Anaisa gripped Katia's hands tightly as the two women sat on the stoop outside the grand residence. Trace lingered nearby, observing some ornamental shrubbery to give the ladies some privacy.
"You're sure you're all right?" Anaisa asked for at least the fifth time.
"I'm fine, Annie," The elder smiled fondly. "And you seem… well." Katia looked over Anaisa's dress, and quirked an eyebrow at the gold wedding ring on her finger.
"Very well." Katia continued as she cut her eyes over to where Trace was standing. Thankfully, he wasn't facing them. Anaisa's face colored.
"He treats me kindly," The younger sister confided softly.
"I should say so," Katia smiled. "My sister deserves the best of men, I'm glad it seems you got a good one."
Anaisa's smile faltered. She wasn't sure how much, if anything to reveal to her sister. The two normally shared absolutely everything with each other, but Conlan had seemed to imply there would be danger if Anaisa tried to get the elder away from his grasp… so what purpose would telling her everything serve?
"His family is very welcoming." Anaisa smiled. "His mother and sister gave me clothes to wear and furniture for the household."
"He is not poor, then. You will not starve," Katia spoke approvingly. "I am content you should have such a life."
"It's not the life we were meant for," Anaisa's voice was a little strained as she whispered to her sister. "I will get our titles back. Our inheritance. I will find a way."
Katia's eyes misted over and she hugged her sister again, tightly. "There is no need for that. We both have new lives now. It is a blessing to be so near to you. I've missed you so, wondering what kind of man you were given, whether you were treated with deference and love."
"Love?" Anaisa stiffened in her sister's arms, both shocked by Katia's easy dismissal of their inheritance and her mention of such an emotion. "You would hope for such a thing? You would value that over our rightful place in the world?"
"He looks at you fondly already," Katia pulled back and cut her eyes over to Trace. "I cannot imagine it will be long before love follows. You are very loveable, my sister."
"You are biased," Anaisa shook her head.
"I am biased in my love for you, but not in what I see." Katia eyed her sister's husband again. "Time will prove me right."
"It usually does," Anaisa conceded, "but don't set your hopes on it in this circumstance."
"Do not let your quest to recapture what was lost make you lose something more precious," Katia warned. "Did you come to the city just for revenge?"
"We came looking for you," Anaisa said, worry leaking into her tone. "Our first day of marriage, I wanted to go to town to check on you, but you were gone! I was so worried, and Trace said Jin had probably brought you to the city, and here we are!"
It was much of the truth, even if the most important parts had been left out. Katia frowned.
"Your husband disrupted his life and livelihood so that you could come check on me? Anaisa, that is not being a good wife. In the lessons, they taught us that a good wife defers to her husband's needs, especially his business since it provides food to eat and clothes to wear." Katia chastised.
"He insisted," Anaisa's smile faded slightly.
"Then he is a very good man to you, and you must not take advantage of his good nature," Katia patted her sister's hand gently. "You… are you involving him in your plot for revenge against cousin Barnabas? Does he know everything?"
"No," Anaisa frowned. "Does your husband know who you really are?"
"No," Katia admitted. "He has not asked, and I have not said. They all assume I am from a humble background, and it is easier that way."
The younger sister sighed. "Nothing about marriage is easy, especially when secrets are involved." It seemed that a mountain of secrets lay between her and Trace.
"I have learned much here. The head shoemaker's wife is very free with her advice and lessons," Katia lowered her voice to a whisper, "even if she is not always delicate in her phrasing. Once she found out I was a new bride, she had much to say. Have you been… adequately apprised of the… responsibilities?"
Katia's face colored before she continued. "Of course you have, you've been married for a few weeks now, I would have nothing to tell you that you do not already know by now."
"Oh," Anaisa belatedly caught her sister's meaning, "No, I… don't need any advice in that area."
"I'm sure your husband is well pleased with you, or he would not look at you so fondly," Katia smiled.
Anaisa could feel her skin turning as red as her hair, unable to bring herself to admit that the reason she didn't need any advice was because nothing had happened. She didn't want to shame Trace by telling people he slept on the floor when he had a perfectly good bed and a wife!
So she bit her tongue and smiled tightly back at her sister. There had never been so many secrets between them before, but they also had never spent so long apart before. It seemed Anaisa would drown in secrets before the end.
"I must go," Katia turned her head back toward the house. "The mistress gives me lessons on etiquette at midday. She is strict, but her heart is in the right place."
Anaisa almost balked at the presumption of a shoemaker's wife thinking she could give better lessons on etiquette than the girls had received as nobility, but she held her tongue.
"Be well. I promise you, I'll get us a better life. I'll get our good names back, and if you still like your husband then, I'm sure you can keep him." Anaisa tried to tease. Katia's brow furrowed.
"Why do I get the impression you do not intend to keep yours?" She seemed concerned.
"I will decide that later." Anaisa shook her head.
The ladies stood, and embraced a final time before Katia turned to go inside.
"May I visit again tomorrow?" Anaisa called after her sister.
"I'll see if I can get you invited to tea time," Katia smiled. "Jin should be home at that time, I'd like you to meet him."
"I would like that, too," Anaisa was speaking mostly to herself as Katia disappeared inside.
She felt Trace step up behind her, and her shoulders fell.
"She seems to be doing very well," He said.
"Yes, she does," Anaisa smiled in a bittersweet way. Her sister stood taller, seemed more confident, sure of herself in the world. She'd even offered Anaisa advice.
Was Katia doing better without her younger sister?
"Have I been standing in her way all these years?" Anaisa whispered to herself. By sheltering her timid elder sister, had she been preventing her from coming into her own?
"From what you've told me, your lives were not easy. I'm sure you did everything as best you could. She's who she is today because you were there for her for so long," Trace's voice was like a balm to her.
"But she doesn't need me anymore." Anaisa gazed at the closed door.
"You both have grown up," Trace spoke again, and she turned to him. His eyes were calm, and clear. Sincere. She smiled.
"Yes, I suppose," she admitted.
The part of her that was terrified of Katia's ill circumstances gave way to another part: fear of being rendered useless in her sister's life.
But that just meant their relationship could change, right? Instead of being fully dependent on one another, they could lead healthy lives… especially once Anaisa got their home back.
An end, and a beginning. Bittersweet.
"You'll feel better, perhaps, once you meet Jin tomorrow," Trace said next. "What do you want to do the rest of the day?"
"It seems wasteful to not have anything to do," Anaisa frowned, wondering how she could begin gathering information on Barnabas. "Perhaps we could work on your task?"
It was Trace's turn to look at her darkly.
"The task is mine alone, and cannot be completed during the day." He said.
"Are you sure there is not a single thing we can do?" She lowered her voice. Trace was some sort of spy, and surely pursuing his letter-writer would yield all kinds of secrets of those in the court, including her father's cousin. "Are there no questions we can ask or people we can talk to during the day that would help you narrow down who the traitor is?"
If she were very, very lucky indeed, the traitor might even be Barnabas himself!
Trace heaved a sigh and considered her. Her eyes pleaded for his understanding.
"What do you have in mind?" His eyes narrowed, and she knew that wasn't a 'yes'.
"We could go ask for work as some kind of day laborers or something for the palace," She tapped her chin with a finger, "or find out where the night servants spend their days off and go talk to them, see if we can get the latest gossip in the palace."
"I doubt anyone is gossiping openly to strangers about a plot against the king," Trace shook his head.
"Well, no," She conceded, "but we would get to know more names of people who frequent the palace. We could make a list! That way we could help you narrow down the list of potential people. Wouldn't that be helpful at all?"