The Rose Bargain

In the throne room, alone with Mor, Ivy asks to undo Lydia’s bargain, but Mor refuses; she also declines to reveal the details of Lydia’s bargain. Mor also claims that Lydia wasn’t in the Otherworld, as the door has been locked for 400 years. Ivy reflects on the fact that faeries supposedly cannot lie, then asks about Bram’s arrival from the Otherworld. The queen says that Bram’s passage through the door was an exception. At Mor’s urging Ivy admits that her biggest fear is failing her family. Mor offers various things to improve the family’s finances, but Ivy refuses to make a Rose Bargain.

Later, as Ivy and her mother take a carriage home, Ivy notices that her cut is completely healed. She admits that she didn’t bargain, which disappoints her mother.

Ivy visits Lydia’s room late that night and confesses her doubts that she can win the contest . Privately, she recalls a blood pact that she and Lydia made when they were young girls. Lydia promised to marry Lord Chapwick’s son, Percival, saying that Ivy could live with them. However, after Lydia’s debut, she turned down Percival’s offer because “it didn’t feel right” (65), and he married someone else.