“I’ll just run down to the kitchen for some cocoa,” Rilla says, jumping up, leaving her novel open on her bed. “Would you like some, Cate?”
“No, thank you. I’m going out; I’ve got an errand to run.”
Maura smiles as Rilla bounces off. “A rendezvous with your dashing spy?”
I yank her into the room and shut the door. “Hush!”
“Oh, I’m not going to spill your secret,” she says, twirling a red curl around her finger. “I hope he tells you something useful, though. He’s got to start earning his keep.”
Fear washes over me. Earning her silence, she means? “Maura, you do realize no one else can know about this.”
“I haven’t told a soul. Ooh, these are pretty.” Maura snatches up a pair of pearl earbobs from my dresser and slides them on. “I’ve got plans of my own this afternoon. Special tutoring with Sister Inez.”
I sit on the edge of my bed, reaching for my boots. “Practicing mind-magic on your friends again?” I want to stuff the words back into my mouth the second they escape. The last thing I want is to irritate her more.
“Judgmental, aren’t we?” Maura arches her eyebrows at my waspish tone. “I didn’t see you complaining when Sister Cora erased Hope’s memory.”
I slide on heeled black boots. “That was to protect us, not for fun.”
“What part of this do you suppose is fun for me? Letting the Brothers storm in here and interrogate us? Watching an innocent little girl get arrested, knowing they’re going to let her rot in a cellar somewhere?” Maura stalks around the room, stepping over the slippers and stockings Rilla’s dropped helter-skelter. “We’re not safe here anymore. They could seize any of us at any moment.”
“I know that.”
“They’ve arrested at least thirteen girls now, counting Hope. Sister Cora’s ill. We need a strong leader, not all this uncertainty.” Maura plops down on Rilla’s rumpled yellow quilt. “I want you to take the test.”
“No.” I lean down and tie my laces.
Maura groans. “Why are you being so selfish? If you would take the test, we’d find out which of us is the most powerful and we could start planning accordingly. If it’s me, I’d like to work with Sister Inez to start doing things.”
“It only tests one kind of magic,” I point out, straightening. What is it that she’s so eager to do, besides murdering Brenna?
“The most important kind.” Maura narrows her blue eyes at me. “Is that why you’re so reluctant? Are you afraid it will confirm that I’m the prophesied witch?”
“That’s ridiculous,” I say flatly. I’m thinking of Tess, wishing that I could tell Maura the truth, but as soon as it’s out of my mouth, I realize I’ve misspoken again. How do I always manage to say the exact wrong thing to her?
“It is not ridiculous!” Maura slams her hands down on either side of her, making Rilla’s bed quiver. “You’ve never wanted this as much as I have. I’ve been working ten times as hard as you—not just at magic, but to win these girls’ respect. Do you think I like spending so much time with that little snob Alice Auclair?”
I gape at her. “Yes?”
“No! Good Lord, don’t you know me at all?” Maura demands, springing up. “She’s popular because everyone’s scared of her. I’m trying to curry favor so that she and all her friends will support Inez and me. When it comes time for war, we’ll need everyone working together, not split down the middle like they are now. I’m working night and day to earn my place here, which is more than I can say for you. But the Sisters are still stuck on the notion that you’re the prophesied one, even though you haven’t had any visions yet.”
I focus on the row of blue buttons marching up her bodice instead of looking her in the eye. “Neither have you.”
“I will,” Maura says, her voice fierce. “I’m not going to spend the rest of my life standing by while girls are hunted down. Take the test, Cate.”
I stand, temper simmering. “I said no, and I meant it. I already know I can do mind-magic. I’m not going to practice just to show off. And I’m certainly not going to break my friends’ trust—or my family’s—by practicing on them!”
Maura leans against my dresser, hurt flashing across her face. “I see someone’s been tattling. Tess or Elena?”
“It doesn’t matter. I can’t believe you did that to the O’Hares!”
Maura clenches her ruffled cream skirt in her fist. I have the unsettling feeling that she’d like to crush me instead of that pretty brocade. “You’re as much of a snob as Alice, thinking you’re better than everyone else.”
“That’s not true! I never said I was a better witch than you.”
Maura stalks toward the door. “No, you just think you’re a better person. And it’s not true. The only reason Cora favors you is because she hates Inez. If my birthday were first, it would be me. That’s all it is, Cate, so don’t go around thinking you’re anything extraordinary.”
She slams the door behind her, and I sink down onto my bed, head in my hands. Is she right? Have Cora’s pretty compliments only been flattery, because I’m a better alternative than Inez?
I remind myself that it doesn’t really matter now anyway.
I can’t reveal Tess’s secret before she’s ready, but this constant competition with Maura is wearying. It feels like everyone in the convent is watching, waiting to see which of us will be the prophesied sister. None of the teachers have admitted that Sister Cora is dying, but everyone knows she’s ill; it’s an open secret. It feels as though everyone is waiting for her to die, and for Inez to take charge and make things happen. But what is Inez planning—and how is my sister wrapped up in it?
I stand and search through my mahogany jewelry box for another pair of earbobs, since Maura took the pearls. Perhaps it’s madness, meeting Finn in the middle of the afternoon in broad daylight. But he’ll be dressed as a Brother, and as long as we’re careful to keep a proper distance, no one’s likely to suspect him of any wrongdoing.
There’s a cursory knock at the door, and Tess pokes her head in. “There you are. Are you going out?” She peers at the garnets in my hand, lowering her voice. “Are you meeting Finn?”
“How did you know?” I demand, slipping them on.
“You’ve done your hair.” Tess points at the braids wound prettily around the crown of my head. “You’ve got to stop looking at me as though I’m going to spontaneously burst into fire at any moment, or people are going to start suspecting something. You’re the least sneaky girl I know. Can I come with you?”
“To meet Finn?” I ask uncertainly.
“Yes, silly.” Tess grabs my spare pair of brown boots from the corner by the armoire and steps into them. “I just want to meet him. I mean, I’ve met him in the shop dozens of times, but not when I knew you loved him. I should get to know him a bit, shouldn’t I, if he’s to be my brother someday?”
“We’re not betrothed anymore.” My voice is brusque, though it hurts me to say it. “I gave his ring back before I left Chatham.”