Churning arrived in a flurry of snowflakes.
Papa was in the foyer, waiting for the guests to arrive. Morella rested upstairs, mustering the energy to make it through dinner. She longed to be seen as the true and proper hostess, but the twins had other ideas.
The midwife had found nothing wrong with her. Though the twins did feel large, she blamed the fresh sea air and our healthy diet for that. She showed me stretches to help ease the tension in Morella’s lower back and said to keep using the oil and lotion. Verity watched, enthralled and eager to help as she could.
Papa looked down our receiving line, counting with a frown. “Where is Camille?”
“Coming, coming.” Camille breezed in, slipping into place. Her hair was windswept, and try as she might, she couldn’t keep smiling.
I raised my eyebrows at her. Was she coming in from the Grotto just now? She’d remained staunchly true to her threat to not help with Churning activities. She went dancing every night instead and slept in later and later, often not waking until well after three in the afternoon. Papa had been too occupied with business and Morella to notice, but the rest of us had felt her absence keenly.
The door opened, bringing in a shower of snow and our guests. Captain Morganstin, his wife, Rebecca, and their two daughters were first. The Graces instantly took the girls into their mix with promises of dolls and jacks later that afternoon.
Captain Bashemk was next. His wife was in confinement and unable to travel, but he brought along his first mate, Ethan. Rosalie batted her eyes at the younger man, then looked down with a coy smile as the officer’s face flushed red.
Sterland and Regnard came in together, swapping stories and greeting Papa with boisterous hugs. Regnard’s wife, Amelia, trailed behind them, asking after Morella.
Two young men stepped in from the cold, looking up at Highmoor’s grand foyer with open awe. One was short and trim, with hair so blond, it looked nearly white. He nudged his friend in the ribs as he spotted my sisters and me. The other was his total opposite, towering over him, with jet-black hair and a nose so crooked, it must have been broken at least twice in his life. He caught me staring, but rather than smile, he let his eyes wander up and down my body. It felt like a beetle crawling across my skin, and I looked away.
“Jules, Ivor!” Papa exclaimed, greeting his clerks. “Have you met my daughters yet?” He scanned the room for someone who was free to chat, and I ducked into the entryway, making myself look busy overseeing the livery boys unloading trunks. I wanted to be available the moment Captain Corum arrived.
I frowned. The sleighs were empty, the guests apparently all inside. Had I missed seeing him come in? I turned back into the foyer, counting heads.
“Was Captain Corum with you on the boat?” I asked, sidling over to Amelia. Poor Lenore was caught in conversation with the taller clerk. I vowed to rescue her after I met Corum.
Amelia removed her hat, running her fingers over her silvering hair. “Oh! You haven’t heard the news, then? He passed away just a few days ago.”
“Oh no!” Poor Cassius. Even if he hadn’t known his father for very long, losing him still had to sting.
She leaned in with a whisper. “Apparently, it was scarlet fever. Dreadful disease. His son came, though. He should be around here somewhere.” She looked around the entryway. “There he is.”
I turned and my heart seemed to stop.
“Oh.”
It was Cassius. Here at Highmoor, speaking with Papa. When his eyes caught mine, he brightened.
A wave of warmth washed over me. I opened my mouth, ready to form a hostess’s greeting, but nothing came out. Papa saw my floundering and brought him over for introductions.
“This is my second eldest—”
“Annaleigh,” they finished together.
Papa ran a quick appraising eye over us. “Annaleigh, this is Captain Corum’s son, Cassius. He’ll be joining us for the week in his father’s stead.”
“We’ve met before,” I admitted, surprising both Papa and Cassius. “In the marketplace on Selkirk. I’m so sorry to hear about your father’s passing.”
“Indeed,” Papa said, patting him on the shoulder with a reassuring slap. “Your father was a great man and will be sorely missed.”
He turned to the room, clearing his throat. “Ladies and gentlemen, welcome to Highmoor. My family is so pleased you could be with us on this occasion. First Night has always been special to our house. Our valet, Roland, will show you to the East Wing so you may settle in before the feast begins.”
As the room stirred into action, Cassius took my elbow, holding me back from the bustle. Away from Papa, he seemed to have relaxed, his voice low and his cadence easy. “When I saw the Thaumas crest on the envelope, I knew I had to come, if only to see you again. I hated leaving you like that in the marketplace last week, but I had to get back to my father.” He swallowed once. “For all the good it did. He died just hours after I returned.”
“Oh, Cassius, I’m so sorry. I’m glad you were with him at the end.”
He looked up, his blue eyes searching mine before spotting someone across the room. “That’s the man from the marketplace. The one who discovered the watchmaker’s body.”
I turned and saw Fisher speaking with Camille. He looked up and caught me watching. Holding my gaze for a long beat, he murmured something in my sister’s ear. Camille smirked.
“That’s Fisher. He’s training as an apprentice at the lighthouse on Hesperus.”
Cassius studied him, watching Fisher’s hand snake around Camille’s shoulder. “Funny way to train, so far from a lighthouse.”
I couldn’t help my smile, remembering their confrontation at the ball in Pelage. “You sound jealous!”
“Hardly. And do you know why?” I shook my head. “Because I’m the one whispering in the corner with the prettiest girl in the room.”
Then Cassius was off, saying hello to the triplets before following the rest of the party upstairs. As he reached the top step, he turned and caught me staring at him. With a quick wink, he was around the corner and out of sight.
Never one to miss a thing, Rosalie dashed over. “Who was that?” Ligeia and Lenore were not far behind.
“Cassius Corum.”
“And he sails for Papa?”
I shook my head. “His father used to.”
“Well, he’s certainly an upgrade from the clerks Papa invited,” Ligeia murmured once the guests had cleared the room. “That little one comes right to my bosom. He spent the whole conversation staring directly into my cleavage.”
“Not that there’s much there to stare at,” Rosalie said, tickling her.
“Better than the other one. Ivor, I think it was?” Lenore added. “He just leered over me like a great gargoyle.” She pantomimed a frightening face and hooked claws. “I feared he’d eat me up right then and there.”
“But Cassius,” Ligeia said. “Cassius certainly has potential.”
Rosalie made a face. “Pass. Give me a man with a big, bushy mustache, like that sailor Captain Bashemk brought. Now, he’s a catch! I need a man at home on the ocean. One who can handle the curves and swells of the waves.” She ran one hand down the curve of her own hip, dipping theatrically, her voice growing husky. “One who can maneuver his ship into any port, however tempestuous.”
Ligeia snorted, covering her mouth.
“One with a very large, very thick, very hard…mizzenmast.”
The triplets burst into a fit of giggles, and I rolled my eyes.
“If Papa hears you talking like that, he’s going to take away every one of your romance novels and burn them.”
“Don’t be crabby, Annaleigh. It’s Churning. We’re allowed to be a little brazen, aren’t we?” said Rosalie. “Besides, you might be fending off a mizzenmast of your own. Cassius may be no sailor, but he’s not awful to look at.”
“I don’t think he’s—”
“No, he definitely is interested in you,” Ligeia jumped in. “You didn’t see it because you were talking with Amelia, but the whole time he was with Papa, he couldn’t keep his eyes off you.”
“Who’s he sitting next to at dinner?”
“Me,” Camille said, sidling in. “I assume you’re all in a tizzy over Captain Corum’s son? I saw the seating chart. Annaleigh placed me next to the captain. You’re not going to swap things around now that it’s his son instead, are you?”
She arched an eyebrow at me, daring me to say I would, and I found myself longing to give her braid a good yank, like when we were girls. I didn’t care how tired she was. She’d done it to herself while leaving all the hard work to us.
“I wouldn’t dream of it,” I muttered.
“Wonderful. Now that that’s settled, I need to start getting ready for dinner. I’ll certainly want to look my best.” She waltzed up the stairs, humming a little song to herself.
“Don’t let her get to you,” Lenore said. “She’s been upset she didn’t help more.”
“She didn’t help at all.”
Lenore tucked a stray piece of hair behind her ear. “And she knows that as first daughter, she should have. She’s worried Papa will think badly of her.”
Ligeia nodded as we reached the second landing. “Do you want to get ready with us? So you don’t have to deal with her?”
“No. I’m not letting her bother me. Besides, I need to make sure the Graces are getting ready too.”
“You should wear your green dress tonight,” Rosalie said.
“The one from your ball?”
She nodded. “It’s just the right shade, and you look like a mermaid in it. What could be more perfect for Churning?”
My mind raced, conjuring up Cassius’s face as I glided into the great hall wearing that dress. My chest grew warm, and the flush raced up my cheeks as I pictured his eyes working over me. “You don’t think it’s too much?”
“Not for First Night,” Ligeia said. “Cassius won’t even notice whatever Camille comes down in.”
I sputtered. “That’s not what I—”
“Just put on the dress, Annaleigh,” Lenore said, pushing me toward the stairs.
