Page 29 of The Best-Laid Plans

“Do you though?” Lillian asked dryly.

Ellie and her sister had never been as close as some sisters were, but this degree of animosity was new. She looked to her mother, hoping for some support there, some insistence that Lillian be less hostile. None was forthcoming.

“Have they shown any indications of growing weary at having you here?” Mother asked.

“They have offered nothing but words of welcome and kindness,” Ellie said.

“I suspect they have,” Mother acknowledged. “But likely only because they are too well-mannered to allow that weariness to be obvious.”

Did her mother truly think no one could possibly have her in their company for twenty-four hours without wishing to be rid of her? Her own mother found her tedious and unwaveringlyde trop.

Mother regaled Ellie with instructions for not making herself a nuisance. And Lillian treated her to absolute silence. By the time the two of them left, Ellie was exhausted. She didn’t even accompany them to the front door to bid them farewell but remained behind in the sitting room weighed down by the misery of their company.

Is it so much to ask that my family have faith in me?

She closed her eyes, fighting for her calm and equilibrium. She almost wished the constant scolding and reprimands made her angry. That, at least, would propel her onward. Instead, she was always left with a heavy heart, feeling broken and unsure of herself.

“Your family are utter louts.” Artemis’s voice echoed from the far corner, amongst a grouping of chairs that had their backs to the rest of the room. From her chair, Artemis rose and walked toward her. “I was engrossed in a book and didn’t realize until it was too late that I was, essentially, eavesdropping on a private moment.” She sat on the sofa beside Ellie. “I decided interrupting and revealing my presence would bemoreembarrassing than hiding in the corner and waiting.”

“Is it so pathetic that I just want them to... like me?” Ellie felt ridiculous speaking the words out loud.

“I think that makes you very human and not at all pathetic.”

Ellie let her head drop against the back of the sofa. “I should just pack up my things and return home.”

“Nowthatwould be pathetic.” Artemis took Ellie’s hand and pulled her up from the sofa. “I can see we have work to do.”

“What do you mean?”

Artemis grinned at her, then released Ellie’s hand and walked at her side, waving her along when Ellie fell behind. Their path took them to the guest bedchamber Ellie was using.

A woman stood inside whom Ellie had never seen before. Her deep-brown hair was pulled up in a perfectly executed chignon with a bright-red ribbon threaded throughout and just the perfect number of loose tendrils allowed to frame her face. Her dress of deepest blue, with red embroidered flowers, was more fashionable than lady’s maids were generally known to wear. Ellie knew there were no other guests staying in the home, and she did not think Artemis had received a caller. Who, then, was this unknown woman?

“Ellie, this is Rose,” Artemis said. “She is a genius in matters of fabrics, color combinations, and accessorizing.”

“Is she one of the Huntresses?” Ellie asked.

Rose twisted her mouth in disapproval. “Hardly.”

Artemis laughed. “Rose is far closer to being Leto than one of Artemis’s band.”

Ellie shook her head. “You will never convince me Rose is old enough to be your mother.”

A slow smile spread over Rose’s face. “I like you, Miss Ellie. I like you very much indeed.”

Though Ellie did not know many people from India and had only rarely heard their flavor of English, there was no mistaking Rose hailed from that area of the world.

“Do you like Ellie enough to help me undo the damage her mother has done to her fashionability?” Artemis asked.

“I am neither Leto nor a miracle worker,” Rose said. “What I am is exceptionally good at what I do.”

Ellie knew her parents would reprimand her for being too outspoken, but she pushed ahead with the question she was desperate to have answered. “And what is it, precisely, that you do?”

“I am Artemis’s lady’s maid.”

Ellie’s surprise must have shown.

Artemis grew a bit stiff. “Do you disapprove of a woman from India acting as a lady’s maid?”

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