House of Salt and Sorrows - Erin A. Craig Page 0,6
how it is!” Camille exploded, pushing off the bed. She slammed the door behind her before any of us could stop her.
Rosalie blinked. “What’s gotten into her?”
I bit my lip, feeling as though I should go after her but too tired for whatever fight might ensue. “She’s missing Eulalie.”
“We all miss her,” Rosalie pointed out.
A blanket of silence descended over us as our thoughts drifted back to Eulalie. Hanna roamed the room, lighting tapers before lowering the gas sconces until they flickered out. The candelabras cast wavering shadows to the corners of the room.
Lenore stole part of my throw and burrowed under it. “Do you think it would be so very wrong to go along with Morella’s plan? To have a ball? We only turn sixteen once…. We can’t help it that everyone keeps dying.”
“I don’t think it’s wrong to want to celebrate, but think of how Camille feels. Neither of us debuted. Elizabeth and Eulalie didn’t either.”
“So celebrate with us!” Rosalie offered. “It could be a grand party—to show everyone that the Thaumas girls aren’t cursed and everything is fine.”
“And we don’t turn sixteen for three weeks. We could mourn till then and just…stop,” Ligeia reasoned.
“I don’t know why you’re trying to convince me. Papa is the one who will have to approve it.”
“He’ll say yes if Morella asks him.” Rosalie smiled slyly. “In bed.”
The triplets fell into fits of laughter. There was a knock at my door, and we all hushed, certain it was Papa coming to chastise us for making so much noise. But it was Verity, standing in the middle of the hallway, drowning in a dark nightgown two sizes too big for her. Her hair was mussed, and glittering tracks of tears ran down her face.
“Verity?”
She said nothing but held out her arms, begging to be picked up. I hoisted her into an embrace, smelling the sweet warmth of childhood. Though she was sweaty with sleep, goose bumps ran down her bare arms, and she snuggled into my neck, seeking comfort.
“What’s the matter, little one?” I rubbed soothing circles over her back, her hair as soft as a baby robin against my cheek.
“Can I stay here tonight? Eulalie is being mean to me.”
The triplets exchanged looks of concern.
“You can, of course, but do you remember what we talked about before the funeral? You know Eulalie isn’t here anymore. She’s with Mama and Elizabeth now, in the Brine.”
I felt her nod. “She keeps pulling my sheets off, though.” Her thin arms encircled my neck, clinging to me tighter than a starfish at high tide.
“Lenore, check on Mercy and Honor, will you?”
She kissed the top of Verity’s head before leaving.
“I bet they were only teasing you. Just a game.”
“It’s not a very nice one.”
“No,” I agreed, and carried her over to the bed. “You can stay tonight. You’re safe here. Go back to sleep.”
Verity whimpered once but closed her eyes and settled into the bedclothes.
“We should go too,” Rosalie whispered, sliding off the bed. “Papa will be checking on us soon.”
“Shall I walk you back to the second floor?” Hanna offered, holding out a pair of candles for Rosalie and Ligeia.
Rosalie shook her head but accepted a hug and the light before stepping out of the room.
“Think about what we said,” Ligeia added, kissing my cheek. “Ending the mourning would be good for us all.” She hugged Hanna good night and scurried down the hall.
The triplets refused to have their own bedrooms, saying they slept better together.
Hanna’s attention shifted to me. “Will you be going to bed too, then, Miss Annaleigh?”
I glanced back at Verity, snuggled deep in my pillows. “Not yet. My mind feels too full for sleep.”
She crossed to a side table, and I drifted back to the chaise, folding and unfolding the throw in my lap. Hanna returned with cups of cinnamon tea and sat down beside me. Something about her movements transported me back six years, to the night of Mama’s funeral.
Hanna had sat exactly where she was now, but I’d been on the floor, my head buried in her lap as she comforted as many of my sisters as she could. Camille was next to me, her eyes swollen and rimmed red. Elizabeth and Eulalie knelt near us, folding the triplets into a sobbing embrace. Ava and Octavia bookended Hanna, each holding a sleeping Grace. The only one missing was Verity, just days old and with her wet nurse.