Dinner pretty much passes as you'd expect it. No Crosingfert drank anything for fear of poison. The Annotte's did not open any gift for fear of bombs. We smiled tight smiles and balled our fists under the table. Father was tired, he looked ready to wave his white flag by the time we left. On the contrary, Grandmother was ready for another battle.
Mother made me come in the car with her on the way home. She asked the driver to darken the windows, and talked about possible suitors, and the ball for my birthday tomorrow.
"Dear," she said, "I've found the perfect new maid. She's engaged, to, so we won't need to keep her away from the stable boys." She laughed, as if her own daughter Leah didn't matter, that she had fallen in love with the next step up from a stable boy.
"Mother," I said, "if she's engaged, then won't she need to return back to the Other world to marry?"
"No dear, we'll just take him in as a driver or something."
"Shouldn't she have a ceremony with her family?"
"Don't be ridiculous, Ella, the Others don't have family."
"Mmmm?"
"Don't speak like that, it's not attractive. No, Others couldn't have family, they're not humane, in that way. Don't think about them, what color curtains should we hang in the women's game room? I think a purple, plum maybe?"
I stop listening. How do my maids not have family?
YOU ARE READING
Hidden World
Подростковая литератураElla lives in a mansion on a hill, separated from the rest of the world. All she wants is to discover how other people live, but without separating herself from her society. Zinnia is a poor peasant, trying to help her family survive. She is about t...
