Mark of Distinction (Price of Privilege) Read Online Free

view the grounds again, wanting to kick myself for showing interest in Mr. Macy. Though my common sense had been a bit woolly from the brandy, I still recalled Mr. Macy’s words: “More than one of your guardian’s servants is loyal to me. I’ve been intercepting all correspondence involving you since your mother’s death.”
    I crossed my arms, willing myself not to panic, either. Thus far nothing had happened.
    “What time does my father arrive?” I asked.
    “Likely as not, sometime after gloaming, but with him, there’s no telling,” was Mrs. Coleman’s stout reply as she unfolded and refolded petticoats, looking for one that would fit. “I’ll have to hire girls from the village to have things readied on time. It’s a blessing he didn’t surprise us, considering the state of the house.”
    Her statement was so curious, my mouth twisted in a queer smile. I’d never seen as much as a speck of dust in the entire estate.
    Aware my father could return any minute, I glanced at the clock. After Mrs. Coleman left my chambers, she wasn’t likely to have the time to assist me later. If I wanted to present my best, I needed to hasten.
    While Mrs. Coleman shook out the clothing she’d selected, I opened the small china boxes, looking for face powder to hide the crescents beneath my eyes. Scents of oil of tartar and almond rose from various creams, but I found no white powder. In my fumbling, one of the bottles of fragrance spilled, filling the air with rose water.
    Mrs. Coleman eyed the spill as she approached, her mouth tightening. “Never mind it; I’ll tend to it as you put these on.”
    While Mrs. Coleman pressed a linen towel against the spill, I shed the nightdress and donned petticoats too large for my frame. Shivering, I stepped into the satin gown that felt soaked in cold.
    When I finished, Mrs. Coleman smoothed my hair with pomade, parted it down the middle, and completed it with a simple braid.
    “With your permission, I’d like to take my leave now,” she said, setting the brush down.
    “Oh yes, yes,” I said. “Feel free.”
    Her eyebrows rose as though she was surprised by my unorthodox dismissal. Nonetheless, she dipped and left with the laundry bundled against her hip.
    Alone, I pulled out the pins from her hairstyle, changed my part and redistributed the pins into a more flattering style, then studied the girl in the looking glass. I heaved a sigh. I looked like a forlorn child in an oversized ruffled dress, and without Nancy, my hair lacked luster.
    Even so, I was determined to be the first to greet my father.
    Had I known who my father’s guest was, I doubt I should have bothered.

NEWS OF MY FATHER’S arrival was like a spring storm sweeping over a sere landscape, leaving verdant buds in its wake. During his absence, the brumal estate had been entombed in silence, but now it rang with life. Footsteps clattered in corridors, deliveries were made by townsmen, groundskeepers ran past windows, and smoke from the kitchen curled with greater measure into the crisp air. For the first time since Edward’s departure, I finally managed glimpses of the upper maids as they bustled feverishly with pails of water, carpet beaters, and rattling coal scuttles, though they did their best to avoid me, scurrying like frightened hares down the nearest passages.
    Eaton’s staff likewise raced about the estate pell-mell, their eyes bright and their cheeks ruddy. Whenever they chanced upon me, instead of hiding, they bowed with such relish anyone would think they enjoyed the impossible task of burnishing an already-calendered house.
    Eaton and Mrs. Coleman, too, flew about like color sergeants rallying their troops. They barked orders, inspected chambers,crawled to see beneath furniture, and measured the distances between footstools and chairs. I watched the fervor through the balustrades in the upper hall, until Mrs. Coleman upbraided a girl for missing a wilted petal in one of the flower arrangements. My