How could someone so effortlessly happy ever understand me? Would I have to pretend to be a new Elizabeth to keep him happy as a wife in some imaginary future? What Elizabeth would I be at his side? I had worked so hard to be Victor’s Elizabeth, and I had failed.

The parasol felt heavy in my hands, my shoulders drawn downward with sudden exhaustion. I suspected I was more myself with Victor than I could be with Henry, though who I truly was remained a mystery even to me.

“Henry. I am only sixteen. I am not marrying anyone yet.”

“But not never.” He raised his eyebrows hopefully.

I could feel a blush that was not entirely deliberate. I ducked my head, smiling. And letting him see a glimpse of the smile. “No, I did not say never.”

“That is good enough for now.” Henry docked the boat, an extra spring in his step as he disembarked. “Tell me about where you came from before you joined the Frankensteins,” he said as we took a leisurely stroll through the clean and well-kept streets of Geneva.

My annoyance flared back up. What would I have to tell him, to keep him loving me? I had only wanted his friendship, the relief from managing Victor all on my own. Would I now have to figure out how to be his friend and be what he wanted in a spouse? I did not want to marry Henry. It would be cruel of me; I would be miserable forever, knowing he deserved better love than I could offer.

But…I did not want to be without options. Victor had abandoned me. And the risk of becoming useless to Judge Frankenstein loomed ever larger as a threat. I sighed. I did not think Henry would mind if I was not actually of noble birth, but I knew he loved the romance of the story. “Imagine the shore of a lake. The water crystal clear. The bottom perfectly visible. But as soon as you reach in, or stomp through, the sediment is churned up, the water muddied, all the treasures inside the once-placid water hidden from view. Perhaps something could be found by digging, but why bother, when everything is fine as it is? That is all you need to know of my origins.”

He reached for my arm, stopping me. Then he turned me so we were facing each other. “I am sorry,” he said. “For all you have been through. I cannot imagine.”

I laughed prettily, rising on my toes to kiss his cheek. It was the fastest way to end the conversation, as his cheeks burst into shades of pink and his ability to speak left him for several minutes.