Nell shut the door behind them. She lit a glass lamp. The small room was illuminated in a rosy glow, revealing a neat little bed with a quilted coverlet, a dainty writing desk, and a high-legged wardrobe painted a beguiling shade of pink. A round needlepoint cushion was propped in a spoon-back chair in the corner. It was embroidered with the Academy’s unofficial symbol—a black raven with a white-tipped wing.

“Not all of us desire to go away from this place,” she said. “Some of us are committed to the mission of the Academy.”

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.