Starling (43 page)

“Actually,” Cass began slowly, pushing thoughts of Siena from her
mind. “I was wondering if you might have a wig I could wear.” At
Flavia’s look of surprise she added quickly, “Or perhaps a veil? I
don’t want anyone to recognize me.”
“I see.” Flavia nodded knowingly. “Some of your noble friends
might be there to look down at how far you’ve fallen. Is that it?”
“I don’t mean to pass judgment on your life,” Cass started. “It’s
just that—”
Flavia interrupted her. “Believe me, I’ve grown accustomed to it.
But I really have improved my lot by getting hired on here. The quality of man who speaks to me now is different.” She giggled as she
pretended to swoon. “Perhaps someday a handsome don will fall
madly in love and whisk me away. Now sit and let’s see if I can make
you even more lovely.” Flavia’s dark eyes lit up as she helped Cass
settle into her dressing table chair. “We’ll do hair first, and then
some color for your face.”
Perfect. Flavia’s heavy hand with the rouge and lip stain would
definitely help as a disguise.
Flavia went to a trunk pushed up against the wall of her little
room. She dug through it, tossing things left and right as she muttered
to herself. She came back with a brilliant blonde wig. Cass’s jaw
dropped a little as she reached out to stroke the silken hairpiece.
“It’s gorgeous,” she admitted. “Are you sure you don’t want to
wear it yourself?”
“It goes better with your coloring,” Flavia said. “And I find it a
little hot.” She adjusted the wig so it covered all of Cass’s dark hair
and then secured it at the sides and nape of the neck with pins. She
braided sections of it upward and twisted them into a cone shape.
The tall hair elongated Cass’s neck and somehow made her look
older. She smiledat her reflection. Already she looked markedly different.
And Flavia wasn’t even close to finished. Next, she started on
Cass’s face. A warm cloth and a cool cream were followed by a dusting of tawny golden powder that made Cass’s skin glisten like the
bricks of the Palazzo Ducale when the afternoon sun spread across
its façade.
“You’re very good at this,” Cass said grudgingly.
“If you saw what I looked like with a bare face, you’d understand
why.” Flavia made a hideous face in the mirror. “Not even the lepers
would have me.”
Cass laughed aloud and both girls smiled. Flavia smudged Cass’s
lower eyelids with kohl and then painted her lips with a deep maroon
color that almost matched the bodice of the dress she’d borrowed
from Octavia. Cass watched Flavia’s actions and felt transformed,
the same way she’d felt when Siena helped disguise her the last time
she had masqueraded as a woman for hire. The girl in the mirror
wasn’t necessarily more beautiful, but she was wild and impulsive
and strong. She was fearless.
Cass only hoped she could match her insides to her outside. She
still had no idea if Donna Domacetti was a full-fledged member of
the Order or just a clueless patron who wore the six-petaled flower
ring simply because it was pretty.
Oblivious to the questions tumbling through Cass’s head, Flavia
smiled brightly as she splashed a bit of rosewater behind each of
Cass’s ears. “Finished,” she declared. She stepped back and her face
fell. “
Caspita.
This is all wrong. Perhaps we should take it off and