Starling (39 page)

a face. “Come on. The rest of the house awaits us.” She led Cass
through the main level, showing her several places Cass had already
seen: the sitting room that served as Octavia’s office, the library, the
dining room. “The lower level houses the kitchen and storage areas,”
she said. “We have a girl who cooks for us, but we take turns doing
all of the other chores. We clean, we mend, we wash the linens.”
Cass nodded. “Do you live here?” she asked.
Seraphina led her up the sloping staircase. “Some of the newer
girls do,” she said. “I have my own place a few blocks away.”
The third floor was made up of a cross-shaped hallway with multiple rooms in each quarter. “The rooms on this side belong to the
girls who live here,” Seraphina said. “Those on the other side are
where we entertain our guests.”
“And where I slept, the fourth floor?”
“Ah, did you sleep up there? Horribly hot, I’d imagine. The top
floor has three more rooms. The cook sleeps in one, Flavia—she’s
our newest girl—in the second, and the third is usually kept open in
case someone like you needs a place.” Seraphina smiled. “There’s
not much to see, is there? Let’s go sit in the courtyard so we can
breathe the fresh air while we talk.” She ran a hand through her
golden tresses. “I’ve been dying for some sunshine so that I might
lighten my hair a bit.”
“But your hair is perfect,” Cass said.
Seraphina stroked it again. “Do you think so? I like yours too. So
rich, like earth, with just a hint of fire.”
Cass smiled. She had never heard her hair described in such a
fashion. She and Seraphina descended to the street level. They
passed through the kitchen and then outside into a small courtyard
that Palazzo Dolce shared with the palazzo next door to it. There
was no elaborate garden as Cass was accustomed to from visiting
friends on the Rialto—just a pair of benches facing each other and a
circle of rosebushes in need of watering.
“We’re supposed to care for the plants too.” Seraphina fanned her
face with one hand. “But it looks like we’ve not been doing so well.”
She gathered her flowing skirts around her and sat on one of the
benches, indicating for Cass to sit across from her. “I know you didn’t
come to tour the house or talk about plants, though,” she said, her
voice dropping to a whisper. “Octavia says you can read and discuss
poetry. And if you’re indeed noble, then you already know how to
dance. So you want to know how to please a man, right? Is that it?”
Her green eyes glimmered in the sunlight.
Cass swallowed hard. She had never heard anyone speak so blatantly about such affairs, though part of her was exceedingly curious.
She thought both of Luca and Falco, of the different ways they had
touched her.
“It’s all right,” Seraphina said. “You needn’t be shy here, Capricia.” She paused. “Though some men do love the shy girls.”
“What else do they love?” Cass asked.
Seraphina watched a butterfly flit past before continuing. “All
right. Here is everything I know that matters. The men who come
here want to feel adored. Compliment them, listen to them when they
speak, act as if they are the most interesting beings you’ve ever encountered. Men want to feel powerful. Do not speak over them. Let
them act as if they are in charge of your time together.” She arched an
eyebrow. “Even though, of course it will always be you who is in
charge. Men want to feel desirable. Do things to them. Don’t just lie