behind her. “Who?” she demanded. “Valmont?”

Henry nodded.

“And Theobold,” Adam put in. “Mostly Theobold.”

“I detest Theobold,” Frankie said. “He’s exactly the type who spent his childhood burning ants with a magnifying glass and bragging about it to his tutors.”

“He is!” Adam hooted.

“Shhhh!” Henry cautioned. “Frankie, I really think you should go.”

“Fine.” Frankie pouted.

Henry sighed. “You’re not allowed to be in here. You know that.”

A knock at the door. Everyone froze.

“Who is it?” Henry called.

“It’s Sir Frederick. I’ve come to see how you’re getting on without your friend.”

Henry gulped. Frankie looked around wildly, as though she planned to hide, and Adam began to unlatch the window.

And then, as if in slow motion, the doorknob turned.

“Good heavens,” Sir Frederick said, standing in the doorframe in his tweeds, carrying that day’s newspaper under his arm and a pipe in his hand. “Francesca.”

“I was just leaving,” Frankie said, attempting to escape.

“Not so fast,” said Sir Frederick.

Henry exchanged a horrified glance with Adam. “Not so fast” was practically code for “not so good.”

“Is there a problem, sir?” Henry asked, hoping Sir Frederick would just laugh and pull out a tin of biscuits, or tell a story, or ruffle their hair in that absentminded way he had.

But Sir Frederick smiled sadly. “I’m afraid so,” he said. “You boys know the rules.”

Henry hung his head.

“They asked me not to come in,” Frankie said. “They told me it wasn’t allowed, but I ignored them. This isn’t their fault.”

“Whether this is your fault or theirs, girls are not allowed in students’ chambers,” Sir Frederick reminded them. “Now grab your coats. We’re paying a visit to the headmaster’s office.”

The walk down the corridor was excruciating; the other boys were on their way back from the dining hall and gave Henry and his friends curious glances as they streamed in the opposite direction.

“There goes your reputation,” Henry whispered to Frankie.

Adam, who’d overheard, snorted.

The door to the headmaster’s office, when they reached it, no longer seemed comically large. Instead, it seemed horribly looming.

Sir Frederick rapped smartly on the door, and Headmaster Winter opened it, clearly having just returned from supper himself—there was a wet splotch on his shirt where he’d been trying to rub out a food stain.

Headmaster Winter raised a ginger eyebrow at the crowd assembled outside his door and ushered them inside.

The office was just as messy and scatterbrained as ever, except instead of cheerful and welcoming, now the clutter appeared sad and neglected.

“What can I help you with?” Headmaster Winter asked, lowering himself into his imposing chair with an audible sigh.

Unsure how to navigate the squashy sofa that bore the only empty seats in the room, Sir Frederick, Frankie, Adam, and Henry remained standing.

“Anthony, I’ll get straight to the point,” Sir Frederick said. “I stopped by Mr. Grim and Mr. Beckerman’s room after noticing that they’d left supper early, and I found your daughter inside.”

Headmaster Winter groaned. “Really, Francesca?”

Miserably, Frankie nodded. “They told me not to come in,” she said. “I just … didn’t listen.”

“You never do,” Headmaster Winter said plaintively. “But this time, no matter who’s to blame, I’m afraid it’s consequences all around.”

Henry and Adam hung their heads.

“Girls are not allowed,” Headmaster Winter continued, “in dormitory rooms. This is a clear rule, and there is a clear consequence.”

Henry and Adam exchanged a look of horror.

Henry’s heart clenched. This was it, there was nothing the headmaster could do or say to change the fact that he, Henry, had caused his own downfall. His own expulsion. The one thing he’d been worried about, the one thing he’d fought so hard to prevent, and he’d gone and brought it on himself. The irony was unbelievable.

“But, sir,” Adam began, “isn’t that rule supposed to be about, you know, kissing girls?”

Slowly, the headmaster nodded.

“Therein lies the problem,” Headmaster Winter said slowly. “There are not usually girls at Knightley Academy. If a boy were caught in a room alone with a girl, clearly her reputation would be scandalized. How had she gotten there? Where was her chaperone? What were her intentions allowing herself to go into a boy’s room? But none of the reasons surrounding this rule apply here, and I am loath to give a punishment that is meant for a different, and far more severe, offense just because the circumstances are similar.”

At this, Henry allowed himself a small hope that perhaps all was not lost.

Headmaster Winter turned to Frankie. “Honestly, Francesca, you’ve given me no choice.”

“But, Papa—,” Frankie began.

“I’ll have to tell your grandmother what has happened and let her punish you