Garnet's Story Read Online Free Page A

unfair.
    Mother puts her face so close to mine that I can see the pale freckle she tries to hide with makeup, just under her left eye.
    â€œGo back to your room,” she says. “Do not leave it until I give you permission to. I will have Cora lock you inside if I must.”
    â€œReally, Mother? Am I a seven-year-old boy again?”
    â€œI don’t know, Garnet,” she hisses. “You certainly act like one. And if you embarrass me in front of the Founding Houses again, you may find yourself following in the footsteps of my darling sister. That is not something you want,is it?”
    â€œNo,” I say.
    â€œThen get . . . to . . . your . . . room.”
    She whirls around and I stumble backward. She gathers herself together, hitches a pleasant smile on her face, and walks back into the dining room.
    I feel like I’ve done enough for one day.
    I take the main staircase and find Carnelian standing at the top of it, looking sullen, as usual.
    â€œNot invited to dinner either?” she asks.
    â€œWhy would I even want to be?” I say.
    â€œDid you see her?” she asks. “The surrogate?”
    â€œYeah.”
    She stares at me. “Well? What’s she like?”
    â€œShe’s like a girl sitting in a dining room eating dinner,” I say.
    â€œNow she’ll never get me a companion,” Carnelian grumbles. “Everything’s going to be about the surrogate from now on.”
    â€œMother can afford a surrogate and a companion,” I say. “You won’t get the latter because you clearly want it so badly.”
    â€œIt isn’t fair,” she says. “All the other girls have one, and they make fun of me for—”
    â€œI’m not in the mood for your complaining tonight, Carnelian,” I say.
    â€œI only meant—”
    But I don’t want to hear what she meant. I push past her and stride down the hall. I slam the door to my chambers, acting for all the world like a seven-year-old boy, just asMother said.
    So far, all this surrogate has done is stare at me like a deer locked in headlights, and get me into trouble.
    I hate my new assignment already.

Four
    A LL I HAVE TO SAY IS, THANK THE E XETOR FOR A NNABELLE .
    I assume she believes that my curiosity regarding the surrogate is pure—otherwise, she simply overlooks it in favor of excitedly telling me about her new job. Either way, it works out well for me.
    I don’t see Annabelle nearly as much as I used to, but I learn a lot more than I would without her. The surrogate likes coffee. The surrogate plays the cello. The surrogate is sad sometimes. Annabelle was rewarded for her wardrobe choices once.
    The second time I see the surrogate is the day of the Electress’s surrogate’s funeral. I don’t need Annabelle totell me about that because the whole Jewel knows about it. I catch a glimpse of the motorcar leaving—Carnelian is watching through a window in the drawing room and I can see the girl’s leashed and veiled form slip into the car before it pulls away. It’s sort of weird, now that I think about it, to put them on leashes. I don’t think I’d like being on a leash very much. I wonder if that’s something I could risk asking Annabelle about.
    â€œHave you spoken to her yet?” Carnelian asks.
    â€œYou think Mother would let me anywhere near her?” I say.
    â€œNo,” she agrees, folding her arms across her chest. “I didn’t think she’d be so . . . pretty.”
    I hadn’t considered the surrogate to be pretty. She isn’t bad looking, I suppose. Leave it to Carnelian to find something to be jealous about, though.
    I see the surrogate with Annabelle in the garden sometimes, and Annabelle comes to see me the day of the girl’s first doctor’s appointment, telling me she’s nervous for her. She cares about the surrogate very much already, and while the caring doesn’t surprise me