The Herbwitch's Apprentice Ireen Chau (best life changing books txt) 📖

performing...a scientific demonstration,” Madam Lucille said, pulling a face.

I began the treacherous descent to the stage with my arms full of my supplies. I was immensely glad of the velvet carpet, which gave my slippers more grip than they would have otherwise. I climbed the stairs. The table and two glass terrariums I had requested were already set up when I approached.

It was deathly silent when I unloaded my crate.

Two small porcelain dishes, one in each terrarium. A flask of water. The box Ash gave me, right at the center.

When everything was in place, I took a deep breath and spoke.

“Tonight, I will be showing you all a mystery. A mystery you will be eager to solve.”

I shot a quick glance up at Ash, who flashed me an encouraging smile. I wanted to strangle him with his own necktie. The lines he wrote sounded ridiculous. But there was no time to change them, so I continued.

“Inside this box are two mice. One will have a very different fate than the other.”

I lowered the box into one terrarium and slid the lid open. A tiny white mouse scurried out. I tried not to shriek as I let the other into the next terrarium. I put the box down.

“Both will drink out of the same flask.” I opened the flask and filled each dish with water. Murmurs rose as I waited for the blasted mice to drink the water. It took longer than I anticipated. One of them drank a bit. The other was busy sniffing around the terrarium, exploring every corner except the one that actually held something of interest.

When at last the stubborn mouse drank, I stepped back and waited for the sleeping draught to kick in. I waited some more. The murmurs grew louder. Somebody coughed. The curtains rustled behind me.

“Now, what is this, Miss Flora?” Madam Lucille demanded, poking her head from the curtains. “I must object to the rodents. They are horrifying.”

I threw a worried glance at the terrariums. Both mice were still scurrying around. Had I remembered to use Erasmus’s sleeping draught at all?

“Madam, if you’ll wait a little longer—”

Madam Lucille frowned, emerging fully from the curtains. “That is quite enough, Miss Flora. What you’re trying to do, speaking so cryptically? It’s quite unbecoming.”

Both mice were still awake. I was sure my cheeks were red enough to be a beacon. “Madam—”

The music mistress shook her head. “The theatre is a place for art, Miss Flora, not spectacle. Now, if you would like to sing a song, perhaps—”

“Look! One of them stopped moving!” a voice that sounded suspiciously like Ash’s rung out from the seats. I looked. The mouse on the left was no longer moving. I deflated with relief. Madam Lucille gasped.

“Yes. This mouse has felt the effects of a sleeping draught while the other remains awake,” I said, assuming as grandiose an air as possible. “How could it be, when both drank the same water from the same flask?”

Murmurs ran through the audience. They seemed properly intrigued. Madam Lucille retreated back into the curtains with a huff.

“You slipped it in when we weren’t looking!” someone shouted.

“The mouse was drugged beforehand!” another gentleman hollered.

“You’re a witch!” a debutante exclaimed.

My heart nearly leapt out of my throat at the last comment, but another voice stopped me from blubbering and exposing myself.

“Do not keep us in suspense, Miss Flora.” It was Duchess Wilhelmina. She had stood from her seat, her face impassive. “Tell us.”

I bit my lip. “I coated one dish in sleeping draught before pouring the water.”

Oohs and ahhs filled the theatre, but the ruckus quieted when Her Grace clapped slowly. “What a clever little trick, Miss Flora. I wonder where you got such an idea.”

I swallowed, feeling the intensity of her stare despite her distance. I trained my gaze past her on Ash. His eyes were on the duchess. “It’s nothing, Your Grace. I just thought it would be an entertaining riddle.”

“Indeed. But such riddles, I’m afraid, are not appropriate for young ladies such as yourself,” the duchess said, staring with half-lidded eyes. “It seems like a part of some...scheme.”

“Forgive me, Your Grace,” I said. “I mean nothing by it.”

The back of my gown was slick with sweat. I wanted to slap myself for my own foolishness. What did I expect? That the duchess would stand and expose her crimes once she saw her own tricks performed before her?

“Now, Wilhelmina. It was a just harmless demonstration,” Queen Cordelia said. She gave me a smile. Her cheeks were hollower than I remembered them. “I found it amusing. Thank you, Miss Amarante.”

I curtsied low. “Thank you, Your Majesty.”

Madam Lucille reentered with her list and I scampered off, leaving the mice and the crate for the stagehands to deal with. My heart pounded at doing something so bold. Tori slapped my back when I returned to our box.

“What a show!” she said. “No wonder you didn’t want to tell us. I didn’t expect that at all.”

“Will the mice be alright?” Olivia asked, furrowing her brow as the stagehands carried the terrariums away. “I would hate for them to be harmed. They look so cuddly.”

“I’m sure they’ll be fine,” I lied.

“Any reason why the prince of all people fetched you mice?” Genevieve said. Her tone was more teasing than serious, which calmed me.

“He offered.”

“Did he now?” Tori asked, wiggling her eyebrows. “What else did he offer?”

Julianna and Samantha turned to glare at us. “Will you be quiet?” Julianna snapped. “Some people would like to enjoy the show without your blabbering.”

The talent show ended at half past nine. We all filed out the west wing to wait for our carriages. On my way out, Ash pulled me aside at the threshold so we were concealed by a row of potted plants.

He grinned, his face illuminated by the gas lamps along the hedges. “You were fantastic.”

I laughed. “Thank you. But it didn’t do much.”

“No,” Ash agreed. “But it was a warning. The duchess looked livid.”

“That’s not enough to stop her, is it?”

Ash