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well.” She looked down at the ring, felt a strange tingle in her palm just then, and hesitated. The sliver warmed her flesh, an odd sensation. She attributed the sudden flush of heat to everyone standing too close.
    “Perhaps you should all find your seats first,” Christine suggested.
    After they did as she asked, then watched her expectantly, Christine slid the band onto her right ring finger and held up her hand.
    “Five minutes,” she said.
    She folded her hands in front of her and waited for the clock to tick away five minutes.
    Tick. Tick. Tick.
    Her senses picked up each second. The birds outside the window suddenly sounded too loud. She could hear the rush of blood in her ears. Then her breathing calmed and she felt a strange sort of euphoria fall over her. When she looked at the clock again, three minutes had passed.
    “What did you wish for?” Dolly asked.
    “I thought the ring is supposed to know what it is I want above all else,” Christine pointed out. “The ring is omniscient, is it not?”
    Since none of them knew what omniscient meant, they did not disagree. At the four-minute mark, thegirls’ expressions began to fall. Christine hated to crush them with facts, but it was best they learned the hard truth of life now. The clock continued to tick away the seconds, and Christine was impatient to remove the ring. Whatever she wanted most in the world had best make an appearance in the next thirty seconds, because the ring was about to come off.
    But just when Christine was ready to remove the ring, a sharp knock at the door startled her. A collective gasp sounded. Even Christine froze.
    “Aren’t you going to answer the door?” Dolly whispered when Christine made no effort to move.
    She pushed away from the desk. “Pull out your tablets,” she said. “This performance is at an end.”
    Not normally superstitious, she could not entirely ignore the shiver that suddenly went down her spine as the door loomed in front of her. What exactly did she want more than anything?
    Good grief, I am as bad as my students are.
    She opened the door.
    Lord Sedgwick stood in the corridor.

Chapter 3
    “L ord Sedgwick…!”
    Hearing Christine’s voice catch on a gasp, Erik had the distinct feeling she was about to slam the door in his face. “What are you doing here?” she breathed.
    Erik tapped a quirt against a tall riding boot. “Miss Sommers. I have not come at an inconvenient time, I hope. I did not hear noise inside and thought you might be alone.” He peered past her into the classroom. Thirteen pairs of wide eyes stared back at him.
    She stepped outside the classroom and shut the door, bracing the wooden portal with her body. “You most definitely have come at an inconvenient time. You aren’t even supposed to be in this corridor,” she rasped, even though he’d seen visitors coming and going through the main gate. “How did you get inside this building? How did you find me?”
    Amusement lifted his brows. “This is Sommershorn Abbey, is it not? I rode through the front gate on my horse. The groundskeeper directed me here. I saw you from outside through the window.” His mouth twisted slightly. “It is only business that has brought me to Sommershorn Abbey this day, Miss Sommers.”
    “Mr. Darlington isn’t here, if that is whom you cameto see. In case you didn’t know, he and Amelia eloped last night. Furthermore, I am teaching her class now. So if you will excuse me…”
    He did not excuse her. In fact, he stuck his quirt between her and the doorjamb, preventing her easy escape. Conscious of the prim scent of lavender clinging to her clothes, he cocked a dry smile as she twisted around to confront his actions. “Thank you, Miss Sommers, for that bit o’ information.” His breath stirred the hair at her temple. “Is there a place we can speak privately?”
    “I…”
    Squeezed as she was against the corner of the door and the jamb, she gave him a vague smile. “What is it you want,