“If you don’t recall it, why do you wish to?” Miss Corvus asked. “Count it a blessing, and good riddance.” She blotted her lips again. “You spend too much time looking backward. It’s the future that should concern you.”

“A future that you mean to decide for me.”

“You are of age. You are free to go at any time.”

“But I am not free.” This time, Effie couldn’t keep her frustration from seeping into her voice.

Every article of clothing she possessed belonged to Miss Corvus. Everything she’d ever learned. Everything she was. With each skill she’d acquired, each dress she’d had made for her, and each night she’d spent, safe in a warm bed, she’d racked up a debt. It had never been expressed with pen and ink, but Effie was as conscious of it as breathing.

Miss Corvus appeared to appreciate Effie’s dilemma, but she showed no sympathy for it. “Honor is what brought you back. And honor is why you remain.”

“A debt of honor,” Effie replied. “I mean to discharge it.”

“Oh, you shall,” Miss Corvus said. “Have no fear of that.”

Effie waited with a building sense of apprehension.

“There’s a man,” Miss Corvus said at length. “Lord Compton.” On uttering his name, she broke into a hacking cough. She held her handkerchief to her lips until the fit had subsided. When she drew the lace cloth away, it was stained with blood.

Effie’s breath stopped in her chest. She had a vague memory of having seen a similar sight once—a woman, coughing blood into a dingy rag. It had boded nothing but ill.

Miss Corvus continued with an effort. “He’s a villain of the worst rank.”

“His crime?”

“He snuffed out the life of a girl who was dear to me. Dearer than any creature on this earth. She was like you—strong, beautiful, intelligent. A girl of infinite possibility. Until Compton came along with his flattering words and deceitful kisses. First, he connived to steal her heart, then he stole her fortune. His betrayal was the death of her.”

Effie stilled, shocked. “Are you saying he killed her?”

Miss Corvus neither confirmed nor denied the charge. “It was many years ago, long before you came to the Academy. He’s never yet been held to account. The girl had no family to seek justice on her behalf, and even if she had…no one would imagine Compton capable of such treachery. He was young and handsome then, endearing himself to all.”

“And now?”

“He’s become old and respectable. A politician who hides his true nature under a cloak of impenetrable piety. His reputation is spotless. Lord Solomon, he’s called in the press. A man of rare judgment, decency, and wisdom.” Another coughing fit disrupted Miss Corvus’s speech.

Effie stood. She went to the table next to Miss Corvus and poured her out a glass of water.