"What a wicked, wicked woman. She is a disgrace to the gender." Thomasine shuddered. "Regardless…"
"Sit down, Thomasine. You are making me as jittery as a pot of crabs readied for their drop into the boiling pot."
Thomasine dropped into a wooden chair sending a puffed cloud of dust airborne at the sudden onslaught.
"The Conte de Lecce has arrived?" Faustine demanded.
"Oui, oui. Marco de Lecce and his sons arrived late this afternoon. They requested supper in their chambers to rest after their long journey."
"Ah, very good, then. What have you planned for tomorrow?"
"We shall begin with a luncheon picnic." Unable to remain still, Thomasine rose and stalked the room with an impatience to stay her fraying nerves.
"This had better work, Faustine. So help me…"
"Of course it will work," she snapped. "And quit calling me that infernal name."
"I am deeply concerned for Cinderella. Did you see that monster's reaction when I mentioned the Conte's son? She is a dreadful woman. Keep your eye on her, Faustine. I mean it. She has nefarious plans for her stepdaughter, I can feel it."
Faustine glared at her sister. It was a rare occasion when the two sisters were at odds. And they were not at odds now, not really. How could Thomasine doubt they were on the same side? It made things all the more frustrating. "Or you will what, may I ask?"
"I…I will speak to…to…Chevalier Joseph Pinetti," Thomasine stuttered.
"You would not!" Faustine lifted her hand, waving her wand in a more than precarious manner.
Thomasine stopped; one hand planted on her hip, one finger perilously close her sister's nose. "Do not attempt to threaten me, Faustine. We both know your lively theatrics do not work on me. Chevalier Pinetti saw to that, I wager."
Faustine plopped down in her conjured-up padded chair and dropped her wand on the table. Thomasine was right, blast it. When Joseph had selected her for his Fairy Godmother experiment he'd also limited her powers for just such a tantrum.
Her wand rolled to the edge of the table and clattered to the floor. "We are on the same side, Thomasine. Pray, remember that," she said. Faustine leaned down, snatched up her wand and whisked herself away in a fit of temper.