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Most of the people standing back fro to hide their boredom The race was the place to be, so they’d come to see and be seen He should join thee for someone who cared

But that hen his eye landed on one particular wo behind the crowd out of ennui; she was perched on a stool, the better to see the proceedings She wore a dark skirt and a white shirtwaist But her jacket had a decidedlylines, military braid at the cuffs, and epaulettes at the shoulders She wore a ht bluish-green that was known as Cae Blue was knotted around her neck in a fair i interest in the race; she was interested She leaned forward, every bit as intent as the most avid student, as if she could push the craft forith the power of her mind

Edward had intended to drop back, but when he picked his way through the crowds at the banks, it turned out to not be a retreat He found hi toward the wo drawn into orbit around her As he got closer, he saisps of auburn hair peeking out from under her hat

She watched the proceedings with a concentration so intent that she didn’t even notice hi to stand a few feet from her She simply pushed up on her tiptoes, fists clenched at her side, eyes fixed on the race

He could see the river fro in on the finish The woasped in sudden surprise

Edward turned back to the river He scarcely had a chance to see what happened A dark object flew through the air froe—whatever it was—hit the Caht on Stephen’s position It burst apart, and Edward saw a splash of vivid orange

He’d been right There was a stor fury enco he could do—not here, not on the banks of the river

Now he reland He hadn’t felt this helpless in almost a decade, not since his father had ordered Stephen and Patrick stripped to the waist and whipped in front of him This hy he’d come back After all these years, he finally had a chance to do soer he’d buried

The boat was close enough now that Edward could see Stephen e dye in a brittle shell had been lobbed at him

“Oh, infamous!” shouted the woman in the cravat “Don’t let them take you down, Stephen Show them!”

He turned back to her She knew Stephen? The e colors, cheering for Stephen as if she had every right to do so He had no idea who she was She h he’d not heard of a betrothal She wasn’t family; that he knew for certain

Edward couldn’t make out Stephen’s expression at this distance, but he didn’t need to There was a deternized all too well

He’d been best friends with Stephen’s elder brother Stephen had been five years younger—a persistent extra at best, an annoying hanger-on at worst He’d followed the older boys around looking precisely as he did now: determined that he would not be excluded The harder they had tried to leave him, the more he’d attached hied, because now he pulled harder The Cath, and then another And then they were in the lead, sliding past the judge’s boat to the roar of the crowd