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My new mentor gestured to each of the professionals as he introduced them, but my blood ran cold and my stomach twisted up tighter. I remembered that girl.
“Encantada,” I said quickly, though my tone lacked the appropriate luster to label myself as truly enchanted. Instantly the woman, Ana Olguín, frowned. She looked like she was in her mid-to-late thirties, and her facial features were sharp and severe. I could already feel my ears turning red.
I kept my eyes on her despite the way her gaze threatened to burn holes into my forehead. “Why do I need a governess? I’m an adult. I assure you all that I can read and write well enough,” I said with a laugh.
Antonio’s eyes narrowed and the institutriz twisted her lips into a look of obvious disgust. “It only takes around three seconds for someone to make a firm judgment on an individual, and I’m sorry to say you are found wanting in my eyes.”
There was no way in hell I was working with this bitter middle-aged woman. “The feeling is mutual.”
She opened her mouth to spit out a retort just as Antonio said, “As your mentor, I have the right to make such decisions.”
I rolled my eyes. “We’re nearly the same age,” I muttered.
Antonio pursed his lips and said, “Since you attended school abroad, there is some concern that you lack appropriate knowledge and respect in regards to our customs. It’s a compassionate choice for an orphan.”
The blood drained from my face. These people didn’t know the truth about me, and I wasn’t sure why I had expected them to be on my side, but the unease grew while the other faces blurred.
Antonio gestured for me to sit at one of the heads of the table. He followed behind me, assisting me to push in my chair before he crossed the room and took his seat at the other end. I kept my eyes glued onto the table, trying not to venture up and look at him every few seconds. He was still beautiful, damn him, but he was not my friend. I was never very good at concealing my emotions, and I didn’t need him analyzing me every fifteen minutes like he seemed to enjoy doing.
I let out a long breath, and leaned back in my chair before resting my arms on the armrests on either side of me. “I apologize for my tardiness. Unfortunately, I wasn’t informed where the meeting was to be held, and I got lost.”
The men all smiled with the same long-suffering tightness that made me feel small. Ana clucked her tongue.
“Competitor or not, you are a lady. Ladies are not late, so I would warn you against making this into a habit,” Ana said. Her voice was crisp and tart, like green apples. “Etiquette is about others. When you learn how to behave courteously, you put those around you at ease.”
I studied her. She was wearing a pale-pink silk shirt, and she held herself as if she were high enough to float away from this world and into some ethereal new dimension.
I blinked. “I’m sorry.”
She raised an eyebrow and pursed her lips. “Are you?”
“Of course,” I spat.
“Ana,” Joaquín Pérez said quickly.
She barely cast him a peripheral glance before she continued. “You were educated by foreigners. Do you even have a proper marriage set up in case you make it out of the tournament?” She sneered.
Again? She wanted to fight me. Perhaps I had been rude and naïve, but she’d come here with this attitude.
“Antonio, find me a new governess,” I said quickly.
Anger emanated from the woman in hot waves. “Stop. Talking.” Her hands flattened against the table. “You are too outspoken, and tall enough to be a tree! Who would marry you? Not even the Marriage Council could find someone suitable.”
“What the hell does that even mean?” I exclaimed.
Ana Olguín tilted her head upward, and looked down her nose at me. “Control your volume. Ladies should never use more air to talk than what it takes to express a delicate sigh. You, above others, must work hard to keep yourself accessible to the public; accessible to other men.”
My mouth fell open. Heat spread from my ears to the rest of my body as I chose to ignore her comments about my lack of marriageable qualities. “Shouldn’t being tall be considered a virtue in physical games?”
Antonio remained curiously quiet, and the governess’s stare turned withering. “Women do not win the tournaments without help, Renata. If you wish to have the appropriate assistance to win, you must deign yourself to appeal to a crowd. Or you will die, like a handful of anti-social young ladies do every year. You have taken a coveted position from others who are better equipped to train with Señor Castillas.”
My mind sputtered—what she said made sense. Women weren’t trained to be as strong as men.
These people didn’t know that I had an advantage with spending the last several years of my life dedicated to dance. Rage tempered resolve filled my insides. I would show them all.
I opened my mouth just as Antonio interjected. “Señora Olguín, I promise you will have time to work with Renata later. Since I value all of your time greatly, I think the best course of action is to begin with our meeting.”
How courteous. The rest nodded, and I sank even further into my seat. Ana cast me one more distasteful glance. I bit my lips together, holding back the words bubbling up inside of me. I wanted to tell her that I was a dancer, I had excellent posture, and she had no right to be so cruel.
