Kat, Incorrigible by Stephanie Burgis Page A

Mama’s mirror burned into my stomach as I stared at the open doorway, where Angeline stood staring back at me.
    “What on earth are you doing?” she said.
    “Nothing,” I said. “Just resting. I was tired.”
    “Of course you were.” She closed the door and advanced toward me. “That would explain why you leaped like a cat when I walked in on you. And why you’re still wearing your shoes.” She crossed her arms and smiled down at me. “Come off it, Kat. What are you really trying to hide?”
    “Nothing,” I said. I felt monumentally foolish, lying on my belly like a beached fish as I stared up at her, but I couldn’t move or else she’d see the glowing mirror. So I tried to sound casual and perfectly at my ease as I spoke. “What are you doing here, anyway? Shouldn’t you be assembling the perfect outfit for this evening? Or practicing your spells while Elissa can’t see you?”
    “Very good, Kat. But you can’t distract me, and you know that perfectly well.” Angeline sat down on the corner of the bed and fixed me with a glittering gaze. “So why don’t you give up now and tell me exactly what you were up to in the carriage that made your hand feel so hot?”
    “It was stuffy in there,” I said. “Of course I was hot.”
    “Mm,” Angeline said. “Perhaps that was it, after all. Or perhaps …”
    She struck so quickly I couldn’t prepare for it, slamming herself with all her weight against my shoulder.
    “Get off!” I struggled and scratched and pulled her hair, but she was stronger and heavier than I was. She pushed me all the way off my stomach and onto my back.
    “… More likely,” Angeline finished, panting, “it was this!”
    She snatched up the empty reticule.
    My breath came in harsh gasps. My shoulder felt bruised. But the mirror was safe, trapped inside the folds of my gown. I pushed myself up carefully, making sure to cover the mirror with protective muslin all the way.
    Angeline turned the reticule upside down over her hand and shook it, hard. Nothing came out. She frowned down at her empty palm. Then she turned her narrowed gaze on me.
    “Don’t look to me for answers,” I said. “You’re the one coming up with wild ideas this time. Maybe it’s because you already miss Mr. Carlyle so much. Maybe the agony of loss is making your mind disordered … if it wasn’t already, that is.”
    “Very amusing.” Angeline set the reticule back down on my green and yellow bedcovers. “So. You’ve already hidden it.” Her gaze crossed the small bedroom consideringly. “It certainly doesn’t smell like magic in here.”
    I blinked at her. “Smell? What does magic smell like?” I had a sudden image of Angeline sniffing the air like a hunting spaniel, and I had to stifle a snort of laughter. Luckily, she didn’t notice.
    “Flowery,” she said. “Like lilacs.” She gestured vaguely with her hands, still not looking at me. “There’s a residue left in the air every time I cast a spell, and I don’t smell it here right now. But still … that leaves us with one question.” She turned back and narrowed her eyes at me. “What exactly are you up to?”
    “Nothing,” I said, and narrowed my eyes right back at her. “Why exactly are you so suspicious?”
    “Hmm. Let me think. … Perhaps because I know you?” Angeline stood, smoothing down her dress. “I don’t have time right now to pry the answers out of you. Elissa is expecting me.”
    “What a pity,” I said. “Well, have a good time. Come back whenever you want to interrogate me again or come up with any more wild stories.”
    Angeline went very still. “Don’t get cocky, Kat. You haven’t forgotten any more than I have what happened three nights ago.”
    Mama’s cabinet. Coldness crept inside my chest with the reminder. “And?” I said, with as much bravado as I could muster.
    “I won’t let you hurt Elissa any more than you have already,” Angeline said, and closed the door behind her.
    I heard her