“Fair enough. Then I hope when I return that I’ll find you settled in. I am certain Lady Brenner will take good care of you. As for the rest of you, please show Miss Tress the ropes just as I once showed you. I trust you’ll not let me down.” There were a few murmurs of ascent (Clemmy, Jereb and Julio), one emotionless stare (Aliza), and two grumpy scowls, one bearded (Gruff) and one not (Mirac). With that, Miss Marin glided away, leaving Perfidy still wondering whether her feet actually ever touched the ground.

Once the woman was out of sight, Perfidy turned back toward the others, flinching while exclaiming, “Holy biscuits an’ gravy,” when she found Jereb close enough to touch. “Do ye always make a habit o’ sneakin’ up on unsuspectin’ folks?”

“Yes,” Aliza said dryly. “A most annoying trait of his to go along with his chronic case of diarrhea of the mouth.”

“Did I ask for your input, Ahhleeeeza?” Jereb said, drawing out her name in much the same way Perfidy had earlier. He winked at Perfidy, to which she didn’t know how to react, except her hands clasped together involuntarily. “Come on, I’ll show you everything.” He extended a hand in her direction as if for her to take it.

“I’ve already got two o’ my own,” Perfidy said quickly.

He shrugged and then started off. “As Sinna suggested, we’ll start with Lady Brenner.” He glanced back to make sure she was following, which she wasn’t. He stopped. “Coming?”

“His black-feathered eagles bite,” Clemmy said when Perfidy hesitated. “But he doesn’t. Most of the time he’s a right gentleman.”

Perfidy still didn’t know what all the talk about Jereb and his eagles meant, but she followed him anyway, curiosity winning over everything else. He stopped at a small house set apart from the rest of the others. It had flowers growing in boxes outside each of the three windows, and the door was painted an obnoxiously cheery shade of yellow.

Jereb turned back toward her. “This would be the time to use your best manners. Lady Brenner is, ah, what you’d call rather…old-fashioned.”

Before Perfidy could ask what he meant by that, Jereb raised a hand and knocked thrice on the door. “Coming!” a voice called from within.

There was a slow, methodical clopping sound, like a horse trotting across cobblestones, and then the door was opened wide to reveal a tall, luxurious woman with a powdered face, high cheekbones dusted with blush, and lips so rosy that they could’ve made a red apple turn green with envy. Noticeably absent were any of the golden leaves that speckled the other novices’ faces. Her hair was piled high on her scalp, not a single strand able to escape the complicated series of braids and pins. She wore an exquisite green, floor-length gown that matched her emerald eyes to perfection.