Ward

ccepting the congratulations of the other lords. The King himsel

hat I now wore belonged to that war, an honor the King had set upon a hereditary lord-and tod

ine's cold, hate-filled ey

niform. I didn't understand ho

unfair to her. But Beryl had saved my life, and T

I thought she would comprehend. At worst, she'd be ang

nameless anger through me, m

h Delphine too hard. She's not like those other noble ladies who depend on t

stop her. House Ward cannot survive without h

, I had grown so accustomed to her support

t of Delphine's dowry, its interior lined with soft velvet. In the corner

even began to regret bri

le eyes, and Theo's shy call of "F

I didn't go to the main house. Instead, as if poss

glowed in Delphine's room, her sil

then, I saw one of her maids, the one called Mi

y ducked behin

tly toward the Lakeview Pavili

ashed over me. What was

wed her

unced proudly, "By order of Lady Delphine, I am to transfer

ess, my heart sank.

g? Of showing me she didn't c

face a mixture of unconcealed joy

usals, but finally accepted the

chest as if it were the world's most prec

h me. I clenched my fists, m

u think you could provoke me with such a child

ceed! I, Erwin Ward, will not

t her. My mother's words held me back. I could

walked away,

. I needed to think a

or Beryl to learn how to manage a noble household. And it would show

h that thought, but the uneas

that something had just