โNINA DRESSED WITH CARE. Her gown was palest lavender, modestly cut, perfectly suited to Mila Jandersdatโs coloring and generous figure. She wore no jewelry. What baubles could a poor widow afford? But a Fjerdan womanโs greatest adornment was her virtue. Nina smiled at the girl in the mirror, the expression sweet and guileless.โ
She smoothed her flaxen hair into a tidy braided crown that would have made the Wellmother proud and found her way to the solarium. The great glass windows were ringed with frost, and through them she could see the ice moat and beyond it, the glittering spires of the White Island. The Ice Court was as dazzling as she remembered.
She heard footsteps behind her and turned to see Jarl Brum approaching, his wife on his arm. They were a remarkably handsome couple, tall and fine-boned.
โEnke Jandersdat,โ he said warmly. โMy savior. Please allow me to introduce you to my wife, Ylva.โ
Nina curtsied. โIt is my greatest honor.โ
Brumโs wife took Ninaโs hand. Her thick chestnut hair fell nearly to her waist, and she wore a gown of gold silk that made her brown skin glow like autumn. Nina could see where Hanne had come by her beauty.
โThe honor is mine,โ said Ylva. โI understand my husband owes his life to you.โ
Once the wagon was long gone, Nina and Hanne had awakened Brum. Theyโd told him that theyโd come running after the explosion and found his body by the side of the road. He was lucky to have escaped the waters and the disaster at the factory with little more than a bad bump to the head. Whatever suspicions Brum had held regarding Mila Jandersdat,
theyโd been cured by the fact that she had remained in Gรคfvalle when the Zemeni couple and the Grisha prisoners had fled.
Nina and Hanne had waited patiently at the convent while Brum had returned to the factory to see who had survived and put everything he could to rightsโand, Nina suspected, to make sure there was no evidence of his failures. An industrial accident that had resulted in the deaths of valued captives was one thing, but a successful Grisha escape attempt after his humiliation at the Ice Court the previous year would have spelled disaster for his career. And it was very important to Nina that Jarl Brum did not lose his favored position in the Fjerdan hierarchy. For the plan she had in mind, she would need every one of his connections and every bit of his access to highly placed bureaucrats, military commanders, and noblemen.
โI did nothing,โ Nina said to Ylva. โIt was Hanne who showed true courage.โ
โAnd that is another debt we owe you,โ Ylva said. โJarl tells me you are responsible for the remarkable change in our daughter.โ
โI cannot take praise for that! I credit your own influence and the steady tutelage of the Wellmother, may Djel watch over her.โ
The Brums nodded solemnly, then Ylvaโs face broke into a wide smile.
โHanne!โ she exclaimed as her daughter entered the room.
The truth was that Nina deserved plenty of credit for Hanneโs transformation. Sheโd taught her to dress to suit her long, lean figure; taught her to stand with her shoulders back and walk with a ladyโs grace; and of course, Nina had taught her to act. As for Hanneโs trust, she would find a way to earn it and maybe even be worthy of it. Somehow.
Ylva embraced her daughter as Brum said to Nina, โHanne tells me she is at last prepared to put aside her foolish ways and find a husband. I do not know what magic you worked on her, but I am grateful. She is so much changed.โ
She was perfect before, thought Nina.ย Or would have been if you hadnโt pruned and plucked at her like an overeager gardener trying to mold an unruly shrub.
Nina smiled. โI think it was only a matter of time before Hanne discovered who she was truly meant to be.โ
โYou must learn to take a compliment, Mila.โ He pressed a kiss to her knuckles. โI hope you will in time.โ He clapped his hands together.
โShall we dine?โ
Hanne turned to her father, her face happy and serene. She wore deepest russet, and her freckles looked like pollen on her cheeks. Her hair was still closely shorn.
โIโm afraid a number of generals have come to discuss boring matters of war. Vadik Demidov himself will be arriving in the capital soon,โ said Brum. Nina hoped so. She intended to learn all she could about the Lantsov pretender and Fjerdaโs plans for battle. โWe will try not to put you ladies to sleep.โ
โWe will be happy to talk amongst ourselves, Papa,โ said Hanne. โThere are new dress designs from Gedringe to discuss.โ
He smiled indulgently at her and took his wifeโs arm.
As soon as his back was turned, Hanne winked at Nina, her gaze snapping fire.
โShall we?โ she said.
Nina slid her hand into Hanneโs as they followed Ylva and Jarl Brum into dinner.
They would build a new world together. But first they had to burn the old one down.