Reign of Shadows - Deborah Chester [68]
Elandra also looked at the doorway in apprehension. The threat was real enough. Hecati was a vicious taskmaster. Not the tiniest detail or omission ever escaped her vigilant eye.
“Come on, I say! There’s no time to be lost.”
“But I’m not finished,” Elandra said. “I’ve got to or—”
“Don’t be stupid. You can’t be caught with this.”
Elandra didn’t argue further. The servants had protected her more than once. Folding the robe hastily to hide the unfinished hem, she gave it to Magan, who stuffed it quickly in between some of the other gowns.
“And the box it was in,” the maid said. “Where’s that?”
“I don’t know. Bixia came out wearing it last night. That’s when she found out it was too long and threw such a fit.” Elandra frowned in growing consternation. “It’s part of the trousseau, isn’t it?”
“Never mind that. If we don’t find the box, it’s my back as well as yours.”
“It might be in her bedchamber,” Elandra suggested.
Magan made a face. “I’m not going in there. Let her get in trouble for once, playing with things such as this without a care for their importance.” She clicked her tongue in disapproval.
The sound of voices in the corridor made both of them look. Elandra didn’t hear Hecati’s unmistakable tones, and relaxed again.
Magan shook her head. “The men are in the courtyard loading the elephants. I’ll get these put in the last trunk to be carried downstairs, and we’ll pray no one figures out what happened.”
“Thank you, Magan,” Elandra said. The maid had always treated her with kindness, and she was grateful.
Rolling her eyes, Magan sent Elandra a quick wink and hurried into the dressing room at the far side of the suite just as more maids hurried in with armloads of slippers and undergarments, looking excited in the general commotion.
Elandra watched them go by, and felt her own spirits rise. Bixia was being packed for her bridal journey, and good riddance as far as Elandra was concerned. In an hour her half-sister would be gone at last, and perhaps there would finally be peace in this house. If nothing else, Elandra was looking forward to having a life of her own without spoiled Bixia to fetch and carry for.
Elandra put away her needle case and tucked it in her pocket. She rose stiffly on legs that would barely support her. After sitting on the steps all night, she was so cramped and knotted she felt a hundred years old instead of seventeen. Yawning, she pushed her heavy tangle of hair back from her face and stretched with her hands on the small of her back. She wanted to fall into bed and sleep forever.
A whistling sound through the air was the only warning she had before pain stung her leg through her gown.
Elandra turned around in a fury, barely managing to hold her tongue. There stood Hecati, a thin, tiny woman who had a supple willow switch in her hands. Her plain face was pursed in its customary vinegary scowl, circled by a snowy white wimple that never looked creased or soiled no matter how hot and steamy the days got. Her eyes glared at Elandra with contempt.
Elandra glared back, resentful of this woman who had made her life a misery. Be careful, a small inner voice warned her. Soon she’ll be gone. You can hold yourself until then. But it was hard to be prudent, especially now when freedom was so close.
“Idle good-for-nothing,” Hecati scolded. “Everyone is working as fast as they can and you stand here like some great lady with no task to do.”
“I just—”
“Silence! You haven’t my leave to speak.” Hecati’s eyes narrowed suspiciously. “I’ve not seen you for hours. Where have you been? Hiding? Sleeping? Shirking?”
Alarm replaced Elandra’s anger. Hecati still had plenty of time to punish her before the departure. Elandra moved back a half step. “No,” she said in a low neutral voice. “I haven’t been hiding. I’ve been hemming the—I mean, I’ve been doing some mending.”
Hecati focused on her even more intently. “You’re lying,” she said. “What have you been doing?”
Elandra could have cursed her own hapless tongue. She was too tired to lie effectively. With Hecati she needed