“Sorry,” I say with heavy sarcasm. “Were you hoping he’d spend the night in the locker room? The ambiance is unmatched.”
The suspicious sheen doesn’t leave his eyes, but he finally—finally!—follows us into the hall. The door swings closed behind him. An exhale loosens from deep within my chest.
“Well, uh. Thanks,” Sumner says. He’s wearing the same olive jacket and sweater, and I wonder if he just got back. “That was nice of you.”
“Miss Carmichael has been extraordinarily helpful,” William agrees.
Heat flushes up my neck and into my cheeks. “Delaney,” I correct, then add, “It’s no problem.”
Sumner nods my way, a nonverbalgood night. I should get out of here before anything else can go wrong, but something stops me.
I catch Sumner’s eye. “Can I talk to you for a second?”
“Sure.” He waves William toward the stairwell. “Just up there and to the right. It’s room seventeen.”
“Thank you.” William reaches for Sumner’s hand, and I thinkhe’s about to shake it again. Instead, he deposits an ungodly number of silver coins into his palm. “For your trouble.”
Sumner just stands there, palm open. But before he can protest, William moves toward the stairs. The thin carpet muffles the steps of his socked feet.
I watch Sumner release the change into his pocket. “Look, if this is about what we overheard—”
“It’s not.” Dread trickles down to my stomach. “Although that is a concern.”
“Yeah,” he says through a sigh.
“I just wanted to say, uh, go easy on him. William, I mean.”
Sumner tilts his head. “William?”
“Your roommate?”Hello, did he have an out-of-body experience that temporarily transcended him to another plane for the last five minutes? “He’s from a rural town in England. And I don’t think he has a phone. He might be Amish?” I shake my head. “So be nice.”
He frowns. “I’m always nice.”
“Questionable.” I fold my arms across my chest. “I think he’s a little, you know, culture shocked. Can you—I don’t know—help him out? Get him his student badge, all that?”
“Carmichael.” Signs of an oncoming smirk raise the edges of his lips. “What aren’t you telling me?”
“Nothing,” I say, but even I catch how defensive it sounds.
He waits. I fold.
“I— We—” I have no idea how to explain this. “I might haveaccidentally tackled him into the hedge earlier. We both went down pretty hard.”
“Let me get this straight.” His dark blue eyes glint. “In your first week back, you skipped class, were caught in Segner past curfew—twice, I might add—got punishment for the first time in your life,andtried to kill my roommate?” He grins wickedly, enjoying this. “I’ve got to say, I’m impressed.”
“It was anaccident. He’s fine.”
“Clearly.” Sumner relents. “He made it here in one piece. Take your win.”
I nod and allow the pressure to release from my lungs like air from a deflating tire. After a good night’s rest William will bounce back, and I won’t have to add him to my current buffet of worries.
“Okay, then,” I say. “Night.” I start to walk away, then quickly turn back. “I was never here.”
Sumner only smirks, letting the door shut between us.
I don’t hesitate because I donottrust him. My feet carry me to the back door, which I fling open with such force it produces a jarring squeal. I’m halfway across the lawn before my eyes find Inessa sprinting toward Hyde, a joyous triumph in her quickening steps that morph into victory leaps.
Elation bursts through me. She did it.
