The next day, all the girls are sitting in the Misogyny Room, and the queen is absent, so the speculate about how she must be sick or something.  The idea that she has better things to do with her time than chat with a bunch of teenagers is, curiously, absent from the conversation.

A maid brings America a note from Maxon.  He wants to see her.  I’m not sure why we had to read through several pages of chatter and note-getting before actually going to see Maxon, but then, I don’t know why any part of this book exists. 

Maxon says he has fifteen minutes to show her something secret that she can’t tell anyone.  He takes her to the suit of rooms reserved for the princess, and it’s a very drab place because there’s no current princess there to decorate it.  But more importantly, he shows her a hidden passage there, and in the hidden passage is Marlee!  The two girls hug very emotionally, and Maxon steps outside to give them ten minutes together.

Still not sure what the time limit is for, though.  Does America have somewhere she needs to be?  Is a guard going to come by and check the room?

Marlee tells America that she can Carter are both still in the palace, with Marlee working in the kitchen and Carter still healing from his brutal beating.  Maxon kept them both around, and they’re working and going by different names.  Then Marlee mentions that TWO OTHER PEOPLE WORKING IN THE PALACE WERE SENT AWAY in their places.  So…what?

What does this even mean?  That there was no space for two more servants?  That there was supposed to be some public send-off for the two and therefore two people had to be seen leaving the place?  It’s mentioned that the two that were sent away had family in Panama, but it doesn’t say they were sent to Panama.  What does that mean?  That they’re lesser people for being from Panama?  This is the first and last we hear about Panama, so why is it brought up?

AND WHY DO THESE TWO RANDOM SERVANTS GET THE SHAFT JUST SO MARLEE AND CARTER CAN STAY?  Why are Marlee and Carter so much more special and important than anyone else holding down a job there?  I mean, from the way America’s maids talk, working at the palace is a hell of a lot better than working anywhere else, so logically speaking, those other two servants got seriously fucked over for the sake of Maxon’s little guilt trip.  But it’s okay not to feel guilty over them?  Because they’re from Panama?

Fuck this book.

Also, Marlee and Carter are married and living in an apartment.  So, not Eights.  …were those two Panama servants demoted to Eights?

If it had been me and I was suddenly an Eight, the kindest thing I could do for my family was disappear.  It would take time, but people would forget.  Eventually my parents would recover.

o.O  Really?  This is what you think about Eights?  They’re so dirty that it’s better to never see your child again than to spend time in the company of a lower caste member?

…well, actually, I think that’s the most accurate portrayal of a caste system we’ve seen yet from this book.

Although I am confused.  They’re talking as if Marlee is an Eight, but she’s got a home and a job.  So what makes an Eight an Eight again?

Then they talk about sex without saying the word sex.  Marlee is generally in favor of it.  It’s…an ungodly bland conversation with absolutely no emotion or even any real sense of curiosity around it.  I’m not sure why it’s there, since they move on without comment.

Marlee asks if she’s still on track to be princess, and America mentions that she’s on the outs with Maxon, the people don’t like her, and she doesn’t think she can do this whole princess shtick.  Marlee gives her bland assurances that Maxon still has the hots for her, totally ignoring that whole “not fit to lead a heard of actual sheep, much less a country” thing.  Then it’s time to separate.

For some reason, I thought the caning would break her, but she was stronger now.  She even carried herself differently.

“For some reason”?  Are you confused that you thought being beaten would traumatize someone?

And what the fuck is this?  It’s okay to beat women, because the really worthy ones will just bounce back?  Or, it’s okay to beat women, as long as they get a man at the end of it, because that’s all that matters?

Is there no end to the WTFery of this book?

She goes out to the hall and see’s Maxon again.  He mentions that they can arrange for the two meet more in the future.  If Marlee is supposedly a normal palace servant now, is there some rule that says America can’t meet with the kitchen staff?  I mean, obviously she can’t come be a maid or something because those people would still recognize her, but why does it have to be such absolute secrecy?

Maxon asks if she even wants to stay in the competition.  Naturally she says yes, because having to give the order to punish people is okay if you can secretly subvert the punishment later?

She returns to the room with puffy eyes from crying and refuses to tell the other girls what happened, so of course they think it was something bad and look pleased about that.

The competition was deeper than I had guessed.

…what?  How does “good, the favorite will be gone soon” deeper than you’d previously realized?  They didn’t even do anything to subvert you; they’re just glad you’ll be gone soon.  If you didn’t already realize that, then congratulations on catching up to the painfully fucking obvious.