Page 130 of Fortress of Ambrose
Commended:Kendall Dorset
She pulled the Book of Names, the induction registry, back onto her lap and flipped, unsure why her hands were slick and what exactly made her want to know so badly. But there was no record of anyone named Kendall or Ken at all. Even with a different last name. She chewed her nail.Cotillion.She added a dozen more books to the growing pile on the floor. Maybe there was an oversight with his registry and somehow he wasn’t in the Book of Names. But there would be a record of Kendall’s Cotillion, unless he dropped out. In which case she could check the Hall of Shame in the courtyard, with the names of every person who tried to make it in their House but couldn’t.
But Nore flipped through Cotillion announcements until the sun began to rise, and there was no mention of anyone with the name Kendall. There was no indication he ever inducted or finished at the House. She tossed the book aside. She hugged her knees.
Kendall Dorset, possibly her father, was a ghost.
She’d never wanted to talk to her mother more.
Nore’s mother jumpedat the breakfast invitation. As Isla made her way to their meeting, Nore still held the note Priest Winkel had dropped in the seam of her door that morning.
Such a regal shade of blue.
Proudly,
—W
Nore refolded the note, trying to settle her nerves. With Yagrin gone they were more on edge than usual. A third day passed, and still no word from him.
Talking to her mother was the most nauseating idea she’d ever had, but she couldn’t stop thinking about the fact that her mother’s suitor selection was untraceable. With her House hemorrhaging people and Ellery determined to get rid of her, she needed all the wisdom she could get. Even if it came from a person she only knew how to hate.
Her mother was already seated in the breakfast room. The head seat of the long family table was empty. Nore gulped, realizing the last time she was in this room, she sat where her mother was sitting, and the chair the servant just pulled out for her is where Isla had sat.
“Good morning,” Nore said, smoothing her linen dress.
“I wassoglad to get your note this morning.”
She’d almost chickened out of the idea before bed. But after a solid night’s rest she still woke up with the burning feeling that needed her mother’s insight. And she sort ofwanted it, too. The elusive identity of her mother’s selected suitor was just the bait for her conscience. In truth, she’d wanted to ask this woman questions for years. This was her chance.
Nore sat. Her mother passed her a tray of thinly sliced meats. She took a few to be polite. But her stomach was swimming. She shouldn’t accost her mother with questions. She couldn’t be rude. That wouldn’t go anywhere. But she also would not pretend everything between them was fine.
“So how have you been settling in?” Isla asked.
“I hate it.” She bit her lip. She hadn’t meant to be that truthful.
“I hated this place formonthsafter coronation, too.”
Nore slid a piece of fruit into her mouth. “Did you?”
“Very much. I hated what it did to me.”
Nore’s gaze hit her lap. “I wasn’t prepared for this role.”
“Blame me for that.”
“I do,” she spat, able to meet her mother’s gaze again. The servers in the room stared at one another. Isla nodded with a somber glisten in her eyes. Nore stuffed her hands between her knees, kneading them together as if that would settle her nerves. That’s when she noticed something odd about her mother’s dress sleeves. Where the frayed edges would normallyspray across her delicate wrists, they’d been hemmed neatly and lined with blue velvet ribbon.
“What are you wearing?”
Her mother stood and turned in a circle, showing off the adjustments to her gown. The gray of her corset was threaded with the same blue as her sleeves, forming intricate patterns along the ribs of the gown. Nore was speechless as her mother sat back down.
“Just following the rules,” her mother said, bringing a teacup to her mouth. “I’ve always loved blue.”
“Your favorite color is gray, I thought.”
“I’m sure you did.”
Nore studied the woman she’d sat across from for so many years. Did she know her at all? She sliced a pear before sliding it in her mouth.
