Page 16 of The Fifth Life of Alicia
I hated weighing people up based on how useful they would be to me in society.
Well, to be accurate, one half of me hated it. The part of me that was attuned to this life thanks to this body’s memories had no issue with it at all.
The sooner these two sides of me melded into one, the better. I was beginning to feel like I had multiple personalities.
I carried the stack of letters over to my desk and copied down the time and date of both tea parties, plus the names of all those I would be rejecting, before returning them to their respective envelopes.
“Please put these back where you found them. If she asks, tell her you moved them when you were cleaning.” I handed the stack back to Annie. “Bella will handle my responses.”
Annie swallowed. “Yes, my lady.”
“Oh, and Annie? Let’s keep this between you and me.” I pressed a finger to my lips in a ‘shh’ motion and smiled. “Please do let me know if any more invitations arrive for me.”
“Ah, of course, my lady.” A ghost of a smile flickered across her lips, but it wasn’t cold—just apprehensive. “I will be nearby if you need anything.”
I nodded and sat down at my desk, pulling out my stationery to reply to all the invitations. I intended to reply positively to Lady Georgina and Marchioness Isabelle Velian but send polite rejections to everyone else. I would express my thanks for the invitation and my sorrow that I couldn’t attend, explaining that I was on a light social schedule due to my recovery from my accident.
I also planned to add that I hoped they would look after my sister Sophia as she’d mentioned attending.
Hee hee hee.
If she was invited herself, there would be no issues. However, I already knew how gossipy this society was from both the book and this body’s memories, so if Sophia hadn’t been invited, the ladies would be sure to mention it to me.
I couldn’t begin to imagine how long she’d been taking my place at these events, but it wasn’t going to last much longer.
Writing my responses took me much longer than I’d anticipated, and Bella arrived back just as I was wrapping up my final rejection.
“Well? How did it go?” I asked.
“I’m sorry, my lady. I spoke to Mister Jinx, and he said their master is too busy to meet with you.”
I pursed my lips. “Don’t worry, Bella. I expected as much.” I slipped the letter inside the envelope, sealed it with the wax seal of the Vermillion family, and signed my name on the back. “I have some letters to be delivered, if you don’t mind.”
“Of course, my lady.” Her eyes bugged when she saw the stack. “Goodness. How many are you sending?”
I quickly explained the situation. “So, could you make sure these are delivered as soon as possible?”
She nodded. “I will give them to Barney. He’ll make sure they get there with no problems.”
“Perfect, thank you so much. Can you ask if there were any replies from Sophia? If so, Barney would do well to make sure those ones get lost in transit, if you get my meaning.”
Bella’s eyes twinkled. She hated my sister as much as I did.
I stood up and stretched my arms out in front of me, linking my fingers. “Ah, that’s better. Also, Lady Georgina Alansia’s tea party is in three days, so please prepare me an appropriate outfit for a greenhouse event. Once we’re done there, we’ll go into town to purchase a dress for the spring ball and pay another visit to the guild.”
“Another visit, my lady?”
“Yes. I happen to have some information on Jinx’s master that will get me what I want.” I smiled, tilting my head to the side. “Oh, and do make sure that Harry is available for us on Thursday.”
“What carriage will you be taking, my lady? You can’t take the one I did today to go to the Alansia manor, but you can’t take the main carriages into that side of town.”
I tapped my finger on the side of my nose. “Don’t worry. I have a plan for that.”
***
“Good morning, Lady Alicia. It’s nice to see you out of your quarters. Are you feeling much better?”
I smiled at the older man who’d been the Vermillion family butler since before I was born. “Good morning, Caldwell. I am, thank you for asking. How are you?”
