Effie didn’t believe it for a moment. If Nell had truly decided to stay on permanently, it wasn’t because of any philosophical leanings. It was because of her injuries. As a girl, she’d been self-conscious of them. Fearful of how the world might perceive her outside the safety of the school’s gates.

“How can you know what you desire if you’ve never been anywhere?” Effie asked her. “If you’ve never had any experience of society?”

“Through books,” Nell said. “Through scholarly journals, and the daily papers. I keep abreast of what’s going on in the world. I don’t need to see it for myself to know which way my conscience tends.”

It was a logical enough answer. Inherently plausible. Fundamentally Nell.

Looking at her beautiful friend—so clever and compassionate—a surge of guilt seized Effie by the throat. “This is my doing,” she said. “My weakness has robbed you of your free will.”

Nell flinched. “Don’t be absurd.”

“If I hadn’t been so determined to master my fear, you’d never have been obliged to come after me that day. You’d never have fallen from the roof and—”

“It was my choice,” Nell said. “That’s free will, Effie. Being young. Making reckless decisions. Risking it all for your friends—your family.” She smiled softly. “You’re my sister, you know that. I’d have done anything for you. I still would.”

“And I for you,” Effie said. “Always.”

“There you see? Free will. Though we neither of us fully contemplated the risks, did we? We thought ourselves invincible. Too much Aristophanes, I daresay.”

“ ‘There is no animal more invincible than a woman,’ ” Effie quoted. “ ‘Nor fire either, nor any wildcat so ruthless.’ ”

“Exactly,” Nell said. “I wish it had been otherwise. Of course I do. My leg aches in poor weather, and I’m not as nimble as I once was. But this is who I am now. I wouldn’t change it.”

Effie set Franc on the ground, leaving his lead attached. With the door shut, he couldn’t wander, but it was always better to err on the side of safety. He dragged the light length of velvet behind him as he explored the room.

“You needn’t change,” she said. “You’re perfect. I only ask that you venture outside the bounds of the school before you commit yourself to remaining here forever. Go to the theater or the symphony. Visit the dressmaker. Kiss a handsome fellow.”

Nell’s cheeks went pink. “Really—”

“That you can’t get from books.”

“Nonsense,” Nell replied, still blushing. “Novels hold plenty of kisses. And more if I wish. A girl need only know the right titles, and romance is hers for the taking.”

“Is that enough for you?” Effie asked, taking a seat on the edge of Nell’s bed.

“For now,” Nell replied. Her smiled dimmed. “You could always come back.”

“To be a teacher like you? I don’t know what I could teach that would be of value.”

“English and art. Globes and grammar. Dining etiquette, deportment, defense.”