ndria

as eff

r. The medicine she needed was rare and expensive-a tincture of silverfern root, imported from the southern provinces-far beyond what a servant could affo

e had called April's illness "a servant's i

t just a vulnerability-a wound. A

gardens, hidden behind a thick hedge of overgrown roses. The thorns caught

nd damp. Her eyes darted around as if she expected guards to leap from the bushes. She probably t

oint. No games. No mani

April. The lung fever is

nscious decision to kneel, dropping into the dirt with a soft thud. "Miss, p

reached down and took her elbow, helping her to her f

r had left me-a silver brooch, a pair of earrings I had never worn. It was enough. More than en

ate, hungry hope. She did not reach for it. She was afr

d shoulder when your child is dying? Has she ever once asked about April's name? Ha

clean line through the dust. She had begged her mistress for a loan three days ago. She

ou more than just this. I can give your daughter a future. A warm bed. A proper

ear. Fear of what this choice meant. Fear of what Eleanor wo

very simple. I want you to tell me who instructed Chris

seized her bones. This was a dangerous secret. Betraying it could mean her

close enough that she could see the whip marks still visible at the edg

ne more than your own life. Is Christal-that vain, cruel girl-w

with force, but because I said it with understanding. S

She was jealous, she wanted to mar your beauty! She said if you were scarred, Lord Estrada would never look at you again! Lady Eleanor k

was not merely complicit-she was the

something cold and sharp was curling in my chest. "Now,

ned, her eyes growing wider with each word, and when I

d, Holly, to fetch more of the Ashvine powder from her jewelry box. She planned to have it sprinkled in my

ipped in, carrying a bucket and rags. Her

ristal snapped, not even look

mumbled, keeping her head down. The bucket s

he expensive rug. Christal shrieked with rage, launching into a tirade about clumsy, useless se

g open a hidden compartment in the lid with a click so soft it was swallowed by Christal's screaming. She snatched the smal

over in

er, and backed out of the room still stammering apologies, her h

he passed the real packet to Jade. Her fi

ng the dull, grayish powder. I lifted it to my nose-the faint, acrid smell

the candlelight, watching the gray granules catch the flame. This was

study. Place it on his desk where he cannot miss it. Let him wo

er's treachery in his own hands. I wanted him to remember that h

eyes gleaming, an

e running down the hall, his face pale and beaded wit

to catch his breath. "Lord Daryle Estrada... he's here! He

rned to ice

ected a letter. A demand for an explanation. Perhaps a summons. Not this-not a forced entry

st. And the hornet had come