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lying.” Lydia seethed. “I can see it in your eyes.”
    “What were you doing in my room?” Karina asked the governess sharply.
    Constantin’s hands curled into fists. “Tell the truth, for once in your life, Karina.”
    His words stabbed her as surely as if they’d taken the shape of a knife blade.
    “All right. I’ll tell you the truth if you tell me about that scar on your arm,” she said. “Were you scratched by a wolf?”
    His face drained of color. “I don’t want to talk about it.”
    “Then I refuse to talk about the vial.” She snatched it out of Lydia’s hand and hugged it to her chest protectively.
    “Blast it, Karina!” Constantin combed a hand through his mussed hair. “This is exactly what I’m talking about. You’re always manipulating the situation. I can’t trust you.”
    “If you weren’t so hardheaded, I wouldn’t have to manipulate anything!”
    “Damn it!” He glared. “What do you want from me?”
    “Something you obviously aren’t willing to give me.” She thrust him a defiant look.
    “You drive me mad,” he admitted. “I can never figure out what you want.”
    Lydia crossed her arms. “I knew you were up to something, Sabrina. I heard something odd jostling in your bodice.”
    “Her name is Karina,” Constantin ground out. “Thank you for discovering the elixir, Lydia, but leave us alone now.”
    “But I—”
    “Please.” Constantin’s face darkened.
    “Very well.” Red-faced, the governess turned on her heel and slammed the door behind her.
    Neither Constantin nor Karina spoke. The snapping fire provided the only sound in the stable house. When the quietness proved excruciating, Karina cleared her throat. “You must go back to camp, Constantin. I can help you, there. Prepare a tonic. As far as your grandfather is concerned, if you’ll just let me—”
    Horror lit his eyes. He took a step back. “Don’t mention magic again. It’s never seemed right to me. Besides, I gave Lord Draven my word that I wouldn’t return to camp.”
    “Integrity is something you live by, isn’t it?” For once, she hated his sense of honor.
    “Yes.” He paused. “Anyway, how can I trust you? You’re infuriated with me right now. Maybe your tonic will turn me into a rat with a horse’s tail—”
    “I wouldn’t do that to you, Constantin.”
    “I want to know about that vial,” he thundered.
    “You don’t have to worry about it because I don’t plan to use it.”
    He raised his chin. “You came here armed with Marga’s ring and that blasted bottle.
    Why?”
    “It doesn’t matter. What’s important is that I have a lot to make up to you. I’ve swallowed my pride and braved the snow and Lord Winthrop’s wrath to do just that.”
    Constantin huffed angrily. “I appreciate your telling me about my grandfather, but I suspect you have something up your sleeve.”
    I’ll never tell you , Karina thought.
    Silence ensued.
    “If you won’t spill the truth, then we have nothing more to say to each other,” he stated grimly.
    She nodded stiffly.
    He led her toward the stable door. “Lady Winthrop came to me and suggested you stay at the manor tonight.”
    She suppressed tears.
    “The room in the west turret has been made up for you,” he added. “Do you need me to escort you?”
    “No. I remember where it is. Attend to the horses.”
    “I’m sorry, Karina.” Regret clouded his stare. “I lost my head for a moment. It’ll never happen again.”
    Her heart sank like a ship’s anchor. She grabbed the cane and limped back to the house. Constantin was right. She’d never been forthright with him. What she wanted was for him to love her, but she was afraid to voice that.
    Ascending the servants’ stair well with the cane clicking alongside her, she reached the landing and stumbled headlong into Lydia Brentwood. Damn. The governess was the last person she wanted to see.
    “Thank you for spoiling the best moment of my life,” Karina spewed as she brushed