Just then, Eliza heard footsteps and laughter overhead. Genevieve and the others had returned with the food and drink.
“This is a celebration, Helen,” Eliza said. “Why don’t you join us?”
Helen clenched her teeth, but remained silent. Then she turned on her heels and was gone. Eliza felt a pang of anger mixed with disappointment.
But then Alice skipped down the stairs and into the room, grabbed Eliza around the waist, and swung her around happily. “This is all because of you, Eliza,” she said. She stopped twirling and gestured at Catherine. “Look what we are able to do, all because you brought it out of us! We are all-powerful because of you!” She flung her arms around Eliza’s neck and hugged her as the other girls began to unpack the sweets and pour out tumblers of punch for the party.
Eliza laughed as the members of her coven cheered and applauded for her. Alice was right. They were all-powerful. And never had she felt so alive, so free, so utterly unrestrained by expectations and rules and uncertainty. She looked over at Catherine and smiled; her smile was readily returned by her friend.
Catherine was alive again. That was all that mattered. Finally, everything was going to be perfect.
Early Morning Visit
Eliza knew what she was doing was wrong. She knew that if her mother found out she was sneaking onto the boys’ campus at dawn— unescorted, no less—she would be disowned forever. She knew if Theresa found out, she would declare war on her. But she was far beyond caring about right and wrong. The line between the two was so completely blurred at this point that she could hardly make it out. All she knew was that she wanted to see Harrison. No, she needed to see Harrison. And so, as soon as the imposing gray brick wall of Ketlar House came into view, she lifted her skirts and broke into a run.
By the time she had flattened herself against the wall beneath what she knew to be Harrison’s window, she was panting in a highly unfeminine way. This, she did care about. She forced herself to take a few deep, steadying breaths, counted to one hundred, then stooped and picked up a handful of the tiny pebbles that served as a border around the outside of the house. She stepped back, cocked her arm, and threw them at the glass pane two stories up.
Eliza looked up at the window. Nothing. No movement at all. Grabbing another handful of rocks, she took a step back.
“Elizabeth Williams, what are you doing?”
Eliza whirled around, heart in her throat, hand still suspended and full of dirt and pebbles. Harrison and Jonathan both stood before her in athletic pants and sleeveless shirts. Their skin shone with sweat, and their breath was heavy. Jonathan bent at the waist to catch his breath, but Harrison stood straight and took a few steps toward her. Eliza found she could not tear her eyes from the glistening skin of his shoulders.
“What are you . . . I . . . ?” She tossed the pebbles to the ground and dusted her hands off. “What are you doing?” she asked.
“Training,” Harrison replied. His expression was hesitant, confused. Not that she could blame him, since she’d so callously tossed him from her room the last time they’d met. “Jonathan and I are trying out for the school’s running team.”
“You’re trying out,” Jonathan said, still bent at the waist. He slapped Harrison’s chest as he hobbled past, headed for the Ketlar door. “I’m clearly not fit enough for this.”
“Where are you going?” Harrison asked.
“To curl up in a corner and die, I expect,” Jonathan replied, only half joking. “You two kids enjoy yourselves.”
Harrison looked about to protest, but Eliza reached for his hand and he fell silent. The door swung open and slammed closed, and Jonathan was gone, leaving the couple alone in the dewy pink light of morning.
“What are you doing here?” he asked her. “Is everything okay?”
“Everything is amazing,” Eliza said. “It’s just . . . I’ve been up all night long, and when the sun came up this morning . . . all I could think about was you.”
Slowly the creases smoothed away from Harrison’s handsome face and he smiled, his blue eyes shining with relief. He opened his mouth to speak, but then somewhere nearby, another door slammed. Harrison looked around, then took Eliza’s hand.
“Come on. I know a place we can go that’s a bit more private.”
Harrison led Eliza around the back of the building, then behind Drake Hall and to the back of Gwendolyn. For a moment she thought he was going to take her down into the basement again, but instead he walked her around the side of the building, peeked around the corner, and then mounted the steps. Through the stone archway was a small outdoor room with a bench built into the solid rock wall. The cavelike space cut them off completely from sight. She sunk down onto the slatted wooden bench and Harrison sat next to her, still clutching her hand. As she looked down at their entwined fingers, Eliza was so full of emotion, she felt as if it was choking her.
She was with Harrison. She was with Harrison. She was with Harrison.
“Eliza,” he said, searching her eyes. “Tell me you’ve changed your mind. Tell me that’s why you’re here before I go completely insane.”
“Well, we can’t have that,” Eliza said with a laugh. “Yes, Harrison. That’s why I’m here.”
Harrison smiled, his joy so pure it was written all over his face. Then he cupped Eliza’s face with both hands and kissed her. Already breathless, Eliza felt as if she might faint as Harrison’s lips searched hers. She sunk against him, oblivious to the rules of modesty and propriety. Right then, she wanted to feel all of him and to let him feel all of her. His hands trailed over her shoulders and down her back and he pulled her to him—so close, she felt as if her heart was beating against his.
“I’m so glad you came,” Harrison said finally. He kept his arms looped around her waist, his nose practically touching hers as he spoke. “I’m going to break it off with Theresa,” Harrison said. “I’ll do it today, this morning, right now.”
No more did Eliza care about Theresa’s feelings. Not after the way the girl had turned on her last night. The girl was capricious, selfish— untrustworthy. “Today will be fine. I’m in no rush.”
Harrison lifted a hand and gently smoothed Eliza’s hair away from her face.“But I am. I can’t pretend not to feel the way I do anymore,” he said, his voice a husky whisper. “I love you, Elizabeth.”