ine

ious effort, my legs feeling like lead. In the formal sitting room, my stepmother was a

perfect mask of warmth the moment she saw me. "Lady Beatric

n elegant woman, but her eyes were sharp and calculating. Her daughter, Lou

y, saying nothing as a ser

ing forward, her voice a conspiratorial whisper. "I came as soon as I heard. Is

e a stone in the quiet

haven't heard anything about th

e's hardly aware of anything. Yes, the Mack family did purchase it. A precaution, you understand.

nd. "Seraphina, you must help me! It's my son, my dear Nathaniel! He's terribly i

sa began to sniffle on cue. "My

"Addy, you see the situation. The Kensingtons are old family friends. And Nathaniel..

ward, faking a mysterious ailment to avoid being deployed to the dangerous northern

" I asked, my voice soft. "That's strange. I saw him just last week at the St

"That was... a final burst of ene

ng to him? Is it the King's own Dr. Sterling? Or perhaps our Dr. Hayes? I could

ey hadn't hired a prominent doctor, of course. That would be too

the outer territories. You wou

icate clink of porcelain on porcelain was t

s. "Lady Beatrice, are you questioning my intelligence

ng his illness to avoid the campaign against the Rogues in

e's and Louisa's faces. They l

e. "Adeline! What a terrible accusation!

he gravely ill Nathaniel. We can have the Royal Physician himself give a full diagnosis. If he is truly at death's door, the Blackwood Pack will cover all expenses as a gesture of goo

absolute. Treason against one's Pack w

, but my stepmother was trapped. She had underest

two trembling women on the sofa. "The Moonpetal Root was purchased with my private

't utter a single word as Rose politely but firmly g

leaving me alone

or annoyance. It was fear. The weak, pliable stepdaughter she had always dismissed w