The Downstairs Girl: Chapters 13–21

by Stacey Lee
In 19th-century Atlanta, Jo Kuan works as a lady's maid while secretly penning a controversial advice column and attempting to learn the truth about her past.

Here are links to our lists for the novel: Chapters 1–6, Chapters 7–12, Chapters 13–21, Chapters 22–32, Chapter 33–Epilogue
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Full list of words from this list:

words only definitions & notes
  1. incandescent
    emitting light as a result of being heated
    Caroline's outrage pops like a faulty incandescent bulb.
  2. furtively
    in a secretive manner
    I furtively shake my head at Noemi, but she won't meet my eyes.
  3. doggedly
    with obstinate determination
    I march doggedly alongside her, trying to catch my breath.
  4. cad
    someone who is morally reprehensible
    There's a good chance my father was a cad—he wouldn't be the first to love and leave a woman.
  5. consort
    keep company with
    Old Gin had carefully screened those who lived with us, refusing all but the most hygienic and trustworthy. Someone who consorted with lowlifes like the Riggses would not have made the cut to be an uncle.
  6. brazen
    not held back by conventional ideas of behavior
    Hold your horses. What's next? Shall women and men be forced to exchange wardrobes—pants on her and petticoats on him? I think you need to rein in your brazen ideas.
  7. wan
    lacking in intensity or brightness; dim or feeble
    Both the print shop and the house have gone dark, but the streetlamp coats the path to the door with a wan yellow light.
  8. cantankerous
    stubbornly obstructive and unwilling to cooperate
    "People have been dropping them into our mail slot all day, which is why it's a bit cantankerous. I think the springs have twisted. Sorry about your sleeve."
  9. discourse
    extended verbal expression in speech or writing
    I think of the drawing of a microscope that adorns the front page of every issue of the Focus, below which is printed, to feed public discourse that such may achieve an enlightened citizenry.
  10. inept
    generally incompetent and ineffectual
    When the situation calls for comfort as opposed to advice, I am remarkably inept.
  11. feign
    give a false appearance of
    I feign interest in a length of silk cord, monitoring Billy in a looking glass.
  12. farcical
    broadly or extravagantly humorous
    He bows, not the courteous kind that gentlemen do, but a farcical bending of the knees, one heel out, hand stirring the air with the magnifying glass.
  13. hackles
    a feeling of anger and animosity
    Robby's casual tone smooths the hackles in the air.
  14. gamely
    in a plucky or sporting manner
    After three days of toiling under Caroline, it's a wonder my arms can do more than swing. But gamely, they hang in there, like two unsold salamis in the butcher's window.
  15. paddock
    a pen for horses
    Put those herding skills to use and drive her out of the paddock.
  16. guileless
    innocent and free of deceit
    She is as guileless and hard to resist as the cake hats in Mrs. English's windows, while I am a lowly shoe who spends half her life squished up against a wall.
  17. adroit
    quick or skillful or adept in action or thought
    Or maybe he has taken a screwdriver to the vent, and she is admiring his manly physique and his adroitness with tools.
  18. lye
    a strong solution of sodium or potassium hydroxide
    Miss Sweetie frowns on jealousy, an emotion that, like lye, tends to eat away at its container.
  19. implore
    beg or request earnestly and urgently
    I suck in my breath and silently implore Nathan to divest his mother of this notion.
  20. divest
    take away possessions from someone
    I suck in my breath and silently implore Nathan to divest his mother of this notion.
  21. repartee
    adroitness and cleverness in reply
    I clear my throat, off balance by our repartee.
  22. cheeky
    offensively bold
    Surely, Nathan would not be so cheeky to someone he thought was a respectable madam.
  23. germane
    relevant and appropriate
    "As you wish. 'Pedaling Us toward the Future' was a sellout. You chose a germane topic."
  24. caustic
    harsh or corrosive in tone
    Caroline moves through life with a tight grip on the world, as if she were afraid of being shaken off. Or maybe she's determined to leave a mark on the world, the same reason she grinds her shoes into the earth or scorches the air with her caustic remarks.
  25. stationery
    paper cut to an appropriate size for writing letters
    Father puts it on all the premier-line stationery, though if I'd paid an ounce of gold for a half ream of this, I would want my money back.
  26. ream
    a quantity of paper
    Father puts it on all the premier-line stationery, though if I'd paid an ounce of gold for a half ream of this, I would want my money back.
  27. wayward
    resistant to guidance or discipline
    His chest rumbles, and he retreats to his corner, removing the cough like a wayward child to its nursery.
  28. infirm
    lacking bodily or muscular strength or vitality
    The next morning the confusion on the streetcar has only grown. More protests are voiced and silenced; more people shuffle about. Some choose to walk, an avenue not open to the weak or infirm.
  29. visage
    the appearance conveyed by a person's face
    Caroline's scowling visage appears in my mind.
  30. spinster
    an elderly unmarried woman
    While some women are spinsters simply because life has not dealt them the marriage card, I submit that many women are single by choice, though it may not be obvious.
  31. demur
    politely refuse or take exception to
    Sometimes Mrs. English's clients would tell her, "A fine widow like you surely deserves to remarry," to which she would always demur, "Perhaps I shall be so lucky one day," and then turn to me and whisper, "Do I look like I deserve a kick in the teeth?"
  32. carpetbagger
    an outsider who seeks power or success presumptuously
    “She agreed it was very good. But I am sorry. We are a moderate newspaper. She worries that if we print something too, er, radical, they will call us carpetbaggers. We would go out of business.”
  33. ingenue
    an artless innocent young girl
    “Please tell her not to worry. I am a seasoned professional, not some ingenue who will cry into her handkerchief at the slightest rejection. If one column doesn't serve, I move on to the next.”
  34. disclaimer
    a voluntary repudiation of legal claim to something
    "Late hours. Constant soot. It sounds dreadful. If it is such a concern for you, you could always prepare a disclaimer, much like the horse breeders do."
  35. sashay
    walk with a lofty proud gait, often to impress others
    “Guess how we got here?" Salt asks Caroline, who sashays down the staircase at a regal pace.
  36. chastise
    scold or criticize severely
    “There's only one boy who should matter," Pepper chastises.
  37. salve
    anything that remedies, heals, or soothes
    If only there were a salve for her foul temperament, we might all rest more comfortably.
  38. vanity
    low table with a mirror where one sits while dressing
    "Oh, Jo. I'm afraid the sight of Caroline's face will shock her when she wakes up. Find all her looking glasses and put them in my study."
    "Yes, ma’am. What about her vanity?”
  39. innuendo
    an indirect and usually malicious implication
    For once, she fails to pounce on my innuendo.
  40. concede
    admit or acknowledge, often reluctantly
    She purses her lips, which I hope means she concedes the point.
Created on Wed Jan 15 10:20:09 EST 2020 (updated Thu Jan 23 14:38:29 EST 2020)

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