His fist clenched on the brim of his hat. His jaw clenched as well. Every fiber in him seemed to be at war.

“Please,” she said. “I know what I’m about.”

“We’re not finished,” he informed her stonily.

“I know.”

“When I return from Epsom, we’re going to settle this thing between us once and for all.”

Effie opened the door as the train came to a halt. Her gaze held his, raw and unflinching. She comprehended, then, exactly what it was she felt for him. This wild, aching madness that complicated her plans and defied common sense, while at the same time feeling so wonderful, so right. It could only be one thing.

Recognizing it now was hardly convenient. But Effie could deny it no longer. Not to herself—and not to him.

“I love you,” she said.

Gabriel’s cold expression fractured. He looked astonished. Shaken. His lips parted to speak.

She didn’t wait to hear what he might have said. There was no time.

“Come and find me after the Derby,” she told him.

With that, she slipped out of the compartment and off of the train.

27

A short hackney cab drive later, Effie arrived at the tall black iron gates of the Academy. This time, she didn’t remain there, waiting impatiently for one of the junior teachers to let her in. Effie was no guest. No former inmate visiting her onetime place of confinement. She was a young lady returning home. She did what she’d been trained to do. She picked the lock.

It was slightly more difficult than the mechanism of an interior door or a simple desk drawer, but no match for her determination. Stabbing her dragonfly hairpins back into her rolled coiffure, Effie entered the grounds, shutting the gates behind her.

She strode up the pebbled path with uncommon purpose. She’d almost reached the door when Nell emerged. She wore a plain stuff dress, covered in a neatly starched apron.

Her eyes went wide. “Effie! What in the world—”

“I’ve come to see her,” Effie said. “I know you advised me not to return, but it can’t be helped. Circumstances demand it.”

Nell frowned, but she didn’t question her. She stepped back, admitting Effie into the empty hall. There were no students about at this time of day. The hour was yet early. They would still be in their classes.

“I just received your latest samplers this morning,” Nell said. “I gave them to Miss Corvus. It’s she who determines my replies.”

“She can reply to me herself.” Effie removed her bonnet and gloves. “Is she doing any better?”

“A great deal better, in fact. She still keeps to her rooms, but she’s growing stronger by the day. A period of enforced rest has worked miracles on her constitution.”