Page 88 of My Faire Lady

“What is it?” I say, shutting the door.

His eyes crinkle at the edges. “We did it.”

“The magic?” I breathe, stepping closer to him. “Is it back?”

His face falls, only slightly, and he shakes his head. “Not quite. The infirmary is still full, with no improvement.” He steps even closer and pulls a folded piece of paper from his pocket. “But we did it. We made enough money to pay the property taxes, and then some. There are still a few weeks of the season left, so we’ll have enough to pad the accounts for next year.”

I worry my lip and nod. “Next year.”

“I know,” he says, shoving the paper back into his pocket.

The rest of the conversation goes unsaid. If there’s a next year.

“We’ll find a fix, Scarlet.”

I hum. Maybe if he says it enough times, I’ll start to believe him.

The excitement off keeping the land wanes, and I dip into the kitchen, pouring two mugs of coffee. I hand one to him as I lean my hip against the counter. “Lottie won.”

“A surprise to neither of us.”

At the tone in his voice, I dig my molars into the flesh of my cheek and blink back the tears threatening to pour over. “You should have seen the way she looked at my mom’s postcards, or heard the way she talked about having the chance to live somewhere new. I couldn’t let her stay.”

Boden sucks in his cheek and nods, taking a long sip from his mug. He sets it against the counter. “Glad the rune worked on the gown, then.”

“What rune?”

My entire body stiffens, and my stomach falls as I twist my gaze over my shoulder, where Lottie stands in the bedroom doorway, her sleepy eyes pinned on me. A lump rises in my throat, and I try to swallow, but my mouth has gone dry—my tongue a lead weight.

“Scarlet,” she says, taking a step closer. “What rune?” Her attention shifts to Boden. “What are you talking about?”

It wouldn’t take mind reading to parse out my shirt hanging from her shoulders, the pink flush to her neck, the swell to her lips.

Boden blows out a breath and turns to me. “I’ll let you explain.”

Abandoning the steaming mug, he offers Lottie a weak nod and disappears the way he came.

Even Nesbit leaps from her nest and dips into my bedroom.

Lottie’s eyes widen, and she rounds the countertop, keeping her distance. “What is there to explain?”

I can’t lie, not to her, not after what we shared. She crosses an arm over her stomach, grabbing her opposite elbow, as if she can shield herself from what I’m about to say.

I blow out a long breath, my stomach twisting. “I charmed your gown so you’d win.”

Her face falls, lips parting as she blinks. A sheen coats her eyes, threatening to cleave me straight in half.

I take a step closer. She takes a step back.

“You used magic on my entry?”

“Yes.” I swallow, my skin too tight around my bones. “Because I can’t let you be trapped here the way I am. I don’t have a choice, Lottie. But you do.”

She huffs and shakes her head. “Not when you made the choice for me! What if I wanted to stay here? With you? Did you ever think about that, Scarlet? Or were you too busy making decisions for me?”

My chest clenches, and tears break free, streaming down my cheeks. “Please, Lottie. You don’t understand⁠—”

“Understand what?” She retraces her steps toward the bedroom. “That you didn’t believe in my work enough to think they’d choose me?” She freezes in the doorway and rests her forehead against the frame. “I was finally proud of something I did, and now I can’t accept the scholarship—not when I only got it from cheating.”