himself and Edmund.

“Being lectured by the fencing master.” Henry sighed.

“Yeah, what was that about?” Adam asked.

“The foil Frankie loaned me,” Henry said. “Didn’t you notice anything unusual about it?”

“Besides it’s being bloody expensive?” Adam asked.

“You knew and you didn’t say anything?” Henry asked, nearly dropping his juice glass.

Adam shrugged. “Sorry. I mean, a foil’s a foil, right?”

Henry lowered his voice and told Adam what had happened. Adam burst out laughing.

“It’s not funny,” Henry said.

“Actually, mate, it kind of is.”

“Well, I don’t think so,” Edmund put in. “I mean, it must have seemed a bit suspicious to the fencing master, for him to call you into his office like that.”

“But no one thinks … I mean, no one’s said anything about it, right?” Henry pressed.

Adam was suddenly fascinated by a fleck of dirt on his juice glass.

Edmund coughed and looked away.

“Awwww, come on!” Henry said. “Really?”

“No one saw what happened,” Edmund said. “One moment you were fencing Theobold and the next moment the fencing master had sent him off to find Francesca and dragged you into his office.”

Henry winced.

He couldn’t win. Someone steals the left-handed foil to ruin him, but when he brings in one of his own, he gets in trouble anyway.

“Hey, Grim,” Theobold hooted. “Are you just after her money, or do you actually find that sort of girl attractive?”

Valmont laughed. “Or maybe Grim just likes it when she bosses him around,” Valmont put in with a nasty smile. “After all, he likes taking orders, what with being a servant and all.”

Henry gritted his teeth and forced himself not to respond.

He never should have borrowed that sword. It had seemed such a small favor at the time, but if Rohan had been there, he would have pointed out the impropriety or recognized the cost of the weapon.

But Rohan was gone. Expelled. And Henry was left to navigate his friendship with Frankie by himself.

Valmont whispered something to Theobold and the two of them laughed uproariously and glanced in Henry’s direction.

Henry sighed.

Hopefully they’d have gotten over it by supper.

They hadn’t.

Finally unable to take any more teasing, Henry made his excuses and left his supper half-eaten on his plate.

Back in his room, Henry took out his new Latin exercise book and forced himself to slog through the homework, knowing that he’d have to help Adam with it later.

The exercise was ridiculously simple, as they’d just begun the Latin unit, and Henry, who had already studied this the year before, had a hard time paying attention.

He kept thinking of Lord Havelock’s triumphant sneer when he accused Rohan of stealing and about how he, Henry, was ever going to prove that all of the horrible things that had happened were part of Lord Havelock’s evil master plan.

Because they had to be.

Even Valmont had implied that Lord Havelock was willing to manipulate the results of the Knightley Exam back when he’d been chief examiner.

If Henry could just prove what Lord Havelock had done, then Rohan might be able to come back, and Headmaster Winter could keep his job, and then Frankie would stay, and they’d all get to remain at the academy for another year.

He banged his fist against his exercise book in frustration.

“Whoa, take it easy,” Adam said, standing in the doorway. He put a napkin filled with sugar biscuits on the edge of Henry’s desk.

“Thanks,” Henry said.

“Don’t mention it. Although, I wouldn’t mind a favor in return.”

“Latin homework?” Henry asked knowingly.

“It’s really awful. Worse than French,” Adam complained, taking out his own exercise book.

“Don’t copy,” Henry snapped, and then he sighed. What did it matter, anyway? “You know what, go ahead.”

“Really?” Adam asked suspiciously. “Why?”

Henry shook his head.

“I hate this,” he said simply. “I hate that I hate this, but I do. Rohan’s gone and Lord Havelock’s after us and there’s a war coming that only Professor Stratford knows about, but what’s he going to do about it? I am just so sick of everything.”

“I know how you feel,” Adam said, putting down his pen. “But at least you’re good at school. I’ve got all of that, and I’m having to sit here and copy your bloody Latin.”

There was a knock at the door.

“Hello?” Henry called.

The door opened a crack. It was Frankie.

“Can I come in?” she asked.

Henry looked to Adam. Adam shrugged.

“We could be expelled, you know,” Henry reminded her.

“No one ever checks,” Frankie said. “And I don’t want to go to the library. Everyone’s staring at me funny.”

“At least all you’re getting are funny stares,” Henry said darkly.

Frankie shut the door