a moment would put me at risk of a horrible fate pursuing me everywhere I went?

My final retreat to my room to sulk finally granted me some peace. Sass remained as my companion, but I was accustomed to him so it didn't bother me so much.

When Clara delivered my lunch, Georgina was with her. The sweet lady sat next to me on the bench under the window, gripping my hands in hers. She seemed to have gotten over her tears at least. I did my best to be charitable about it.

"Oh my dear," she said, "with all the excitement I completely forgot tonight's engagement." Concern shone in her eyes. "Do you think you're up to attending?"

I had a way out. All I needed to do was play the wilting flower to be spared an evening in an uncomfortable gown surrounded by people I couldn't care less about and I'm sure felt the same for me.

But the stubborn part of me won out. I refused to be coddled, even if it meant my own comfort. Well aware of how contrary I was being, I forced a smile and squeezed her hand.

"I wouldn't dream to miss it."

It was the right thing to say. Georgina's mood shifted instantly from fearful to flat-out excitement. She clapped her little hands like a child and leaned forward to hug me.

"Then there is no time to waste." She lunged to her feet and clapped again, this time louder. Clara was already there hovering, but the sound brought Kate running. She didn't meet my eyes, but seemed less anxious herself.

"Yes, Mother?"

"We need to sort out what Burdie is wearing this evening." Georgina hustled to my wardrobe and jerked the doors wide. Inside were two frothing gowns I only knew from a peek in the trunk Mum sent with me. Georgina went into immediate raptures over both of them and, as she pulled the first one out, I had to admit it was lovely.

"Blue, yes, brilliant." The satin shone in the sunlight, a deep, rich color reminding me of deep pools of water in full summer. "With your red hair and those gray eyes..." Georgina squinted at me as if trying to imagine the final picture. She beamed, then and slid the dress back into the wardrobe. "Perhaps this one." The second was a pale green, almost silvery in its lightness. "Stunning." She swirled the thing around like it was a person. I eyed the neckline with some concern and wondered what Mum was thinking.

In the end, Georgina decided on the blue after all. Once that choice was made, the preparations for the evening were underway.

I'd attended functions with my mother, rather fancy ones, or so I'd thought at the time. I'd even allowed her to do my hair up beyond the usual bun I typically wore just to keep her happy. But this process was totally foreign to me and had me so overwhelmed with the vast scale of it I didn't have the wherewithal to protest.

For the next four hours I was powdered, primped, dressed, undressed for alterations, made up with cosmetics, had my hair done, my nails polished to a high shine, redressed, the gown adjusted yet again. And beside me the entire time was Kate, undergoing the same process.

At one point, knowing I needed to patch up the rift I'd created between us, I winked at her and rolled my eyes. She giggled, hiding the small sound in her hands. When she smiled at me it reached her eyes and I knew she had forgiven me already.

Georgina vanished at some point, obviously to undergo her own preparations. I tried to hold still as Clara wrestled with my thick red hair, but it seemed every time she pinned a piece in place it encountered my scalp. No amount of complaining made a bit of difference so, to take my mind off of it and the low, dull headache I was acquiring from the attention, I turned to Kate who was having her feet buffed.

"It was kind of your uncle to see to my safety personally." I wasn't above digging for information in the guise of friendship and knew it meant I would be damned for eternity. But I found it odd he was such a man of prominence. In America, witches were forbidden from any kind of public office.

Kate's dimples showed up right away. "Uncle Samuel is a dear," she said. "And quite powerful these days, since he went out on his own."

"Why ever would he leave the coven?" The very idea was so alien to me I could hardly imagine it.

She glanced sideways at Clara then back at me. When she spoke, her voice was barely above a whisper. "He is shorn," she said.

I held back my wince only because I knew she was wrong. If he was shorn, born into a witch family with no magic of his own, why then did he feel like power?

"He's your mother's brother?" In coven tradition, the female surname told the family history, not the male.

Kate nodded. "When he discovered he was powerless, he left us. Mother says he was only eighteen, but already driven to make something of himself. He's always been ambitious from what I know, apprenticed to a banker. He climbed rapidly until he was admitted to the House of Lords. Since then he's held many positions with great honor and only recently took on the oversight of Scotland Yard." She sighed softly. "He's quite wonderful, isn't he?"

Indeed. But I wondered if he was as honorable as she thought. "Tell me about the party." I had to admit the further along Clara went with my hair, the more nervous I became. It was a monstrous pile of curls that seemed taller than I was. Surely this was some kind of error?

Kate's enthusiasm grew even further. "You'll so enjoy it, Burdie," she said. "With all the fine young lords and their lovely suits, the beautiful ladies. There is usually entertainment, and dancing, always. And the food is divine."

Clara stepped back from me with a chuff of air, arms dropping to her sides. "There you are, Miss Burdie," she said. "Gorgeous."

That couldn't be my hair, the twisted, curled and polished pile of dark red confection. I looked like a polished hard rock candy, the swirls and ropes of my auburn locks meshed together in a heaping, rounded sculpture of perfection.

I could picture Damon and Pharo were they with me. My brothers would think it hilarious, unable to breathe from laughing so before torturing me until my dying day with the memory of it.

It was almost enough to drive me to stay behind but there was no further time for chitchat. It seemed the closer we came to our final dressing the more frenzied the activity became. My heart was actually beating a little fast from the anxiety in the air by the time Clara at last buttoned up the bodice of my dress. It wasn't as tight and uncomfortable as the one I'd been squeezed into by that hideous Jacques. In fact, it fit me so well I could even breathe despite the boning.

Clara opened a large velvet box, the same color as my dress, and showed me the contents.

"These this evening, Miss Burdie?"

I actually gasped. A large sapphire pendant, near the size of a silver dollar, winked back at me. It seemed to glimmer with its own inner fire. Nestled next to it was a pair of matching earrings, all set in glowing silver.

"Mum," I whispered. "You idiot."

Clara helped me with the clasps before standing aside and allowing me a look in the full-length mirror.

I'd always known I was attractive. I'd heard it my whole life. I come from a beautiful family, with two parents who drew attention with their appearance as much as my stunning brothers. But I'd never seen myself this way before and, for a long moment, I had absolutely nothing to say.

"Well done, Auburdeen Hayle." Sassafras lifted his head, eyes sparkling with amusement.

That was enough to bring me crashing to reality. "Bloody hell, cat."

He snickered and went back to his pretend sleep. I turned from the mirror to see Kate staring at me with her hands clasped to her chest and a wistful smile on her face.

"You are so beautiful," she said.

"So are you." I meant it. Her brown hair was even more intricate than mine, the cosmetics giving her some glow to her pale skin. The dark rim Clara lined her eyes with made them huge and doe-like. Her dress was a deep maroon and worked very well for her.

I glanced down at my cleavage and sighed. Not as bad as I'd first feared, but bad enough. Still, any higher and my new necklace wouldn't be showcased as nicely.

Only then did I admit my everlasting vanity.

***