Chapter Text
“Look what the newsboy dropped off!” Euphemia cried, skidding into the breakfast room and nearly crashing into the table, waving a sheet of paper above her head like a flag. If Momsie was there she would have reminded Euphemia that Proper Young Ladies didn’t run, but since Momsie was still upstairs Galinda didn’t say anything. “It’s a new gossip column.”
“Oh, let me see it!” Elly said, but Euphemia ignored her, reading the sheet of paper intently. She’d almost made it back to her seat when Evie snatched it out of her hand.
“Evie!” Euphemia squealed, and Galinda’s temples protested. “That’s mine!”
“It’s not yours. You said that the newsboy dropped it off. That means anyone can look at it,” Evie retorted, spreading the paper out in front of her. Elly came to read over her shoulder. Euphemia yanked at Evie’s plait, but when that didn’t make her surrender the piece of paper she came to read over her other shoulder.
Euphemia gasped again. “Look, Elly! She mentions you.”
That caught Galinda’s attention. As a rule, gossip columnists never used full names. And why in Oz would Elladora Upland be in a scandal sheet? “What?”
Euphemia cleared her throat and began to read: “As expected, Miss Elladora Upland made a favorable impression at the Pfann Hall ball. She was a graceful dancer, albeit a bit stiff and shy in company—well, that isn’t very nice.”
“It’s better than what she wrote about me,” Evie huffed. “Her younger sister, Miss Evelina Upland, who did not receive the same level of attention, resembled bright citrus wallpaper.”
“All right, let me see.” Galinda snatched the sheet of paper away from both of them, scanning the byline at the top of the page. “The Kumbric Witch? Who in Oz is that?”
“It’s obviously a fake name,” Elladora said. “No self respecting woman would ever sign their name to something like this. Further along it says that Lord Curlow is having an affair with his maid—”
“That’s it.” Galinda wadded up the gossip sheet, much to the girls’ dismay. “No more gossip columns for anyone.”
“You sound just like Momsie,” Euphemia huffed. Hurt speared through Galinda’s chest, but she didn’t let it show on her face. She told herself that Euphemia didn’t mean it like that. She was just used to Galinda being the fun sister, the one who snuck cakes out of the kitchen for her and didn’t tell Momsie if she played in the garden and got mud on her dress. But Galinda couldn’t be that sister anymore, now that Aurellia was gone.
Before she could think of a way to respond, Sarima hurried in. She was holding a sheet of paper that was the unmistakable size and shape of a calling card. “Miss Elladora, there’s a visitor here to see you.”
Elly and Galinda exchanged a look and a small smile and then Galinda glanced at the rosewood clock near the window. It was fifteen minutes before the unofficial start of calling hours and there was no doubt in Galinda’s mind that Eligible Young Bachelors were already making their way to Upland House. With any luck, they would be busy entertaining them for the rest of the afternoon. The ball at Pfann Hall had been a success for Elly, just as Galinda had hoped it would be. Elly’s dance card had been full all night and she barely stepped off the dance floor for a drink of lemonade before someone else was jostling for an introduction, practically falling over his own feet in an attempt to talk to her. Now, Elly had received her first caller. It was time to meet her dancing companions in the light of day, without the heat of the ballroom or the excitement of dancing to distract her.
But Sarima didn’t speak with the excitement the occasion warranted. She just kept looking down at the visitor’s calling card, worrying the fine cardstock between her fingertips, a furrow appearing in her brow. Galinda’s stomach dropped. “What is it?” she asked. “Who’s calling, Sarima?”
Sarima looked up at her. “It’s the Queen. Princess Elphaba is with her.”
Galinda went cold. “Oz, we aren’t ready.” Receiving Eligible Young Bachelors was one thing. Receiving the Queen (and Princess) of Oz was quite another. The Queen of Oz couldn’t just be shown into the drawing room. She would have to be greeted in the front hall, and the front hall wasn’t even clean.
She glanced around the table. Elly and Euphemia stared back at her, petrified. Even Evie glanced up from her history book, swearing as a spoonful of oatmeal dripped off of her spoon and splattered onto the page. Galinda didn’t even have the presence of mind to scold her. The twins were fighting over a toy and Callie was banging her spoon against the tray of her high chair, babbling a nonsense song. Galinda knew that if she lost her composure, the others would too—and there simply wasn’t time for that.
Fiyero, bless him, chose that minute to burst through the door with a bag of donuts from the bakery on the corner. When he dropped a perfunctory kiss on Galinda’s forehead (because they were an engaged couple and that was what engaged couples did) she could smell sugar and freshly baked bread on his skin. “How are my favorite girls this morning?”
Euphemia rushed to hug him. “We’re the only girls you know!” she cried, right on schedule.
“You can still be my favorites.” He handed her the bag. “Here, I picked something up for you.” Euphemia opened the bag and peeked inside and her eyes lit up. “Do you want to share them with your siblings?” Euphemia nodded and immediately began squabbling with Evie about who was going to split them up. Then Fiyero turned back to Galinda and his smile slid off his face. “What happened?”
“We have a visitor,” Sarima said, handing Fiyero the Queen’s calling card.
Fiyero’s eyebrows retreated towards his hairline. “Well this is…unexpected.”
“The front hall is a mess,” Galinda said. “The whole house is a mess, really, but they’ll be expecting us to greet them in the front hall. And it’s too late for us to send the children up to the nursery.”
“So don’t,” Fiyero said. “At least, not at first. I’m sure they’ll all be happy to meet the Queen. Just make the introductions and then Sarima and I can take the younger children out to the gardens so they’re out of your hair. And the front hall looks fine. Really.”
“It hasn’t been dusted in a week!”
He squeezed her hand. “Well, you can hope that the Queen doesn’t mind a little dust or you can make her wait. And I doubt she’s here to critique the interior decor.” He shot a quick glance at Elly.
They couldn’t make the Queen of Oz wait. That would be unacceptable. “Right.” Galinda took a deep breath in and out, trying to stop her heart from throwing itself against her rib cage. She forced herself to smile. “Who wants to meet Queen Nessarose?”
Sarima went to let Nessarose and Elphaba in, so Galinda and Fiyero had an extra couple of minutes to arrange the children in order from oldest to youngest. Galinda held onto Callie so she wouldn’t get underfoot. Callie loved nothing better than getting underfoot and she squirmed to get down, eventually settling for chewing on Galinda’s hair as she rubbed a jam stain out of Ari’s sleeve. As far as she knew, the Uplands were the only family in the Ton who let the younger children eat breakfast with them in the breakfast room rather than up in the nursery. Galinda didn’t think it was fair for them to miss out on the fun, but she certainly hadn’t prepared them to meet royalty.
That was how the Queen and Princess of Oz found them when Sarima conducted them inside. “Welcome to our home, your Majesty.” Galinda tried to smile warmly and invitingly, like Momsie would, so that Queen Nessarose wouldn’t see what a panic she’d thrown them all into. She tried to hand Callie off to Sarima, but Callie started screaming so Galinda let her stay. She prayed that Callie wouldn’t start biting her hair again. “I’m afraid we weren’t expecting you. Otherwise we would have sent the children outside—”
“Call me Nessa, please,” the Queen said. She was holding a bouquet of violets and asters with little sprays of baby’s breath. “Miss Elladora, these are for you.” Elly’s cheeks flushed as Nessa handed the flowers off to Sarima, who hurried to find a vase for them. “And please, there’s no need to apologize. I’m quite happy to meet the rest of your siblings.” She nodded to Elly and Evie and then rolled her chair to a stop in front of Euphemia. “And who are you?”
Euphemia had turned so red that Galinda worried she was going to faint, but she bobbed a flawless curtsy. “Euphemia Rose Upland, your Majesty.”
“That’s a beautiful name. It’s just like mine.” Euphemia beamed. Nessa moved on to the twins. “And who are you?”
Auggie opened his mouth, but Ari spoke first, as usual. She was thirty five minutes younger than her brother and she’d seemed determined to make up for it. “He’s Auggie and I’m Ari.”
“August and Adriella,” Euphemia volunteered. “They’re six.”
“Well, aren’t you two adorable?” Nessa asked, and the twins preened. Then she turned to Callie, watching carefully from Galinda’s arms. “And who is this darling?”
“Calla Lily,” Ari said, playing with the bow on her dress. “But we call her Callie.”
“That’s a pretty name too.”
Callie reached out a hand for Nessa’s hair and Galinda immediately pulled her away. “I’m so sorry. I don’t think she’s ever seen curly hair before.” She turned back to her sister. “Callie, you know it isn’t nice to pull people’s hair.” Callie giggled and squirmed to get free, so Galinda handed her off to Sarima. “Sarima, why don’t you take them outside?”
“Of course,” Sarima said, scooping Callie into her arms and bouncing her gently against her hip so she wouldn’t start to cry again. She took Ari’s hand in hers, while Fiyero took Auggie’s.
“I’ll go with them and make sure they’re settled,” he said, and Galinda nodded her thanks. “Euphemia, are you coming?”
Euphemia’s lower lip jutted out. “Why doesn’t Evie have to come too?”
“Because Evie is out in society. You aren’t,” Galinda said, and Euphemia’s eyes got suspiciously shiny. Galinda silently begged her not to burst into tears in front of the Queen.
To her surprise, Nessa came to the rescue. “I’ll have to have you all over for a tea party sometime so you can see the palace.”
“Really?” Euphemia squealed, forgetting that she had told Galinda just the night before that she was a Proper Young Lady like Evie and Elly and ought to be treated accordingly.
Nessa laughed. “Yes, of course. Would you like that?” Euphemia nodded so quickly that Galinda’s head spun. “Then it’s settled.” Thus mollified, Euphemia let herself be shepherded off with the others. Galinda gave Fiyero a nod of thanks as he passed by with a twin in each arm, but he gave a little shake of his head as if to say don’t worry about it.
Elphaba had been hanging back the entire time, her hands crossed neatly in front of her, her expression inscrutable. Galinda could only imagine what she must have thought, watching her and Fiyero care for her siblings themselves instead of immediately handing them off to the care of servants. It wasn’t like Elphaba had had a good opinion of her to begin with. She’d made that very clear in the garden at Pfann Hall.
“Would you like me to give you the tour, your—I mean, Nessa?” Galinda asked.
“I’d like to talk with Miss Elladora,” Nessa said quickly, almost too quickly. She blushed. “And Miss Evelina too, of course. But I’m sure Elphaba would love a tour of the main rooms.”
Elphaba’s eyes shifted from her sister to Galinda to Elly and back again, as if she suspected some kind of trap. “Perhaps just a short one,” she said. “I expect the rest of Miss Elladora’s suitors will be arriving shortly.”
Nessa shrugged. “They can wait.” Elly blushed, but she looked at Nessa adoringly, as if she would happily have dismissed all of her other suitors if Nessa would stay a little longer. Galinda felt her stomach drop.
Maybe Elly was serious about this. Maybe the Queen was serious about this too.
That realization should have made Galinda want to jump for joy, because if Elly married the Queen of Oz, all of her worries would be over. The prestige of a match like that would ensure that the rest of her siblings would be able to make illustrious matches too. The Upland coffers would never run dry. And yet, when she saw the way that Elly looked at Nessa, Galinda felt nothing but fear.
The Uplands didn’t have a particularly good record with love matches. And she didn’t think she could bear to lose another sister.
Two Hours Earlier
When Elphaba stumbled downstairs just after 11 the next morning, still rubbing the sleep from her eyes, she wasn’t expecting to find Nessa sitting at the table in the breakfast room perusing the newspaper. “What are you doing up?” she murmured. The ball hadn’t disbanded until nearly two and Nessa wasn’t a morning person in the best of times.
“Good morning, Fabala,” Nessa said, setting aside her newspaper. “I thought I’d get ready early, so that we can visit the Uplands as soon as calling hours start.”
“Calling hours don’t start for two more hours.”
“I know. I wanted to make sure I had enough time to get ready.” Nessa certainly looked ready to go calling. Her hair had been neatly arranged, tied back with a deep blue ribbon, and she was wearing a pale blue dress with a light floral print that Elphaba happened to know was one of her favorites. “Miss Elladora is sure to have many suitors. I want to make sure we get there first.”
Elphaba nearly choked on her orange juice. “Suitors?” She was sure that Elladora Upland would have all kinds of suitors; she’d practically been swarmed with them at the ball, every eligible bachelor in Oz jockeying with each other to fill up her dance card. But there was no need to go to Upland House so early and risk getting caught up in the crush…unless Nessa was also a suitor. But that was a ridiculous notion. Nessa wasn’t even attracted to women.
“Of course.” Nessa shot her a look like she thought Elphaba was being intentionally dense. “I want to court her. Oh, that reminds me—I need to ask one of the maids to nip over to the florist. I’d go myself but then Madame Morrible will insist I take an entourage and by then it’s going to be too late—”
“Wait. What do you mean you’re courting her?” Elphaba set her glass down so abruptly that orange juice sloshed over the rim and landed on the white tablecloth. She could imagine Madame Morrible’s lips pinching in disapproval, but luckily Madame Morrible wasn’t here. She was probably sleeping off the long night, just like every other reasonable person. Which apparently didn’t include Nessa.
“Does courting have another definition I’m not aware of?” Nessa asked, adjusting her hair ribbon. “I’m in love with Miss Elladora.”
Elphaba blinked once and then twice. She’d never even suspected that Nessa might be attracted to women, and she’d certainly never suspected that she might be attracted to the younger sister of Elphaba’s bitterest enemy. “You’ve known her for less than two days, Nessa. You can’t possibly be in love with her.”
Nessa’s lower lip jutted out into the smallest of pouts. “Yes, I can. It was true love, Elphaba. I felt it.”
“You can’t fall in love after just once dance, Nessie.”
“Mother and Father did. And in any case, I was in love with her before the dance. I fell in love with her the first moment our eyes met.”
Elphaba bit down on her lip until she tasted the coppery tang of blood. “That isn’t true love. It’s delusion.” Nessa had read every romance novel she could get her hands on. Elphaba supposed she couldn’t blame her for being unable to tell the difference between fiction and reality. Yet another thing Elphaba had failed at. “You can’t build an entire lifetime on one look, or even one dance.”
Nessa huffed. “Well, it’s not like I’m going to marry her. Not yet, anyway. I have to court her first. And I won’t be the only one, which is why I need to make sure we’re the first ones there.”
Elphaba could feel a headache coming on. “And you don’t think Elladora’s family is…disagreeable?” She thought about Lady Galinda, her hair glimmering gold in the candlelight, her chin raised in defiance.
“Oh, not at all! I envy her, actually. Can you imagine having seven brothers and sisters?”
“I truly can’t,” Elphaba replied in a deadpan that even Nessa could pick up on. “Having one sister is quite enough for me.”
“Will you still come and chaperone? Please?” Nessa gave Elphaba the pleading look that she knew she couldn’t resist. It was unfair. “You know I can’t go by myself.”
Elphaba sighed and rubbed the back of her neck. “Do you really, honestly, think you’re in love with her?”
Nessa blushed. “Yes. I’ve never felt this way about anyone before. I know that I barely know her…but that can change. Then you can get to know her better too, and then you’ll see that she’s just wonderful.”
Elphaba wanted to say that Elladora wasn’t the Upland sister that she worried about. She wanted to tell Nessa about the conversation she’d overheard between Galinda and Elladora. What if Elladora was only after Nessa’s title and position? If the Uplands were really fortune hunters, they couldn’t do much better than the Queen. And Nessa would be heartbroken when the fairy tale she’d invented in her head, the one where she and Elladora fell in love at first sight, didn’t materialize. Elphaba couldn’t let that happen.
But she knew she was thinking too far ahead. What was the harm in meeting with the Uplands again, apart from the necessary annoyance of having to see Lady Galinda? It would make Nessa happy—and maybe spending more time with Elladora, in the bright light of day instead of flickering candlelight, would make Nessa realize that her passing fancy had been just that. If she fell out of love with Elladora by herself, then there was no reason for Elphaba to intervene and break her heart. “All right,” Elphaba sighed, and Nessa cheered. “But we can’t stay long. Remember, the Gillikin Merchants’ Guild is expecting you at the races this afternoon.”
Nessa sighed because she didn’t like horses—not the way that Elphaba did. But then she perked up almost immediately. “Maybe we can invite the Uplands to accompany us!”
Elphaba pressed her lips together tightly so she wouldn’t say something she’d regret. “I’m sure the Uplands are a very busy family. They probably already have other engagements planned for today.”
“Well, there’s no harm in asking.”
Elphaba tried to stifle a sigh, because Nessa looked so excited that she couldn’t possibly stop her. “No, I suppose not. You know, if we left now I bet we could stop at the florist’s before Madame Morrible even knows we’ve gone. Then you could pick something out for Miss Elladora yourself.”
“Really?” Nessa asked.
“Really,” Elphaba replied.
Nessa threw her arms around her. “You’re the best sister ever,” she murmured into Elphaba’s shoulder.
Elphaba absentmindedly stroked her hair and wished it was true, but she knew better. If Elphaba had been a better sister, or a better daughter, then Nessa wouldn’t be Queen at all. She’d be another princess of Oz—still sought after, but not the way she was now. And Mother would still be there to guide her. Nessa wouldn’t have to rely on Elphaba, who only knew about true love through novels and her parents’ love story. But Elphaba knew she wouldn’t rest until Nessa found someone who loved her just as much as her parents had loved each other. Mother might not be here, but Elphaba would do the best she could to fill the shoes she’d left behind.
And if that meant playing nice with Lady Galinda Upland, then Elphaba would grin and bear it—because there was nothing in the world that she wouldn’t do for her sister.
//
Elphaba’s first impression of Upland House was that it was very…pink. From the outside, it had the same marble facade as every other mansion along the Emerald City’s main thoroughfare. But inside, the walls had been painted a pale blush. The gauzy curtains were the same shade and most of the furniture scattered around the large foyer had been upholstered in various shades of rose and magenta. A delicate white staircase with a burnished wooden bannister curled towards the upper floors. The stairwell was lined with portraits of various Upland ancestors, with their uniform light blonde hair and dark eyes.
The Uplands, plus Fiyero, were assembled in the foyer waiting for them. The children were neat and clean, lined up from oldest to youngest and looking at her curiously. Galinda was holding her youngest sister with such ease that it was clear she did it all the time. Galinda was used to the baby’s weight against her, used to the way her fingers tangled in the fabric of her dress and her cherubic cheek pressed against her chest. Clearly the Uplands weren’t like most of the other families of the Ton, who handed their children off to a posse of servants and barely saw them more than once a day. Seeing Galinda like that, with a baby in her arms and her siblings gathered around her, the hard edge to her voice gone as she told them to go play in the gardens with Fiyero…it didn’t make Elphaba soften exactly, but it did give her pause.
She took a step closer to the staircase so she could see the painting that hung at the top. Four girls sat on a white wicker bench, wearing matching pink and white dresses. The oldest couldn’t have been older than twelve and she held a baby in her lap. Five pairs of matching dark eyes stared out of the painting at Elphaba. She realized that the girl in the center of the painting must have been Galinda, with Elly on one side of her and the girl that Elphaba didn’t recognize on the other. Evie sat on the other side of the bench, her eyes staring out of the frame.
She didn’t realize that Galinda had come to stand next to her until she spoke. “That’s Aurellia. My older sister. She’s holding Euphemia.”
Elphaba felt her cheeks darken, embarrassed to be caught staring—and then her blush deepened when she realized that Aurellia was probably the sister that Father had mentioned last night, the one who had died. “I’m so sorry for your loss.” She couldn’t imagine losing Nessa. Just the thought of it made her stomach turn. Galinda didn’t say anything, but Elphaba saw a muscle work in her jaw. Before she could think better of it, Elphaba said “My mother died when I was eight.”
Galinda gasped. “I’m so sorry. It was bad enough when Popsicle…” She looked away, absentmindedly rubbing the back of her neck and fiddling with her earrings. “Well, the point is that I was an adult then. I can’t imagine being so young.”
“It was hard for both me and Nessa.” Nessa hadn’t been able to sleep alone for months. She had kept waking in the middle of the night, screaming from nightmares, and Elphaba had rushed to her bedside before her screams could wake Father. “But we had Father to look after us. I imagine your mother must have been a comfort in those…trying times.”
Galinda was quiet for a moment too long and Elphaba wanted to kick herself for prying. People in Quadling Country were much more forward in their conversation than the Emerald City residents. Now Elphaba found herself second guessing every word that came out of her mouth.
But when Galinda finally did speak, she didn’t sound offended. “Yes, of course. A comfort.”
Elphaba couldn’t help glancing upstairs, wondering if Galinda’s mother would be joining them. She couldn’t help wondering what Larena Upland must be like—the wife of a viscount, the mother of eight children. Including Galinda.
Galinda cleared her throat and Elphaba had the uncomfortable sensation that she had somehow been able to read her mind. “Well, it seems that our sisters want to get rid of us. Would you like me to give you the rest of the tour? My mother is otherwise engaged today, but I know all of the important information.”
Elphaba glanced at the sitting area in front of the fireplace, where Nessa, Elly, and Evie had already dissolved into gales of laughter. She realized she couldn’t remember the last time she’d heard Nessa laugh like that—certainly before she became Queen. Elphaba hadn’t realized how much she’d missed hearing her little sister sound so carefree. For once, Elphaba wished that she’d been Frexspar Thropp’s legitimate child too, so that she could have taken the weight of becoming Queen upon herself. “Yes. That sounds best.”
The rest of the formal reception rooms were decorated as elegantly as the front hall in shades of white and pink. Vases of flowers stood on almost every available surface, filling the air with their sweet perfume. The walls were lined with paintings of long dead Upland ancestors wearing the stiff, elaborate clothing of previous centuries, their hair piled high on their heads in powdered wigs. Interspersed were a handful of landscape paintings. Most contained a view of the same honey colored stone house, which Elphaba assumed was the Uplands’ country home in Frottica. She’d heard that it was one of the most beautiful country houses in Oz.
“You have a beautiful home, Lady Upland,” Elphaba said, glancing at an intricately carved golden clock on the mantelpiece.
Galinda’s pale cheeks flushed. “Thank you, Your Highness. My mother did most of the decoration. As you can see, she loves pink.”
“And you must love pink as well.” She glanced at Galinda’s pink silk dress.
“I’m more partial to a soft lavender, actually.” Galinda rubbed the folds of the skirt between her fingers. “But my sister loved pink too.”
Loved. Elphaba felt unexpectedly devastated for her in that moment. Galinda had lived through a loss that she couldn’t even imagine. All of her siblings, with their downy hair and their big dark eyes, had lived through it too. How could Galinda be standing next to her, escorting her through halls she must have raced through with her sister when they were younger, without shedding a tear?
She didn’t have a choice, Elphaba thought. Life went on, even when it seemed like it shouldn’t. She knew that better than anyone. The sun had continued to rise and set after her mother died. Father still went into town every week to buy supplies and still brought new books from the library and still forced Elphaba to keep working on her studies. Elphaba hadn’t understood why he was so insistent about it then—didn’t he understand that nothing mattered, not even her books, compared to the enormity of what she’d done? But in the end, her studies had been a lifeline. They’d helped her claw her way out of grief and find steady ground again, even when it had felt like the rest of the world would collapse around her.
She wondered what Galinda had fallen back on to heal her grief. But even she knew those weren’t the sorts of things she was supposed to talk about on a house tour. She was supposed to make remarks about the weather and the carriage traffic and the success of the Pfann Hall ball the night before, so she did. Her conversation was a little bit stilted; she’d never learned the art of it, since she’d spent most of the last decade and a half not talking to anyone outside her immediate family and the occasional merchants that came to Qhoyre to trade, but Galinda didn’t seem to mind. When Elphaba remarked on the number of ice statues in the Pfann Hall courtyard the night before, Galinda chuckled and said “I’m sure they went all out when they learned the Queen was attending. They certainly didn’t import a collection of ice statues last year.”
Galinda’s laugh was bright. Elphaba couldn’t help noticing that when she wasn’t frowning, she looked almost pretty.
By the time they circled back into the drawing room, Nessa, Elladora, and Evelina were still deep in conversation. A group of young men had started to form in the hall—presumably the rest of Elladora’s callers, each one holding a bouquet of flowers.
Elphaba was reminded of the conversation she’d overheard the night before. “Miss Elladora seems to be quite the popular debutante.”
The tips of Galinda’s ears turned pink. “Yes. We are very…fortunate.”
Conversation broke off when the girls saw them enter the room. “We should get going, Nessa,” Elphaba said. “Miss Elladora has other callers.”
“Can’t the callers come back another day?” Nessa asked. Elladora nodded, turning her empty teacup over in her hands.
“We need to go back and get ready for the races.”
Nessa pouted for a moment, but then she seemed to brighten. “Can’t the Uplands come with us?” She turned to Elladora. “We’ve been invited to watch the horse races in City Park this afternoon and it will be terribly boring. Will you please come with us?”
“Can I, Galinda?” Elladora looked up at her sister pleadingly.
“What about your other callers?” Galinda asked.
“I’m sure I can see them all before luncheon. We can go to the races afterwards.”
“You would be doing me a favor, Lady Upland. Really,” Nessa said. “Otherwise I’d have to talk to some very boring merchants.”
“Nessa!” Elphaba cried, but Galinda laughed. Her voice was high and sweet, like the tinkling of a bell.
“Well, I can hardly allow our Queen to be bored, can I?” Galinda asked. Nessa and Elladora both beamed.
“Then it’s settled,” Nessa said. “We’ll meet you at the entrance to the racecourse and then go to the royal box together.” They said their goodbyes and left by way of the side door so they wouldn’t have to walk past the line of suitors waiting to see Elladora, which now stretched out the front door.
Nessa waited until they were safely back in their carriage and rattling back to the Palace before she turned back to Elphaba. “I hope you don’t mind that I invited them without asking you.”
Elphaba squeezed her hand. “It’s all right, Nessa. If you like Miss Elladora, you should spend all the time you can with her to make sure the two of you are compatible.” Whether Nessa was really in love with her, Elladora clearly made her sister happy. If that meant Elphaba had to spend more time with Galinda Upland, she wouldn’t complain. At least not to Nessa. Besides, Galinda hadn’t been quite so insufferable at her home. Maybe Father was right, and Elphaba really did need to give her a second chance.
One way or another, Elphaba suspected the rest of the afternoon would be enlightening.