Content with her scores and theme, Mira was able to relax in the days that followed, spending a lot of time engrossed in her beloved tome of adventures. Tamsin and I, however, endured the stress of retaking our exams as our various instructors scheduled time throughout the week among all the manors. Like Mistress Masterson, Tamsin was baffled that I’d retake all of them.

“Why would you do that?” she asked on our way to the dance exam. “You think things will change? And why would you want them to? Your clothes look great on you. Not like some of us.”

I had to look away, still feeling guilty in spite of my resolve. “I just need to see what I can do.”

Miss Hayworth met with us and Caroline, the only other girl retaking the dance exam, in the ballroom. “Same format as before. We’ll go through every single dance and see if you’ve improved.”

Tamsin had marginally improved in the step that continually gave her trouble. For some reason, the beats tripped her up. Caroline hadn’t improved at all. In fact, she did worse, but luckily, Mistress Masterson would only count the highest of her two scores.

And me? Well, I was something else altogether.

It was hard to say who among the three of them was the most astonished. I executed every dance perfectly on both technical and artistic levels, and it was a relief to finally let my true self show through. I’d spent most of the last year hiding what I could do with the façade I’d created. Now, all the years of instruction and formal parties came back to me, and I actually enjoyed myself.

The other exams had similar results. As before, the written ones allowed me to conceal my answers from my housemates. But in the public tests, all my “new” skills were on display for my peers. Since no other girl was retaking every single exam, no one else really got a full sense of how well I did in each subject.

That all changed when the results came in the following week.

There was no posted list this time, simply a meeting called by Mistress Masterson in the drawing room. We lined up in our rows. Jasper Thorn was with her again, and both of them wore expressions that weren’t grave so much as . . . perplexed. Just as she was about to speak, Cedric came hurrying in. I’d neither seen nor heard from him in the last couple of weeks, leaving me to wonder what his plans were for our painting project.

I saw him murmur what looked like an apology as he took his place beside his father. Jasper said nothing, maintaining that pleasant cover he always had in public with his son.

Mistress Masterson nodded a greeting to him and then turned to address us. “I know some of you have been waiting for your retake results, so you’ll be pleased they’re in. Most of you showed improvement—for which I’m particularly proud. But there was nothing significant enough to warrant a change in rank or theme.” She paused. “With one exception.”

Beside me, Tamsin straightened up, lifting her chin proudly. I could feel her trembling with excitement as she awaited the news that she’d trumped the two girls who’d beat her on the list.

“Adelaide,” said Mistress Masterson, her gaze falling heavily on me. “The improvement you showed is . . . remarkable, to put it mildly. I’ve never, ever seen a girl make such a leap in scores. And . . . I’ve never seen a girl get a perfect overall score.” She let those words sink in, and I felt the eyes of everyone in the room upon me. Tamsin’s were widest of all. “We rarely have theme changes based on retakes, though of course it happens. And in this case, it’s absolutely warranted.”

Jasper stepped forward, taking the lead from her. He was as ostensibly cheerful as ever, but somehow, I didn’t think he was overly thrilled about the turn of events. “Adelaide, my dear, you’ve replaced Winnifred from Dunford Manor as our diamond. Everyone else who scored above your last result will move down a notch. All girls will still keep their gemstone themes, with a few exceptions.”

“As Master Thorn said, you’ll have diamond,” Mistress Masterson explained. “You and Winnifred are of similar size, and Miss Garrison should have little difficulty fitting you into her clothes. Since her score was so high, it’d hardly seem fair to assign her a semiprecious stone like the amethyst. We think she’ll show best as a sapphire, and we’ve done a couple of other last-minute switches—which means, Tamsin, you can be an emerald after all. Miss Garrison expects the green fabric to arrive next week, and she and her assistants will work around the clock to make sure you’re properly outfitted.”

Tamsin still looked dumbstruck, like Mistress Masterson was speaking a different language. “But . . . if the ranks shifted, then that means . . . I’m fourth.”

“Yes.”

It was a rare moment of Tamsin being stunned into silence, and I felt a lump in my throat. Jasper, seeing her dismay, gave her a stiff smile. “You’ll dazzle them as an emerald. Even if you aren’t invited to all the elite parties, I know you’ll be in high demand. I’m proud of you. I’m proud of all my girls—though it looks like my son managed to find the top jewel this season.” Jasper didn’t sound particularly proud of that. The top three had previously been all his acquisitions.

With the sudden dramatic turn of events, I’d nearly forgotten Cedric was here. I looked at him now and saw that he was quite possibly the most shocked person in the room. He couldn’t even fake a smile.

Jasper gave a few more encouraging words for the whole group, telling us how excited he was to take us to Adoria next week. He had significant trade to do and had chartered two ships for the journey. We’d be traveling with the girls from Guthshire Manor. Swan Ridge and Dunford would be in the other ship.

When we were dismissed, a flurry of excitement broke out, and I was immediately swarmed by girls wanting to know how I’d achieved such a feat. It was a relief when Mistress Masterson pulled me away to discuss a few logistics.

“It really is remarkable,” she told me in the privacy of the study. “Master Jasper wondered if there might be some deceit involved, but I told him if you’d found a way to cheat in playing the harp or dancing the Lorandian two-step, then that itself deserved some sort of reward. Remarkable.”

I swallowed. “I guess I just learned more than I realized. A lot of lessons from when I was a lady’s maid came back to me.”

“Well, we’ll all work hard to get these initial bumps fixed. I think it should come together fairly easily. The diamond attire is all white and silver, which will look nice on you as well. You’ll have to set aside some extra time for Miss Garrison to alter the clothes for you this week.”

“It’s no problem,” I said, still stunned at just how well my plan had worked. “Let me know what you need from me.”

Cedric appeared in the doorway, his earlier shock now covered by a jovial grin. “Mistress Masterson, do you mind if I borrow Adelaide when you’re done? I know this change must be a little daunting, and I just wanted to give her some encouragement.”

Mistress Masterson beamed. “Yes, of course. We’re all set.”

Winter still held its grip, but the sun had come out enough to make the day pleasant. Cedric suggested we go for a walk to enjoy the weather, but I suspected he just wanted to ensure we weren’t overheard. I felt small relief that he led us to a grove of hawthorn, rather than the old forest where he’d held the Midwinter ritual.