Page 38 of Thus with a Kiss I Die

Of course, I also constantly wished I was more adept at keeping my mouth shut. It seemed as if maturity should have cured me of that unhappy attribute. But nope. Twenty years old and still as mouthy as ever.

“After. Hm. Generally, while I loll in a lovely golden glow, your father proudly announces he taught Emilia how to spit through her two missing front teeth. I chide him. He asks if I think it’s time we purchase a new sedan chair, and when I cast a sardonic look upon him, for I know what he’s up to, he cites as his reasoning the new addition.” Mamma put her hands under her belly and adjusted as if she could move the babe into a more comfortable position. “Then he wonders if we could manage to keep a pony in the garden, which he knows I won’t allow, but he thinks by suggesting something I vehemently oppose, I’ll be more likely to yield to his wish of a new sedan chair. Then—”

By now, I was laughing, and hurrying to her side, I helped Nurse lower her into a cushioned chair.

As I leaned over her, she cupped my cheek. “It’s simply life, Rosie. It goes on with its great griefs and its marvelous joys and all the day-to-day bits and pieces and irritations, and love is the oil that gives it traction.”

“I wasn’t talking about love, Mamma.”

“I know.” Mamma caught at her belly. “A foot,” she told me, “and another foot.” She followed up by saying, “Passion is the lemon zest that gives the pudding of life flavor.”

I laughed again. “If I must only have lemon zest . . . well, that won’t be so bad.”

Mamma nodded and smiled, but mostly she kneaded her belly.

Katherina stuck her head in the door. “Can I come in?”

Nurse clucked like a disapproving hen.

Mamma looked up with a smile. “Of course, child. Why are you awake?”

“I went to ask Rosie what happened between her and the prince tonight,” Katherina explained.

Nurse put her hands to her hips. “Are all the girls awake?”

“I waited until the others fell asleep. Then when I went to Rosie’s room, she wasn’t abed, and I determined that I would find her before she wandered into the garden seeking another tryst.” Katherina glared.

I yelped in indignation. “When did my younger sister become my arbiter of propriety?”

Katherina pointed her finger at me. “Your outrageous actions have made Emilia replace you as the sensible one. Or me! I’m not happy about it, and neither is she.”

I argued, “I hardly think one little—”

“It was more than one, and it was huge!”

“Some of the events of recent days aren’t my lone responsibility.” I threaded my fingers at my chin. “Isn’t that right, Mamma?”

Mamma made a motion meant to pacify. “My children . . .”

Katherina’s eyes sparked. “Mamma, it’s Rosie’s eyebrows, isn’t it? Satan’s eyebrows?”

I sparked right back. “If that’s what it is, it took long enough for Satan to gain ascendency over me, and Papà is still without the evil one’s influence!”

“Papà has his moments!” Katherina snapped.

“Katherina!” Mamma said in that shocked and disappointed tone that always brought us to heel.

Katherina’s gaze fell to the floor, and she mumbled, “I’m sorry, Mamma.”

“You should be. Your papà is a good man, if a little too quick with his wit and unable to see that he might offend. Your sister is a good woman, wayward sometimes—”

“One crummy tryst!” I said.

“You couldn’t even rendezvous with the right tomcat!” Katherina shot back.

“Maybe if I had more practice, I’d get better at it!” The bell clanged in my head.Wrong. Wrong! See above about my mouthiness.“I didn’t mean that,” I added into the following outcry. “But really, am I never going to hear the end of this?”

“No!” Nurse and Katherina yelled.