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“The other jewels already know,” I said. “Most of them heard Peter’s ranting when we ran.”
“Yes, but no one actually believes he’ll try.”
“They will if we show them our plan.”
“We have no plan,” Mollie muttered. “We have the know-how, but without supplies and distribution—”
“Exactly.” I nodded. “Having the other jewels in on this is all well and good, but they’re just as restricted as us in what they can and cannot do.”
“So…we’re doomed from the start?” Rachel asked.
“No. We just need to think outside the box.”
Mollie caught my eyes and cottoned onto what I meant. “Y-You can’t be serious.”
“What? What can’t she be serious about?” Rachel cocked an eyebrow.
Squeezing her arm, I whispered, “You said it yourself, we need cleaning supplies for our ingredients. Therefore…we need a cleaner.”
Both girls went still.
“We need someone who can move about with far more freedom than us. Someone who has access to the chemicals you need.”
“You’re saying we enlist one of Victor’s maids?” Rachel hissed. She flicked a look at Mollie. “They never talk to us. They’re warned to stay far, far away. I heard Victor threaten them once that if they spoke to his jewels, he’d ensure they instantly became one of us.”
Nervousness fluttered in my belly. “So he’s formed a class system in here?”
“No one wants to wear a golden collar, Ily.” Rachel sighed.
“Good point. Well, we have three weeks to ensure no one else ever does.”
May drifted closer from where she’d been eavesdropping. Hugging a mixing bowl, she stirred some sort of wet dough with a wooden spoon. “Did you just say you need a cleaner?”
I stiffened, but the other girls nodded, their trust in May obvious. “Know anyone who would be keen to help us with our extracurricular activities?”
May smirked and wiped the back of her hand on her cheek, smearing flour. “Faiza.”
“Faiza?” Mollie asked.
“She arrived about six months ago. Said she was head housekeeper in a five-star hotel in Abu Dhabi. She went into Victor’s room to clean. She thought he’d checked out, you see. Unfortunately for her, he was still there.” May shivered. “He had one of his guards drug her and smuggled her here. She’s been working with his maids—bringing their quality of attention to a higher level—but a few weeks ago, a Master noticed how pretty she is and requested for her to change roles.”
Rachel shuddered. “They put her in a silver collar?”
May nodded.
“What’s a silver collar?” I asked.
“It’s a form of probation,” Mollie said. “It shows that Victor has taken the Master’s request under advisement and has collared the cleaner in question while he makes his decision. She still can’t be touched in that way, but he usually agrees to change a staff’s role if someone takes a fancy to them.”
“So she has incentive,” I said.
May nodded. “She keeps asking me how to make poison from hemlock and other garden weeds. Thinks she can poison the Master who noticed her and go back to being unnoticed. Unfortunately, her silver collar has announced her potential of being available to everyone. She’s well aware it’s only a matter of time before she’s raped. But if she knows you’re planning something, she’d help.”
“Fine.” Looking at the women, I tried to be a good leader while Peter healed. “May, next time Faiza comes into the kitchens, tell her to meet us. Mollie, decide how much and what chemicals you need. Rachel, figure out how we can get the gardeners and other staff on our side. The bigger reach we have, the more places we can hide our presents.”
“You want to tell the whole damn castle now?” Rachel whisper-hissed just as Mollie tapped her nose. “Smart. I see where you’re going.”
I grinned. “You said we can’t make just one big present…so…we’ll make lots of little ones. Would that work?”
