NovelEnglish
Chapter 0227
I nodded, just as Elva returned with her third doll.
Nicholas stayed to play until late in the morning, when his duties finally pulled him away. He hugged
Elva
extra tightly before he left. He squeezed me too, though I pretended not to notice.
After lunch, Tiffany stopped me just outside in the hallway. She pulled me to the side so that we could
speak privately for a minute.
“What did you want to talk about?” I asked when we were far enough away from the door that the other
girls couldn’t overhear.
“Listen, Piper, Veronica and I have been noticing some strange behavior from you lately. It’s kind of
freaking everyone out.”
She seemed earnestly concerned, her brow bunched up.
Follow on NovᴇlEnglish.nᴇtLilliana had accused me of things too, but this didn’t feel like that. Lilliana was a master manipulator. I’d
only known Tiffany to speak her mind.
“Tiffany, I really don’t know what you are talking about,” I said. I placed my hand on my heart, hoping
she could see the sincerity I was trying to convey.
She must of, because her brow scrunched further. “Veronica and some of the other girls too have
noticed you walking around alone in odd places of the palace at strange hours. Jessica said she saw
your
going in and out of rooms!”
Now, I could be accused of wandering around in the night, though usually I had Nicholas or Julian on
my arm. It could even be said that I had been in odd places, since I’d been down into the cellar. But
never, ever, had I gone into anyone’s room but my own.
The person Jessica and the other girls had seen must have been my sister Jane. But I couldn’t just.tell
that to Tiffany without exposing that I had a twin.
“I swear that w
that whoever that is, it isn’t me,” I said. “Maybe there’s someone who looks like me and has been doing
all that. But it’s not me.”
Tiffany frowned at me some. I could tell that she didn’t fully believe me. I couldn’t exactly blame her
since I wasn’t telling the full truth of what I knew.
“But if this isn’t you, and just someone who looks like you, why haven’t we seen her around during the
day? Like, surely if you had a twin somewhere around, someone would have noticed her.”
I didn’t flinch, but only because I was holding every muscle in my body extremely tightly.
“Listen, if that’s you, if that isn’t you, you better figure it out.” Tiffany pointed at me. “Because Lilliana
has talked to the guards and they’re all starting to keep an eye out for you. You’re going to want to
clear this.
up before it’s too late.”
I had every intention of clearing it up, though not necessarily in the way she thought.
Follow on Novᴇl-Onlinᴇ.cᴏm
No, instead, I was going to track down my sister and find out just what she was up to, and why, and
make her stop before she hurt someone or herself.
That Jane had been able to get so close to Elva still gave me shudders. She could have done anything
while I was fast asleep.
No number of assurances from Nicholas would help me feel safe again. I wasn’t sure I would be able to
sleep even if Nicholas himself camped outside my door to protect me.
No. I’d only rest peacefully once more when Jane was caught, and the underground organization
dismantled.
At the very least, when they no longer had Elva in their sights.
“Thank you, Tiffany,” I said. “I’ll get to the bottom of this.”
Tiffany nodded and left me. As I watched her go, I couldn’t wait for nightfall.
Jane had come to see me.
Soon it would be my turn to return the favor.
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