Kat, Incorrigible by Stephanie Burgis

In the meantime, only one third of our introductions have been made. Katherine—Miss Katherine Stephenson, that is—I hope you will allow me to present you to Lady Fotherington, who joined our Order in the same year your own mother did.”
    “Charmed,” Lady Fotherington snarled.
    I only glared at her. I did not curtsy. Elissa might claim that manners always mattered, but having to listen to people be rude about Mama even inside her own magic mirror was beyond what could be borne.
    “I,” the gentleman said, “am Mr. Gregson. I was your mother’s tutor.”
    “No, you weren’t,” I said. “Mama didn’t have a tutor. Her magic books say—”
    I stopped myself with a gulp as my mind caught up with me. Just because these people happened to be inside Mama’s magic mirror didn’t mean they were trustworthy. For all I knew, they might not have dared even to come in until she was safely gone. So I started again, backing up slightly so that I could keep an eye on both of them. “I mean—”
    “Her magic books,” Lady Fotherington repeated. Her lips curved into the most unpleasant smile I had ever seen. “Good heavens, Aloysius. Your would-be protégée is already following exactly in her mother’s footsteps. Are you still so certain you wish to induct her into our Order?”
    “You’ve found Olivia’s books of spells?” Mr. Gregson frowned. “Miss Katherine, I must know. Have you actually been studying your mother’s magic books?”
    Studying them? Well … I’d read them, anyway. Or at least, I’d skimmed the first half of the first book, and Angeline had read the rest. So, “Of course I have,” I said, and met his gaze square-on. “I am Mama’s daughter. Why shouldn’t I?”
    “You will have to stop. Yes. Immediately.” Mr. Gregson’s wispy eyebrows drew together into a scowl of concentration. “That was very, very foolish of you. But if you truly repent your actions and promise never, ever to do so again—”
    I could feel my cheeks heating up as they both studied me, Mr. Gregson with worry and Lady Fotherington with contempt. “I don’t see why I should,” I said. “You two are doing magic, aren’t you? You couldn’t even be here otherwise. So why shouldn’t I?”
    “We,” said Lady Fotherington, “would rather die than carry out disgusting witch magic of the kind your mother practiced. And so would anyone of quality.”
    I stared at her. “What other kind of magic is there?”
    “None, obviously, that you are fit to learn.” She stalked pointedly away from both of us, her slim back vibrating with outrage.
    “Lydia …” Mr. Gregson shook his head and sighed. “We should have found you earlier,” he said to me. “I had hoped—that is to say, I had expected … no. It is too late for recriminations. But what you must understand immediately is this: Witchcraft is not the only kind of true magic. The second type, which has never been made public, is far more rare and remarkable.” He adjusted his spectacles and fixed me with a look so intent it made me step back. “The power of a Guardian can be inherited by only one child in each generation of a family. Your mother was born a natural Guardian, one of the most powerful magic-workers in the nation—and you, my dear young lady, by coming here tonight, have proven yourself to be her heir.”
    My head was whirling. Heirs … magic Guardians … I fastened on what I knew he had gotten wrong. “But Mama was a witch! Everyone knows that.”
    “Her family, unfortunately, had both bloodlines running through it. She was a Guardian by birth and by talent, and she did great work for her country as a member of our Order—but yes, she did, tragically, also inherit a talent for witchcraft. It was that inheritance that ruined her in the end.”
    “She certainly made no secret of it, once her betrayal was finally exposed,” Lady Fotherington said. She didn’t bother to turn back to us as she spoke, but I could hear the scowl in her