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“Well, you, your brother, and myself.”
I swallowed the surge of disappointment, telling myself it didn’t matter. There were few that remembered the little village girl who’d been taken in. If they did, they likely figured I’d been claimed and moved away by now.
Fighting back a sigh, I reminded myself there was still reason to celebrate. If there was going to be a festival for the new governor, Aunt Mary would be going shopping and making sure they had the best new outfits.
“Everyone who’s anyone has been invited, and there’s going to be a lot of important people here to celebrate,” my aunt continued. “I expect you and your brother both to find a good match. It’s time you settled down before people begin to talk.”
She leveled a stern look at each of her children as I choked down another surge of jealousy. My aunt would never look for a match for me, no matter that I was an omega and alphas were desperate to find mates instead of having to settle with a beta. She wouldn’t want to lose the free labor I represented, nor risk an alpha choosing me who had better standing than her.
Margaret looked like a cat that had got into the cream, while William rolled his eyes and let out a suffering groan. Though he was old enough to have taken the reins of the family business from his mother, he was content letting her manage it while he spent his time enjoying moreinterestingpursuits. He had no desire to give up his bachelorhood or do any actual work.
I went back to my own thoughts, keeping one ear open to find out when the festival was being held. With the family occupied with everything the celebration would entail, I would finally have the chance to tackle some of the projects that were too big for me to get done while having to tend to their needs throughout the day as well. The dress I wore was getting ragged, and I wanted to clean out the attic to see if I could find anything of use to replace it.
“The festival will be held on Midsummer’s Eve, though there will be smaller parties going on for a while. We’ll need to have new dresses made.”
My breath caught in my throat. Midsummer’s Eve was my birthday.
“Oh, Mother, can we go to the seamstress tomorrow? We don’t want her to be too busy making dresses for everyone else! I absolutelyhaveto have her make a dress from that blue cloth we found that matches my eyes.”
I froze as I waited for my aunt to answer. Midsummer was still a couple moons away, but even a morning without the others around would be a treat.
“We’ll go in the morning. We’re already short on time to get proper dresses for you, and William will need a new suit as well. We can’t waste the coin to go to Perlynn to commission them, so we need to make sure we’re first in line for the finest available here.”
Margaret let out a squeal of excitement that drowned out another of William’s groans even as a spark of hope kindled inside me.
Turning her attention to where I stood, my aunt took on her usual haughty tone, bringing my focus back from daydreams of sitting in the garden.
“I still expect all of your usual chores to be done, and dinner to be waiting for us when we return. You’re also going to air out all the bedding and pull out the summer dresses we packed away last fall. The entryway could use a good scrubbing too.”
I bowed my head further.
“Of course, Aunt Mary.”
They didn’t linger over their meal much longer since Margaret was intent on discussing the latest styles with her mother, and William was in a hurry to sneak away to smoke his pipe and drink the bottle of ale hidden in his room.
Clearing the dishes, I took them to the kitchen to have my own lunch. They’d only left me a few shriveled grapes and the ends of the bread, but it would be enough to get me through.
I could hear Margaret’s muffled voice going on about lace, and fox fur, and what colors would look best with her complexion. Snorting at her ridiculousness, I let myself daydream about what kind of dress I would choose if I were in Margaret’s shoes and allowed to look for an alpha.
It would be something simple. Understated, yet still elegant, without all the frippery my cousin was going on about.
Letting out another sigh, I reminded myself that I wasn’t interested in that kind of thing anyway, and would have declined to go even if I’d been invited to the dinner and my aunt had somehow allowed it. I would rather have a free day to take a walk in the woods behind the house, than have to dress up and deal with my family as well as a crowd of strangers.
Chapter Two
Ivy
The morning was a blur of activity and screeched complaints. My aunt and cousins usually slept in well past dawn, but to make it to the seamstress before the shop opened, they had to get up while the sky was still dark. Luckily, I’d prepared everything for their breakfast the night before, so when I was woken by the first sounds of stirring in my aunt’s room, I hopped out of bed and rushed to the kitchen to grab the trays.
Delivering one to my aunt first, I took the other two trays to my cousins, lighting candles and stirring up the fires in their rooms to grumbled protests as they reluctantly dragged themselves from bed.
Returning to my aunt’s room, I helped her dress before making my way back to Margaret. She was always a difficult person, but was twice as bad in the morning. Thankfully, once she was awake, her excitement over her plans for the day tempered her usual sour mood, and it didn’t take long to help her into her dress and fix her hair.
By the time I watched them roll away in the carriage I wanted to collapse and go back to bed, but that would ruin my own plans.
Pushing away the urge to rest, I returned to the kitchen. I threw together a stew I could put over the fire and let simmer all day before moving on to my other daily chores.
Without the constant interruptions from my aunt and cousins, I was finished with everything by noon. I even took care of the extra chores my aunt had assigned, so she wouldn’t be able to accuse me of lazing about all day.
