Page 13 of The Midnight Blizzard

“My apologies, miss. That’s reserved for scribes who have already completed their training. Perhaps one day, though.”

“Of course. I shall endeavor to study more to earn the privilege,” I told him, smiling to cover my disappointment. A glance at Jack told me that he had overheard. He caught my eye and raised his eyebrows briefly, but then refocused on his work before any of the other advisors could notice our secret exchange.

The hours dragged by as I studied volume after volume all morning, making notes any time I found anything even remotely related to inheritances, but still, discovered nothing substantial. After a brief lunch, I returned to the library to study, but this time, I became drowsy, the constant warmth from the fireplace tugging me closer to sleep the longer I stayed put. The two preceding nights ofpoor sleep coupled with the monotony of books made my eyes begin to slide over the words without absorbing any of the information. The low voices from the advisors blended into a pleasant hum and combined with the soothing crackle of the fire to lull me away from focusing. Each time I snapped back to attention, it was only to nod off again a few minutes later.

Some time later, I jerked awake as someone loudly cleared their throat, a heavy book open across my chest. A glance out the window told me that the snow had stopped, and the sun’s feeble rays pushed through the clouds just enough for me to determine that it was late afternoon.

“It’s unfortunate thatsomeof the women don’t seem to care about the activities we set up or are too lazy to take part in them,” an advisor said in a voice louder than was acceptable for a library.

“Yes,” another agreed. “Can you imagine if one of the women slept during the day? She must not have any interest in the prince if she can’t even be troubled to demonstrate how she is good for the prince.”

Neither looked at me, but their staged conversation compelled me to rise from the chair I’d dozed off in. I looked down at the tome I held to realize that it was out of date; several of the laws listed had been discarded years before, and with how foggy my mind had been from lack of sleep, I hadn’t noticed when I picked it up. Frustrated with my oversight, I got up to replace it on the shelf and leave the library in a hurry.

Annoyed that I had to participate in the activities rather than continue my search, I hitched a smile onto my face and went down to where the rooms were packed with women all demonstrating their talents through singing, drawing, and playing musical instruments. I felt absurdtoting around the bag Trista had given me with the spare changes of clothing. No one else had anything more than a handbag.

To my dismay, I did indeed see more advisors strolling throughout the rooms, taking notes on what all the women were doing. How was I ever supposed to find time to find the will and advocate for my school to reopen if I needed to fight simply to stay here? What was the point of being where I could find evidence if I was banned from the records room and scolded out of the library by passive aggressive advisors?

I let out a quiet stream of air, resigned to the fact that my time for that day would be eaten up without anything to show for it. At least I had ice skating with Jack to look forward to after the ball.

Determined to perform well enough to stay for another day, I participated in the activities I felt most confident in, taking particular pride in the penmanship, history recitations, and mathematics demonstrations. All that time of teaching my students was being put to great use. While many of the other girls could sing and dance, few were able to map out Nieva’s geography or list the kingdom’s major imports and exports. Jasmine, who was strumming a harp nearby, beamed at me.

Vanessa, her face frozen into a cold smile, watched as I explained how bills became laws and enumerated several recent examples of bills and the affect they had on the citizens. At the end of my recitation, the advisors nodded, clearly impressed, while Vanessa shot me a very ugly look. I met her gaze and raised a single eyebrow, silently challenging her to do better. Even if I wasn’t an accomplished painter like she was, I felt confident that my knowledgeabout the kingdom’s affairs would be weighted more heavily.

During the meal early in the evening, Vallia showed signs of wanting to come over to talk to me, but Vanessa dragged her away to sit with other girls. I watched them go with a twinge of regret. Vallia and I could easily have been friends if it wasn’t for Vanessa.

The majority of the girls rushed through their meal, eager to dash off to get ready, Jasmine included, but I dawdled, listening to the cacophony of cooks shouting above the din of the pots and pans rattling in the kitchens. Where was I supposed to get ready for the ball? I supposed I could try to ask Jasmine, but I didn’t know her well yet.

“I’ll be right back,” I heard Jack’s voice coming from the doorway as he entered with other advisors. “I need a drink.”

I eagerly straightened and made my way over to the drinks table set in the darkest corner, where Jack met me. “I’m so sorry about what you heard before,” he breathed. “I told them to just let you rest.”

“I needed to be awake,” I said, taking a long time to pour cider into my cup. “I just wish I’d been able to do more research.”

“I heard you impressed Trent. He was the one in charge of listening to girls discuss domestic affairs.”

“Hopefully that makes up for the bad marks I got for my laziness in the library,” I teased.

“Yes, those notes he made about some sleeping girl were accidentally dropped into a fire before I managed to record them,” Jack informed me. “It was quite a mystery as to how that happened.”

I glowed. I didn’t even need to drink my hot cider to feel warmth spreading throughout my chest. “Does that meanyou’re done for tonight?” I asked him. “It’s lucky I had that nap; I’m all ready for ice skating tonight.”

Jack’s smile faded as he poured himself a drink and cast an eye at the other advisors still milling around in the dining hall’s entryway. “Actually, this is taking longer than I expected, and one of the other advisors is ill, so I was asked to fill in for him analyzing the results after the ball.”

“You could always feign some food poisoning and sneak off,” I suggested wickedly. Now that he was next to me, I found it increasingly difficult to focus on anything else.

“Very tempting.” Jack grinned. “But if the prince discovered that I blew off my responsibilities to sneak away with one of the women he might potentially marry, he might be displeased. Especially when”—he gestured at his hair—“it isn’t appropriate.”

The warmth that had spread through my chest ebbed and faded, and I couldn’t resist one more try. “We would just have to be careful not to get caught. And an ice skating lesson is a transaction, not a courtship, so we wouldn’t be breaking any laws.”

Jack shook his head slowly. “As much as I’d like that, I really can’t. Can we postpone until tomorrow night? There’s a feast for everyone and we could go after that. I didn’t expect this much work today.”

“Of course.” I worked hard not to let my disappointment show or let worry sneak in that I was pestering Jack and trying to get him to spend time with me instead of attending to his duties. Was he trying to find excuses to avoid me?

“I’ll make it up to you,” Jack promised in an undertone. “We can get Kodiak tomorrow morning then skate after the feast.”

My heart lightened. Maybe he didn’t resent me after all.I couldn’t be the only one who felt our connection. “That sounds wonderful.”

Jack returned to his companions and I left through another door, still clutching the bag that Trista left me, trying to figure out what to do next. I couldn’t spend the night in the library, could I? The scribes or maids would find me and urge me to go back to my room, but I had none. But before I could think about finding an inconspicuous place to sleep, I had to convince Prince Stephen to keep me around for another day.

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