“There’s no point.” Wincing at the pain in her shin and rubbing at the one in her ribs, she scowled at the door. “She’s faster than either of us, and she knows the island inside and out. No one hides like Beth Tremayne. When she doesn’t want to be found, you don’t find her.”

Libby’s hands fell away. “You said . . . you said you were family.”

She could have claimed she’d meant it metaphorically, as she would have done three weeks ago. But what did it matter now? She sighed. “Cousins. Our mothers were sisters. My family’s the one that’s dragged the Tremayne name down.”

Libby sank to a graceless seat on the floor in a puddle of moonlight from the still-open door. Darling pounced on her again—sans the hat this time—but she didn’t even stroke his fur. Just stared up at her as if her name were Judas Iscariot. “Why didn’t you tell me? Why did you—you let me think you . . . You knew before we came, didn’t you? You knew something was wrong.”

“Her letters stopped.” It wasn’t how she’d meant to tell her. No, that wasn’t even it. She’d never meant to tell her. She righted the chair, knowing she couldn’t right this misstep so easily.

“So you . . . manipulated me. Into coming here. It was never about me and Sheridan and Bram, it was . . .”

The hurt was so heavy in her voice that Mabena had to brace herself against it. Squeeze her eyes shut, even as she pushed shut the door. Maybe the swinging darkness would blind her to the truth she didn’t want to see on Libby’s face. “Can’t it have been both?”

“No. If it had been both, you would have told me. You would have . . . and you should have. Don’t you think I would have sent you, or come with you if you wanted? Did you trust me so little that you thought lying was the only way to come and help her?”

Mabena turned, slowly. Too slowly. By the time she was facing her again, Libby was on her feet, speeding toward her bedroom. When the door slammed a moment later, Mabena’s new bruises throbbed. “My lady!” She didn’t know what she meant to say, and part of her insisted she shouldn’t say anything. She should just go to her own room and let it rest. Address it in the morning.