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“The Archidux Sebastianus took me with him when he left the pleasure house in the early summer.”

“The Imperator’s nephew?” Nina looked shocked.

“Yes.”

“It’s unusual that he brought you here with him,” Nina said. “Did he buy your contract in its entirety?”

“He did.”

Nina raised her eyebrows. “You must truly have charmed him.”

“I believe he’s fond of me,” I said simply.

“You’ve been here for months, and Jovinian doesn’t know about you.” Nina turned to Cordelia. “He would have said something, don’t you agree?”

Cordelia toyed with a lock of her long brown hair. “He would have insisted that you be brought to him had he known.”

“Please don’t tell him,” I said. “Please. I’ve come here against the advice of the Archidux.”

“He wants to keep you a secret from his uncle?” Cordelia asked.

“He wants to keep me safe, which, I’ve learned, is not an easy thing for women like us.”

“None of us are truly safe,” Ismene said. “Not even here.”

“Ismene, hush,” Nina said.

“The reason I’ve come here is, as I’ve told you, I can’t stop thinking about what happened to my mother. All I know is that she left Casa Caligine many years ago. The matron could tell me nothing of her.”

“Did you know her at all?” Ismene asked.

“No, I was raised in a nursery.” I paused, thinking. “Were you all also raised in a nursery?”

All three of them nodded.

“Do you ever wonder how the system works?” I asked. “The tea we all took—perhaps it’s not always effective?”

“I’ve always assumed that’s the case,” Nina said, “or that some women are careless.”

“Perhaps your mother just cleared her accounts as soon as she could and left,” Cordelia said. “That’s what we’d all like to do. Who would stay longer than they needed to?”

“Indeed,” Nina said. “Who would stay in Corlivo if they had a choice?”

There was a long silence. Small birds tweeted fiercely in a nearby lemon tree. I heard a strange sound, a snip-snip-snip. “What’s that?”

“It’s the gardener’s shears.” Nina looked over her shoulder in the direction of the noise, and her blond hair rippled. “It takes a legion of gardeners to maintain this place.”

Ismene sighed with irritation. “Why do they have to trim at this time of day?”

“Whenever they work, they interrupt our peace,” Cordelia said.

I looked around the verdant garden. “What’s it like here? Is the Imperator kind to you?”

“We’re comfortable,” Nina said. “He treats us well.” Something in her eyes didn’t quite match her smile.

“Would you like some refreshment?” Ismene asked. “We have a delicious lemon drink.”

“That sounds lovely. Thank you.”