Chapter 32 Old Tastes
Zephyr tapped the packet of
andy, his long lashes casting shadows across his cheekbones and hiding the depth of his gaze. “I loved it as a child, but not anymore.”
Sadie’s brow lifted; she sensed a story hidden behind the words. Zephyr flicked his eyes toward her, reading her curiosity with one glance. In that moment, he realized how like they were, both wired to feel the slightest tremor in another’s mood, both perpetually alert.
They pursued ambition with identical devotion, driving themselves toward a standard of perfection so exacting it bordered on cruelty. Yet, beneath that shining discipline, each of them hid the same thin layer of hypocrisy.
Zephyr said, “I agreed to teach you calligraphy only because Grandmother asked. If you believed the lessons would draw us closer, you will be disappo
He added, “There is nothing more I can offer. Inside is the last thing you will receive from me. From today, I will not set foot in the west wing again.”
He rose without another word and strode away, leaving the packet of Dragon’s Beard Candy untouched on the low table.
With her back still turned toward the hall where he had vanished, Sadie lifted the lid of the brocade box.
On a panel of teal silk rested a seal, so carved meticulously that its translucence glowed like dawn.
She turned it over; on the base, a word had been cut with exquisite care-“Sadie.”
“Sadie…” she whispered, letting her thumb trace the seal’s delicate carving.
For a moment, she felt her future unfurl – bright, alive, and unending.
She studied the gift for a long moment, then slipped it into her purse with the care one gives a promise.
Memory pulled her back to Zephyr’s study, the day she had asked, “Will I have a seal of my own someday?”
He had warned her not to do anything to pull them closer, yet he had remembered that question and gave her an answer.
Perhaps Zephyr is not so impossible to move after all.
Leaving Pine Manor, she nearly collided with Alexander, who was returning from the outskirts with a fishing rod in one hand and a wicker creel in the other.
“Sadie, my
good soup!”
friends and I landed a few fish today. Take one back to Goldsheen Manor and make yourself a
“They’re enormous!” she gasped after peeking inside the basket.
“Right?” Alexander puffed up with pride. “That river is teeming with fat fish. I’ll go again tomorrow. Do you prefer carp or crucian? I can catch you a whole string.”
“Thank you, Alex.” She smiled. The teacher praised my handwriting and asked me to prepare a scroll for display in Sunlit Arcade.”
“Really? I knew you’d be chosen!” Alexander’s face lit up with shared glory.
Chapter 32 Old Tastes
“Spring Gala will be packed,” she said gently. “Your riding and archery are unmatched. Enter the marita contest win, and Father may spare the whip.”
Nicolas had yet to learn his son had been skipping lessons. Once he did, Alexander would face another thrashing. A gleaming accolade might be the only shield between him and the lash.
Sadie needed someone else to steal Neville’s spotlight–and the stroke of luck that usually followed him.
“The martial exhibition at the Spring Gala?” Alex scratched his head. “I remember Zephyr entered six years ago and swept the title three years straight.”
He continued, “Then he joined the army and had no time for trivial contests. If I won this year, Father might finally praise me–maybe even stop thrashing me. But…”
The notion made him hesitate for a heartbeat.
“All right. I’ll do it!”
“Alex, do you still have pocket money?”
“Not much.” He almost whimpered. “Father called me dim–witted and an embarrassment, so he’s docked my allowance for two months. Even my New–Year monetary gift is gone. He took every last coin!”
“Good thing I know a way for us to earn some.” She rose on tiptoe and murmured the scheme against his
ear.
Sadie had planned that very scheme in her previous life.
Back then, it won Oliver his first real payout at the Spring Gala, a tidy profit that set future fortunes in motion. She no longer craved trade, yet a profit never hurt.
Alexander’s eyes shone. “Brilliant! The two of us will make a killing.”
He abandoned fishing altogether and spent every waking hour beside Sadie, plotting their enterprise.
At dusk, Zephyr rode home from High Court and found them haggling with shopkeepers along the avenue.
By the time he dismounted, the maids were already smuggling sack after sack of merchandise onto a covered wagon.
10
