Never one to miss a thing, Rosalie dashed over. “Who was that?” Ligeia and Lenore were not far behind.
“Cassius Corum.”
“And he sails for Papa?”
I shook my head. “His father used to.”
“Well, he’s certainly an upgrade from the clerks Papa invited,” Ligeia murmured once the guests had cleared the room. “That little one comes right to my bosom. He spent the whole conversation staring directly into my cleavage.”
“Not that there’s much there to stare at,” Rosalie said, ticklingher.
“Better than the other one. Ivor, I think it was?” Lenore added. “He just leered over me like a great gargoyle.” She pantomimed a frightening face and hooked claws. “I feared he’d eat me up right then and there.”
“But Cassius,” Ligeia said. “Cassius certainly has potential.”
Rosalie made a face. “Pass. Give me a man with a big, bushy mustache, like that sailor Captain Bashemk brought. Now, he’s a catch! I need a man at home on the ocean. One who can handle the curves and swells of the waves.” She ran one hand down the curve of her own hip, dipping theatrically, her voice growing husky. “One who can maneuver his ship into any port, howevertempestuous.”
Ligeia snorted, covering her mouth.
“One with a very large, very thick, very hard…mizzenmast.”
The triplets burst into a fit of giggles, and I rolled my eyes.
“If Papa hears you talking like that, he’s going to take away every one of your romance novels and burn them.”
“Don’t be crabby, Annaleigh. It’s Churning. We’re allowed to be a little brazen, aren’t we?” said Rosalie. “Besides, you might be fending off a mizzenmast of your own. Cassius may be no sailor, but he’s not awful to look at.”
“I don’t think he’s—”
“No, he definitely is interested in you,” Ligeia jumped in. “You didn’t see it because you were talking with Amelia, but the whole time he was with Papa, he couldn’t keep his eyes off you.”
“Who’s he sitting next to at dinner?”
“Me,” Camille said, sidling in. “I assume you’re all in a tizzy over Captain Corum’s son? I saw the seating chart. Annaleigh placed me next to the captain. You’re not going to swap things around now that it’s his son instead, are you?”
She arched an eyebrow at me, daring me to say I would, and I found myself longing to give her braid a good yank, like when we were girls. I didn’t care how tired she was. She’d done it to herself while leaving all the hard work to us.
“I wouldn’t dream of it,” I muttered.
“Wonderful. Now that that’s settled, I need to start getting ready for dinner. I’ll certainly want to look my best.” She waltzed up the stairs, humming a little song to herself.
“Don’t let her get to you,” Lenore said. “She’s been upset she didn’t help more.”
“She didn’t help at all.”
Lenore tucked a stray piece of hair behind her ear. “And she knows that as first daughter, she should have. She’s worried Papa will think badly of her.”
Ligeia nodded as we reached the second landing. “Do you want to get ready with us? So you don’t have to deal with her?”
“No. I’m not letting her bother me. Besides, I need to make sure the Graces are getting ready too.”
“You should wear your green dress tonight,” Rosalie said.
“The one from your ball?”
She nodded. “It’s just the right shade, and you look like a mermaid in it. What could be more perfect for Churning?”
My mind raced, conjuring up Cassius’s face as I glided into the great hall wearing that dress. My chest grew warm, and the flush raced up my cheeks as I pictured his eyes working over me. “You don’t think it’s too much?”
