Read TheCharmer for Free Online Page A

mat. They would never dry but only mildew and rot from within.
    It was carnage, plain and simple.
    Rose tried not to think about the additional damage they'd done to the swamped and smoky kitchen. It would take days for the hungry students to clear it.
    Sir Simon stopped and turned to face them with his hands clasped behind his back and ire in his blue eyes. "Fire, flood, and famine… in one short night. I must say, I wouldn't have believed it could be done." His dry tone did not bode well.
    Rose didn't move or respond in any way. It was time to think carefully. Although she would never lie directly to the headmaster, she'd long ago learned how to evade complete disclosure. Everything might still be passed off as an accident. She was clumsy, everyone knew that—
    Sir Simon let his sapphire gaze pass over her for one long moment, then turned it on Collis. "Here's what I see. You challenged Rose to a contest. You then carelessly sent a knife into the moorings of the chandelier. What have you to say for yourself?"
    Rose blinked in dismay. How had he known?
    Collis couldn't help his surprise. Rose must have sold him out. She hadn't seemed the sort, but then again, she was awfully keen on the rules. He didn't look at her but only kept his eyes on Simon. "I'd say you got the gist of the story, then." He shoved off the post with a grin. "It's just a bit of mess after all—"
    Simon's sharply raised hand halted Collis's offhand apology. Collis subsided, glancing at Rose for support. She was looking down, her hands clasped tightly before her. Collis found himself disappointed that she'd obviously not felt the same sense of camaraderie after their struggle to douse the fire.
    Oh, was that what you were feeling? And does camaraderie usually come accompanied by a raising of the old flag?
    Collis squashed the thought. Lusting after Rose? 'Twould never happen again.
    Simon was eyeing him now, but Collis didn't even bother to hide his impatience.
    "What's all the fuss? It was nothing but a bit of healthy competition that got out of hand."
    "You demolished the arena."
    Collis threw up his hands. "I'll sew you another bloody mat, all right?"
    Simon's gaze was cool. Too cool, really, for Collis's comfort. This wasn't going to go away, it seemed. For the first time it occurred to him that there might be serious consequences coming.
    "What's it to be then? A scolding? A slap on the wrist?"
Expulsion
. The word began a nasty singsong in his mind.
No more Liars, lost it all, all adrift again
. He shook it off with a quick jerk of his head and forced a careless grin. "Probation?"
    Simon didn't smile back. "You were already on probation."
    Collis felt a shock go through his gut. Already on probation? He dropped his pose of unconcern. "Based on what offense, may I ask?"
    "Lack of ability to play well with others," Simon snapped. "I've had my fill of the both of you, squabbling like children. You two are the best we have—the best we ever hope to have—yet neither of you has the slightest idea of what being one of the Liars truly means!"
    Simon folded his arms and glared at them equally. "Hasn't it occurred to either of you that there may someday be a need for the bonds that you discount today? What of later, when you might be working Liars together?"
    Uneasily Collis noticed that Simon said "might be"—not "will be." Collis opened his mouth to protest again, but there was nothing he could say in his defense that would not sound more asinine than what he had already said.
    Simon gazed at him for a long moment, his frustration still very apparent.
    Habit made Collis tilt his head at the old insouciant angle, and habit kept his tone free of worry and pain. "So what do you propose to do with me?"
    "Us," said a voice from beside him.
    He glanced down to see a pale and obviously nervous Rose standing at his side. He frowned. Why would she be willing to do that when a moment ago she'd turned him in like a watchman after a bounty? She raised her serious