The Rose Bargain

Emmett knocks on the door twice. The door opens slightly, and one eye appears. Emmett says the resident knows his brother. A man opens the door and welcomes them into a book-filled residence. Ivy immediately dislikes the man for no apparent reason, but she shows him the faerie book, and he confirms that he was the original owner. (He bargained for eternal life in exchange for living without love. He thought that the bargain meant that he would never marry, but he later learned that no one wants to be near him.) He introduces himself as Eduart.

Eduart explains his origins; he was fighting for the Yorks when Queen Mor first made the bargain with Edward in 1471. During Eduart’s bargain, Mor said that eternal life means outliving consequences and meaning; she explained that all she has left is entertainment. He told her that he wanted to travel, but had been traumatized by the recent war and wanted to live without the fear of death. After making the bargain, he did travel, but everyone disliked him, so he came back to his childhood home and read books.

Now, Emmett declares that he has a plan to unseat the queen. Eduart laughs and shows them a wall signed by hundreds of people who tried to unseat the queen. He describes various plots that he heard about or witnessed, saying that the queen killed those who attempted to take her throne. Emmett has never heard about these attempted coups, and Eduart explains that the queen hid all records of them. Eduart met Bram because Bram is fascinated with the humans whom his mother made immortal, such as her footmen. Bram never returned to Eduart’s house after their meeting, but later wrote to Eduart, asking for the book.

Eduart says that Queen Mor can only be defeated and held by iron. Emmett says that Bram’s father defeated Mor using iron. Eduart says that there isn’t any more iron; he stopped looking for it in 1789. Emmett mentions his father’s plan to undo the queen’s bargains, and Eduart reveals that Edgar came to see him a decade ago. He explains that Emmett’s grandfather abandoned Edgar, causing Edgar to turn against the queen. Edgar and Mor’s marriage was a step in Edgar’s plan to overthrow her. Emmett tells Eduart about Edgar’s plan. Eduart calls Emmett a fool and asks if Bram knows about Ivy’s love for Emmett. Ivy denies loving Emmett, and Emmett bids Eduart goodbye. Once the two are outside, their inexplicable hatred for Eduart lifts.

Emmett and Ivy discover that their horse and cart have been stolen. Ivy panics because they won’t be able to walk back to camp in time to keep the others from noticing their absence. Emmett suggests that they hire a hackney in the village. It begins raining, and they rush into an inn called The Swan. The proprietor says they can’t hire a hackney because the storm spooks the horses; he offers them a room, and they register as a married couple: Fern and Edward Bennett.

Ivy takes off her wet clothes but can’t undo her corset. Emmett helps. When he finishes and turns around, Ivy takes off her undergarments and wraps herself in a quilt. Emmett apologies for getting Ivy into this mess, but she admits to hating the queen long before she met Emmett. Emmett promises to protect Ivy. While her back is turned, he takes off his clothes and wraps himself in a quilt. They sit by the fire next to their drying clothes.

Emmett says that his governess, who died a year ago, would have liked Ivy. Emmett’s governess was the one who took him to the ballet where he met Faith. Ivy makes a sarcastic remark about Faith, and Emmett asks if she’s jealous. She denies it. After they eat dinner, Emmett volunteers to sleep on the floor.

After he endures some discomfort, Ivy suggests that he join her in bed. They lie on their sides and look at one another. Emmett flirts with Ivy but stops before kissing her, saying that she belongs to Bram. Ivy corrects him, saying that she doesn’t belong to anyone. She admits that Bram kissed her once, but only once. Emmett offers to teach Ivy how to kiss, and she consents. Their activities grow more passionate, but Emmett disengages before things go too far. Ivy asks if she made a mistake, and he says she has completed the lesson. Then, he goes into the washroom for a while.

When he returns to bed, they talk about Emmett’s past romances, and he admits to dating Georgia Cambere and Faith, even though he wasn’t in love with them. He confesses that his father’s absence made him desperate for love. Ivy confesses that her family’s love and coddling made her expect that kind of love from everyone. Emmett says that Bram is the only one who loves him. Emmett and Ivy hold hands.

Ivy dreams about a faerie tale in which a woman marries the faerie king and becomes his wife. Desiring him, the woman pulls the faerie king into toward her as the lie in bed. Suddenly, Ivy wakes up, and the faerie king’s face from the dream morphs into Emmett’s face as he tries to wake her. She notices his collarbone sticking out oddly; he broke it while jumping horses when he was 12, but he was afraid that he would get in trouble if he told anyone about the injury, so it healed badly.

Emmett tells Ivy that she talks in her sleep, and he admits that he visited her during her fever. At dawn, they find a cart driver and head back to camp. Their cover story is that Emmett got drunk in the village and Ivy came to check on him. However, when they arrive at camp, no one is there. A footman emerges from a tent and asks if the hunting party has returned. A minute later, Emmett and Ivy see the hunting party arriving; they were delayed by the storm as well.

The other debutantes tell Ivy that Bram’s magic kept a fire going in the rain. Ivy lies, claiming that she stayed in her tent the whole time. Greer asks if Emmett tried to seduce Ivy, and Faith warns Greer not to say that in front of Bram. They get on the road and, 10 hours later, they return to the cottage.

Over the next few days, the debutantes have lessons with Bolingbroke but none with Mor. On Friday, they attend the Hinchingbrooks’ garden party. Emmett asks Ivy to meet him in a drawing room. Shortly after Ivy arrives, Bram comes in, and Ivy hides behind a sofa. Bram demands to talk to Emmett about “what’s going on” (261) and declares that he is not a fool.

Emmett claims not to know what Bram is talking about. Bram says he saw Emmett and Ivy talking intimately in the Hinchingbrooks’ garden. Bram also saw Emmett at the boathouse. Emmett claims that he tried and failed to seduce Lydia, not Ivy. However, Bram knows that Emmett and Ivy weren’t at camp. Emmett claims that he got drunk at the inn and didn’t see Ivy. Then, he says he’s not interested in Ivy because she is inelegant and too coddled by her family. Bram says he likes Ivy. The half-siblings leave the room together, and Ivy cries over Emmett’s insults.

Later that night, Ivy goes to Emmett’s room and confronts him, asking if his comments to Bram were true. Emmett refuses to answer, calls her a fool, and says they will never be together. He insists that Bram will be a good husband for her.

Greer narrates, recalling that her mother made her stop talking to Ivy, then sold her second favorite horse when Greer wouldn’t stop crying about missing Ivy. Because Greer’s mother is psychologically and physically abusive, Greer is jealous of Ivy’s loving family life. Greer also envied Lydia before the girl’s disappearance. After Greer stopped spending time with Ivy, she started seeing Joseph, her cook’s son, who went on to become a stable boy. The two fell in love, and Greer was the one to kiss him first.

Joseph wanted to run away to Scotland, but Greer was afraid to do so. Her mother caught her with Joseph on the morning of the Pact Parade and hit Greer in the stomach as her father stood by. Traumatized, Greer couldn’t think straight when she bargained with Queen Mor and asked for beauty, like her mother wanted her to do. When Greer saw Joseph again, he told her that she was prettier before the bargain. During the contest, they sneak out and meet regularly, but Joseph closes his eyes whenever he kisses Greer. Greer hopes to lose the contest and continue secretly visiting Joseph as a spinster.

Over breakfast, Greer asks Ivy if she and Lydia are okay. Ivy says that Lydia is fine and thanks Greer for asking. The two women reaffirm their love and friendship for one another. Suddenly, a footman announces that the debutantes must meet with Mor immediately. They are taken to a ballroom that has been transformed into rose bushes and filled with some of their friends and family members, who are there for a tea party. Ivy notices Lydia and her mother acting oddly. Greer’s mother insults Ivy and Lydia.

Suddenly, people start speaking very honestly about their fears and secrets. Mor, wearing a deer skull crown, says that everyone but the debutantes have been enchanted so that they cannot lie; those who have been enchanted will also forget the event when it’s over. Emmy’s mother starts insulting Emmy, who tries to leave but is blocked by the locked door. Mor says they have to stay for an hour.

Ivy asks Lydia where she was during her disappearance, and Lydia admits that there is a hole in her memory. Ivy asks Lydia why she didn’t marry Percival Chapwick. Lydia says she didn’t want to be the perfect girl anymore and wanted Ivy to figure out her own future, not latch onto Lydia’s. They both cry. Lydia envies Ivy’s ability to embrace imperfection. Ivy is angry that she has to repair her family’s reputation after Lydia destroyed it, but Lydia counters that Ivy likes being a martyr.

Marion and Faith huddle in a corner while Faith’s family argues and Marion’s sister makes a list of clothes that she stole from Marion. Olive’s mother describes her affair with her husband’s brother. When Mor asks Greer’s mother to share what’s on her mind, she tells the queen about Greer’s relationship with the stable boy. Greer starts crying and runs out. Mor magically releases the door for Greer. Ivy tries to follow Greer, but the door slams shut in Ivy’s face.

Faith’s father starts to talk about her relationship with Emmett, but Ivy stops him by jumping on the table and telling everyone that she kissed Bram. Ivy’s mother says that Marion is prettier than Ivy, but she’ll still be proud of Ivy when she loses. Finally, a bell indicates that the hour is up, and Mor leaves. Ivy ushers Lydia outside the palace, and Emmett briefly greets them. Bram grabs Emmett and starts to lead him toward the tennis courts. Bram invites Ivy and Lydia to play doubles, but Lydia refuses. After Bram and Emmett leave, Lydia notes that Ivy likes Emmett, but Ivy denies this.

Later that night, Olive is baking and Greer is missing. Faith comes into Ivy’s room, thanks Ivy for stopping her father’s confession about Emmett, and apologizes for being unfair to Ivy. Marion arrives and also thanks Ivy. In the morning, the newspaper is delivered; its headline features the fact that Greer’s corpse has been found in the Thames.

The newspapers contain the debutantes’ current ranks; Ivy is now in first place. Emmy starts crying while Marion holds Faith. Barefoot and in her nightgown, Ivy runs to Emmett’s room and starts sobbing. She tries to tell Emmett what happened, but Mor’s spell prevents her from doing so, so she asks him to fetch Faith. Ivy is able to talk to Faith about Mor’s lessons in front of Emmett, and by exploiting this loophole, they inform him about everything that has happened. Faith gives Emmett her copy of the newspaper. Emmett goes to pass this information on to Bram.

Faith and Ivy return to the cottage. After dark, a footman summons the debutantes to dinner. In the royal dining room, Mor says that Bram has demanded that she stop her lessons; he will choose a bride for himself on Saturday, which is many weeks before he was supposed to propose. After the queen leaves, Ivy storms out of the palace. The other girls follow, and Ivy cries at this evidence of their solidarity and love. They go to the stables behind Greer’s house, but Joseph isn’t there. Ivy hopes that Greer and Joseph escaped together, but Marion guesses that the queen has also killed Joseph.

The debutantes return to the cottage. As Ivy paces outside, Bram arrives, hugging and kissing her. Later, when Ivy gets ready for bed, Lottie tells her that Emmett went on a hunting trip. Edgar is also away on a trip.