Despite Ravenna not leaving her chamber in days, Sarani had finally managed to bribe her with a silk scarf she’d brought from Joor to get her to take a bath. So now Sarani sat with a book in hand on the armchair in Ravenna’s chamber, waiting for her to finish.

“Why would he forbid me from seeing the world?” Ravenna groused, stalking from the bathroom, her hapless lady’s maid following. “He’s done it!”

“He’s a man. They are expected to go on a grand tour.”

“Why can’t ladies do the same? Why should we be fashioned like good little puppets whose strings will be passed from one master to the next? Tied down, hearth-bound, and miserable.”

Sarani did not have a reasonable answer. She’d always thought the same. If the boys could do it, so could she. Though England was new to her, she’d seen quite a bit of India on travels with her father, and he had not hesitated to take her along in spite of her sex. Odd that a country that was viewed as backward by England had more progressive views of women in positions of power. Her friend Manu had exceeded all expectations and surpassed all limits as the queen of Jhansi in her own right, riding into battle like the warrior she was, not in the least bit inhibited by the fact that she was a woman.

A wet-haired Ravenna peered at her. “What are you reading over there?”

“Wuthering Heights,” Sarani said. “Do you know it?”

She scowled. “I’m all in favor of vengeance right now.”

“It’s more than just revenge,” Sarani said. “It’s about the darkest of passions, loss, and the balances of power. And in the end, perhaps it’s about allowing ourselves what we deserve.”

“Heathcliff is like Rhystan. Hard of heart, ruthless of mind, and empty of soul.”

Sarani cast her a stern look. “Ravenna, your brother might be a cold and exacting man, but he’s not soulless. And he loves you. He only wants what’s best for you.”

“By forcing me to marry?”

“By seeing you safe. I wish I had someone left to care enough to do the same.” The hard words were out before she could stop them. “I have no one left in the world.”

Besides a cousin who wants to murder me.

She didn’t add that last part.

“I am sorry,” Ravenna said, her soft voice contrite. “But you cannot understand what it’s like to be forced into an unwanted position.”

“I understand more than you know. Before my father died, he betrothed me to an odious man twice my age without my approval or consent.”

Ravenna blinked. “Not to Rhystan?”

“I did not know the duke then…” The lie felt sour on her tongue, but then she froze, her eyes snapping to Ravenna, who wore a guilty look on her face. “What is that look?”